We’ve heard this before, and nothing came to pass, but the signs are looking positive that mainland China is finally removing its unofficial ban on Korean culture and content, possibly as early as this May.
The loosening of restrictions appears to signal China’s shift away from a “wolf warrior” diplomatic policy towards a “smile policy” aimed at easing anti-China sentiments around the world. The move could also be interpreted as a response to the volatility of the current Donald Trump administration, which is threatening tariffs on many nations, although the U.S. President’s approach towards China has not yet been made clear.
China started to restrict the distribution of Korean music, movies, dramas, games and all other forms of pop culture in 2016 in retaliation to South Korea’s deployment of U.S. THAAD missile defense systems. Although Beijing has never officially acknowledged the ban, very few Korean movies or dramas have been released in Chinese cinemas or on streaming platforms and K-pop artists have not been allowed to perform in the country.
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According to the Korea Economic Daily (KED), a senior official handling China’s preparations for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, set to take place in China in 2026, said the Chinese government sees the need to strengthen cooperation with Korea:
“Starting next month, we will send a private-level cultural delegation to South Korea as the first step toward expanding cultural exchanges, aiming to fully resume cultural cooperation as early as May,” the official told KED.
It may also signal China’s need to shore up its box office market. Despite the current success of record-breaking animation Nezha 2, the country’s box office was down by a punishing 23% last year, with a lack of product cited as one of the major reasons. Although China is not currently placing restrictions on Hollywood movies, the 2023 strikes resulted in a reduced pipeline of tentpole releases, which has had an adverse impact on China’s box office, despite the popularity of local films.
Korea’s entertainment market has also suffered as a result of the ban – the KDB Future Strategy Research Institute recently estimated that it caused damages of up to $15.3BN (KRW22TR) to related Korean industries in 2017, according to the KED report.
Shares of K-pop companies Hybe, JYP Entertainment and SM Entertainment have surged to new yearly highs in response to the news. Hybe’s share price is currently trading at an annual high of KRW254,000. Korean drama producers A Story (Extraordinary Attorney Woo) and CJ ENM’s Studio Dragon also saw a bump in their share price on the news.
Korean filmmaker Bong Joon Ho’s Mickey 17, which recently had its world premiere at the Berlin film festival, is scheduled for China release on March 7, but then the film is a Warner Bros production and China has not previously restricted U.S. content due to the involvement of Korean nationals.
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