China Reaffirms Fundamental Stance: "Korea and China Agree on Orderly Cultural Exchanges"

Chinese Foreign Ministry Reiterates Fundamental Stance on the Hallyu Ban

Although President Lee Jaemyung and Chinese President Xi Jinping outlined a direction for the development of Korea-China relations during their summit on the 5th, the Chinese government reaffirmed its fundamental stance on whether to resume imports of Korean popular culture.

Yonhap News Agency

At a regular briefing on the 6th, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning responded, "Both China and Korea agree to carry out healthy and beneficial cultural exchanges in an orderly manner." This was in response to a question from reporters about whether China welcomes more cultural imports from Korea and what measures it will take to enable such consumption.

Following the Korea-China summit the previous day, Blue House spokesperson Kang Yoojeong stated in a written briefing, "Both sides agreed to advance consultations on specific details under the consensus to gradually expand cultural content exchanges, starting with areas acceptable to both parties."

China has imposed the so-called "Korean Wave Ban" (Hallyu Ban) since around 2016, restricting Korean music, dramas, and films in response to the deployment of the U.S. THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) missile system in South Korea. Korean singers active in the K-pop industry have not been permitted to perform in China.

In April of last year, a Korean boy group received approval to perform in Fujian Province in southeastern China, but the event was canceled. At that time, the Chinese Foreign Ministry stated, "We maintain an open attitude toward carrying out beneficial cultural exchanges and cooperation with Korea, and we hope that Korea will work together with China to promote development in various fields of bilateral exchange and cooperation."

Even after that, attempts for Korean idol groups to hold concerts in various Chinese provinces continued to be canceled. In September of that year, the Chinese Foreign Ministry reiterated its basic stance regarding the repeated postponements and cancellations, stating, "China has no objection to carrying out healthy and beneficial cultural exchanges between China and Korea."

Korea-China cultural exchange has been consistently discussed in recent high-level meetings, including the Korea-China summit held in Gyeongju in November last year, but there have been no visible changes so far.