Okay-pop prospects brighten as buyers guess on its return to China

Okay-pop prospects have brightened after Seoul and Beijing signed a content material alternate deal, doubtlessly paving the best way for South Korean leisure to re-enter the Chinese language market.

South Korea’s nationwide broadcaster KBS on Saturday entered into a media alternate and cooperation enterprise settlement with Chinese language state media firm China Media Group. CMG contains state media enterprises equivalent to China Central Tv, and is immediately managed by the Chinese language Communist Get together.

Shares of SM Leisure rose as a lot as 8.11%, whereas JYP Leisure gained over 9.39%. YG Leisure and Hybe noticed day-high good points of about 4% and three%, respectively. The shares have since pared good points.

KBS mentioned this settlement would “promote content material exchanges throughout the board, not solely in information and sports activities, but additionally throughout tradition, together with the Chinese language launch of the ‘Music Financial institution World Tour.'” Music Financial institution is KBS’ flagship program that options Okay-pop artists once they launch new music.

KBS President Park Jang-beom mentioned “I believe it is significant that we have created a breakthrough that may enable the whole Korean content material business to as soon as once more make a full-fledged foray into the Chinese language market.”

This comes as South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Chinese language President Xi Jinping met in the course of the Asia-Pacific Financial Cooperation, or APEC, summit, with Lee writing on Fb that the summit was “very important in the truth that it has absolutely restored the Korea-China relations.”

The return of Okay-pop to China might mark a turning level within the business, after China imposed a “delicate ban” on Okay-pop content material in 2016 after South Korea deployed U.S.’ Terminal Excessive Altitude Space Protection anti-ballistic missile system, also called THAAD, on its soil.

KBS plans to solidify its cooperation with CMG on the APEC Summit to be held in Shenzhen, China subsequent yr, the community mentioned.

Native media retailers have additionally reported that the partnership will assist reviving the “Korea-China Music Competition,” an occasion that was held from 1999 to 2016, and noticed Peng Liyuan, the spouse of China’s President Xi Jinping performing on the competition in 2006, in line with KBS.

Whereas there have been small scale Okay-pop appearances by teams, equivalent to fan conferences and particular person member appearances, concert events or large-scale actions haven’t been held on mainland China, with teams making their tour stops in Macau or Hong Kong.

In what would have been the primary time an all-Korean group held a live performance in mainland China since 2016, boy band EPEX was to carry out in Fuzhou, China, in Could, however the present was “postponed as a result of native circumstances,” in accordance to South Korean media.

Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan mixed have been amongst Okay-pop’s largest markets, regardless of the “delicate ban,” being the second largest export marketplace for music exports from South Korea when it comes to export share in 2023, in line with a Korea Inventive Content material Company report printed in July. They accounted for 26.1% of music exports from South Korea in 2023, amounting to $319.58 million.

Japan, South Korea’s largest export marketplace for music, had a 35.1% export share, with $429.08 million price of music exports in 2023.

In response to the 2025 Abroad Hallyu Survey printed by South Korea’s Korea Basis for Worldwide Cultural Change, China’s favorability score towards South Korea stood at 73.5%, greater than the survey’s total common.

Hallyu, or the Korean Wave, refers back to the unfold of South Korean content material all over the world. The survey additionally famous that curiosity in Hallyu content material inside China has not waned regardless of the restrictions on the direct distribution of Korean content material.

“Total, Chinese language shoppers’ curiosity in and consumption of Korean cultural content material continues to develop, and there’s important potential for Korean content material to exert even better financial and cultural affect sooner or later,” it added.

The survey additionally famous that Chinese language authorities’s latest announcement of insurance policies geared toward attracting international funding and easing rules are fueling expectations for the easing of the Hallyu ban.

In a report earlier this yr, Morgan Stanley had famous that the rally in Okay-pop shares was primarily as a result of investor expectations that China will open its market to Okay-pop performers.

— CNBC’s Blair Baek contributed to this report.