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| China plans to invite K-pop singers to perform in the online concert "We are the World 2020." Yonhap |
By Dong Sun-hwa
Is China lifting its unofficial ban on K-pop?
The expectation is high after K-pop singers are to be invited to appear in its online concert "We are the World 2020," scheduled for April 30. It is touted as the Chinese version of the 1985 Live Aid benefit concert for famine-stricken Africa, with the goal of helping victims of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The organizer is FREEGOS & KVLY ― a joint venture recently established by Korean media commerce platform KVLY and FREEGOS Entertainment, China's largest performance agency.
It was revealed last week that the state-affiliated China Benevolent General Association will send official invitations to Korean music labels. The concert does not have an audience but will be live-streamed on YouTube and Chinese online platforms. It would be the first time that China has opened up all its online platforms for Korean content since constraints began in 2016.
It is a good sign but some experts warn that it is too early to assume China is reversing its K-pop ban.
"It seems premature to judge whether the concert is a positive indication of the alleviation," Lim Dae-geun, a professor of Chinese Cinema Studies at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS), told The Korea Times. "Korea keeps talking about the lifting, but China is unlikely to make a public announcement concerning the removal, because it has never officially admitted to the constraint."
Beijing is widely regarded to have started blocking K-pop after Seoul allowed the deployment of a U.S. missile defense system ― the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) ― on Korean soil. China unsuccessfully pressured Korea against the deployment.
Korean films, dramas and performances have been practically prohibited in China. In the case of K-pop, even phenomenal boy band BTS could not perform there last year during its globe-trotting tour of 23 cities.
"The event is more likely a 'compensation' from Beijing to appreciate Seoul for not banning the entry of its people when the coronavirus hit the apex in China," Lim said, comparing it to Korea's gift of millions of face masks to China, whose city Wuhan is the epicenter of COVID-19.
"The organizer might have to work closely with the Chinese government to gear up for the concert," Lim said.
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| "Cultural exchange can be an effective and less problematic present," Roh Dong-ryeol, a professor of Media & Communications at Sungshin Women's University, said. Yonhap |
Lim Jin-hee, a research professor at Wonkwang University's Korean Chinese Relations Institute, said the event does not seem to have a big meaning.
"It looks like a concert of the Chinese, by the Chinese and for the Chinese," he said. "K-pop stars can't be the protagonists of such an event. China seemingly wants to boast its power and influence as a global leader by showing the rest of the world that it is drawing people's attention to a global disaster and leading the problem-solving."
He added: "The country appears to believe it can reduce criticisms toward it, if it transforms itself into a 'fixer.'"
Another expert says the gig can be thought of as a gift from China ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping's possible visit to Seoul this year.
"Cultural exchange can be an effective and less problematic present," Roh Dong-ryeol, a professor of Media & Communications at Sungshin Women's University, said in an email interview with The Korea Times. "We should see how successfully the concert ends and whether follow-up events will be organized to discuss the future of the two countries."
Nonetheless, the experts agreed that Korea could capitalize on the event to promote the subsequent cultural exchange with China.
"Korea should actively participate in an event like this first, so that it can make its own offer in the coming days," Roh said.
G-dragon of K-pop giant BIGBANG is "expected to be up on the stage," but his appearance has not been confirmed. The K-pop stars who will appear are slated to perform in Seoul, while the Chinese singers will stage their gigs in Shenzhen in Guangdong Province. Artists hailing from Europe and other countries are likely to film their performances in Macau.
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