Drama 'Something in the Rain' Airs... Is the Hanhanryeong Ban Being Lifted?

The Korean drama "Pretty Noona Who Buys Me Food" will be broadcast in China starting from the 3rd. This marks the first approval for screening since the THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) conflict led to the full-scale implementation of the Hallyu ban by China in 2017.

iQIYI, one of China's top three online video streaming services (OTT - Over the Top), announced that it will air the Korean drama "Pretty Noona Who Buys Me Food," starring Son Ye-jin and Jung Hae-in, from 8 PM on the 3rd. Starting in May, a Chinese remake of "Pretty Noona Who Buys Me Food" will also be broadcast through iQIYI.

This drama is the first case to pass the review by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (broadcast regulatory authority) since 2017. "Pretty Noona Who Buys Me Food" applied for review in January this year and passed the review in just over a month.

Previously, the drama "Saimdang, Memoir of Colors," starring Lee Young-ae, was broadcast in China in January, but since it completed its review in November 2016, just before the Hallyu ban, and aired in January this year, "Pretty Noona Who Buys Me Food" is the first Korean drama to pass the review after the Hallyu ban.

Following "Saimdang," the broadcast of "Pretty Noona Who Buys Me Food" in China is raising expectations for the lifting of the Hallyu ban. The Chinese government has not officially acknowledged the Hallyu ban, but the Korean government has continuously requested China to resume cultural content exchanges such as dramas between the two countries.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.