China to begin accepting applications from foreign acts to perform in country

Boy band Big Bang's last performance in China back in 2015 [YG ENTERTAINMENT]

K-pop stars who have been banned from performing in China since the Thaad anti-missile dispute in 2016 may soon be allowed to return to the country.

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the People’s Republic of China announced on Thursday that it will accept applications and approve foreign commercial performances in China starting next Monday. The government had halted all foreign performances since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic three years ago.

However, Korean artists have been banned from performing in China since 2016, when the government implemented unofficial bans on Hallyu, or the Korean wave of pop culture, following Seoul’s decision to install the U.S.-led Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (Thaad) antimissile system.

It is unclear if the government will accept applications from Korean artists.

In February, a Korean film festival hosted by the Korean Film Council was held in Shanghai, the first time for such an event to take place since the Chinese government’s unofficial ban on Korean culture.

BY CHO YONG-JUN [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]