K-pop stars could start performing in mainland
TIES between Beijing and Seoul have been strained since South Korea agreed in 2016 to host a US missile defence system strongly opposed by China. No major South Korean musician has performed in mainland China since, and promoters have not bothered to invite South Korean acts for a couple of years because of the perception that the government would reject such visa applications.
But they have recently started making such requests, according to the sources, who asked not to be named because the topic is politically sensitive. It is unclear whether the country’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism is inclined to approve any of the applications, they said.
Apart from shows in China’s special administrative regions Hong Kong and Macau, K-pop entertainers such as BTS – who last year became the first South Korean band to top the US Billboard charts – have not been able to get permits to perform in mainland China for years as part of a broader campaign against Korean businesses. The rift prompted China to launch a slew of punitive measures that cost the South Korean economy billions of dollars in lost business.
That is why the stakes over these permits could be much higher than the fate of a few concerts.
“People are getting ready,” says Archie Hamilton, managing director of the China-based music promotion company Split Works. “There is a lot of money there.”
Big Hit Entertainment, which manages BTS, declined to comment. China’s culture ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
China’s anger over South Korea’s decision in 2016 to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence system, known as Thaad, came at a high cost. Chinese agencies stopped selling group tours to the country; China-based stores of Korean retail giant Lotte Group suddenly started getting suspended for fire-safety violations; and Korean TV shows started disappearing from Chinese streaming services. The Bank of Korea estimated that the Chinese backlash suppressed the smaller Asian country’s economic growth by 0.4 per cent that year.
But there are signs that China’s wrath is waning. The ban on group tours was partially lifted in 2018, South Korean dramas are back on TV and K-pop songs are being promoted on Chinese streaming services.
A lot of Korean artists would like to tour (in China). It’s too big a market Jordan Corso, Modern Sky Entertainment
K-pop has been relatively resilient despite the effective ban on performances. Demand for music from BTS, Girls’ Generation and Blackpink has soared in China, according to Bernie Cho, president at DFSB Kollective, which provides label services to hundreds of South Korean acts.
Political tensions did not keep Chinese internet giants Tencent and Alibaba from having ties with South Korea’s three largest music companies. South Korea’s music industry generated US$98 million in sales in China in 2016, its No 2 overseas market after Japan, according to the Korean Statistical Information Service.
“K-pop is international pop in Asia,” Cho says. “Chinese companies are actively signing exclusive deals and investing in music companies, which is a testament to growing confidence in the market.”
But musicians make far more money from touring than from recorded music. BTS, for example, made a reported US$40 million from their previous world tour.
“A lot of Korean artists would like to tour (in China),” says Jordan Corso, a booking agent at Beijing-based promoter Modern Sky Entertainment. “It’s too big a market.”