New Wave of Korean Wave Restrictions? Jung Yong-hwa Exits Chinese Variety Show, BLACKPINK Concert Blacklisted in Apparent 'Suffering'
Signs of the revival of China's 'Korean Wave restrictions', or 'Hallyu ban', seem to be emerging. Jung Yong-hwa, a singer and actor, was suddenly dropped from a Chinese variety show he was scheduled to appear on, and a BLACKPINK concert was added to a blacklist. The freeze in Sino-Korean relations appears to be heavily impacting K-pop artists.
On the 10th, Chinese media outlets including Xinjing News reported that Jung Yong-hwa would be appearing on the new audition program 'Strive for it, Freshman Class 1' on China's famous OTT online video service, iQIYI. Jung Yong-hwa, having arrived in Beijing on the 17th, was widely recognized for his appearance after posting photos of his arrival at the airport on social media.
However, some Chinese netizens lodged complaints with the National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA), opposing Jung Yong-hwa's appearance. The Beijing Radio and Television Bureau stated, "Jung Yong-hwa will not be used as a guest on 'Strive for it, Freshman Class 1' in the future." A netizen who lodged a complaint claimed to have received a response from the station, promising to "strengthen the management of program guests and manage personnel and content."
Not only this, but celebrities who attended BLACKPINK concerts are also being added to blacklists. Angela Baby and former Cosmic Girls member Cheng Xiao attended BLACKPINK's world tour held in Macau on the 20th and 21st.
However, Chinese netizens have been criticizing them on Weibo, writing, "Chinese actors are going to Korean singers' concerts." They also began compiling a 'blacklist' of other celebrities and influencers who attended, naming them publicly.
Recently, the atmosphere seemed to be easing up as singer Hyuna was revealed to be attending a music festival in Wuhan, China for two days on June 17th and 18th. Fans of the group SEVENTEEN in China also generated anticipation by collectively buying 2 million copies of their new album. However, currently, Chinese netizens are taking a hardline stance of not consuming Korean artists and content, leading to fears that the Hallyu ban might be reenforced.
In the midst of this, recently in China, there have been issues with accessing the Korean portal site Naver.
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