Disappointment over 'Hanhanryeong' BTS Suga: "There is no way to perform in China"

Overseas Fans Request "Perform in China"
Response: "Korean Singers Have No Way to Work in China"

"How can we do a China tour when we can't even perform in China?"

BTS member Suga revealed the difficulties caused by China's ban on Korean content, known as Hanhanryeong (限韓令), in response to a fan's request for a China tour.

Mr. Sugar. [Photo by fan community platform Weverse]

On the 11th, during the last day of the Thailand concert, Suga was communicating with fans on the fan community platform WEVERSE when he saw a comment from a fan asking, "Please come for a China tour."

He then retorted, "Is there any Korean singer currently performing in China? There probably isn't."

He continued, "I've even seen cases like this," explaining, "Within K-POP groups, there are Koreans, Chinese members, and members from other countries these days. Members of other nationalities can work in China, but that team cannot work in China," revealing the reality of Hanhanryeong as he experienced it on site.

Suga expressed his regret, saying, "I don't know why, but I want to perform anywhere where ARMY (BTS fandom) is. I feel bad too. It's been a long time since I went to China, and I really want to go, but there is no way for Korean singers to work there."

Meanwhile, since 2016, following the controversy over the deployment of the THAAD system by the US Forces Korea, the Chinese government has banned the broadcast of Korean-produced content or advertisements featuring Korean celebrities to Chinese audiences within China.

Recently, starting with the G7 summit, some services of the Korean portal site Naver have been blocked in China, and the sudden cancellation of celebrity Jung Yonghwa's appearance on a Chinese variety show has highlighted China's moves to curb Korean influence.

On the other hand, there are some prospects that K-pop, which had been stagnant for a while, could revive in the Chinese market.

According to export-import trade statistics from the Korea Customs Service in May, K-pop album exports to China from January to April this year amounted to $18.981 million (approximately 25.2 billion KRW), a 195.7% increase compared to $6.418 million (approximately 8.5 billion KRW) during the same period last year. This is nearly a threefold jump in one year.

In particular, exports in April reached $5.258 million (approximately 7 billion KRW), up 98.2% from $2.653 million (approximately 3.5 billion KRW) in the same month last year.

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