The South Korean entertainment industry seems to be the unsuspecting victim of the country's conflict with China over the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD). Following the enforcement of the U.S.-South Korea agreement, several stars were reported to have been dropped out of Chinese projects, including actress Yoo In Na.
Yoo was supposed to star in a Chinese drama series titled "Love Weaves Through a Millenium 2" and had already began filming when she was reported to have travelled back to Korea on Aug. 5. According to allkpop, the actress still had several episodes left to film, raising speculations that she was dropped out of the project altogether.
It was reported that Yoo was replaced by a Chinese actress and a reshoot for Yoo's scenes would to take place. The series is a remake of the South Korean drama "Queen In Hyun's Man" and is slated to air in September.
Her agency, YG Entertainment, denied the rumors and stated that she's still in China and that they're "still discussing the situation with the production company."
The rumor about her expulsion from the television series stemmed from the newly enforced guideline from the General Office of Broadcasting and Television in China which prohibits Korean stars "from having activities in China on air". Singers are also banned from having "concerts with more than 10,000 fans," K-pop Herald reported. This new measure is allegedly a form of retaliation to South Korea's THAAD deal with the United States.
In line with this, several South Korean stars have cancelled their events in China, including the highly popular boy band EXO, who were scheduled to hold a concert in August. Actor Lee Joon Ki, who was supposed to promote his movie "Under the Sicily Sun" in Beijing, cancelled the event for a "special unexpected situation." It is presumed that the above cancellations were due to the Chinese government's restrictions on Korean shows and activities.
The THAAD is an anti-ballistic missile system installed in South Korea to defend the country from any potential attack from North Korea, considering that the latter has been doing a series of nuclear weapons tests this year. China strongly opposes the THAAD, stating that it undermines the foundation of China and South Korea's bilateral trust.