In September, Korean concerts in China were cancelled while K-pop artists were written out in Chinese variety shows. Today, China has fully restricted all Hallyu (Kpop) and anything Korean-entertainment-related in China.
Unarguably, China is one of the biggest entertainment markets of Korean entertainment. However, the relation between the two Asian countries could no longer progress more, after the South Korean government permitted to deploy the THAAD American missile defense system in the country.
The scope of China's ban to Korean artists and talents extends not to permit new Korean drama series as well as the appearance of Korean celebrities in any television, movie or music platform in China. The move was part of China's retaliation to Korea, according to Digital Music News.
The effects of China's ban with Korea affected a number of Korean talent agencies, including YG Entertainment, SM Entertainment and JYP Entertainment, that are losing a large revenue due to the restrictions. These companies dropped to 6.6 percent, 8 percent and 3 percent sales respectively.
The Chinese government is restricting all projects that have to do with Korea. The country is imposing reviews for 16 TV shows, including SBS's historical drama series "Saimdang, Light's Diary" and tvN's "The K2," Officially KMusic reported.
China's ban has affected not only the Korean industry but the Chinese markets as well which have been dominated by the Korean entertainment. There are also speculations that the restrictions are caused by Korean's overpowering influence in China.
Meanwhile, amidst China's tough restrictions to Korean artists and entertainment, the 8th Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA) will still happen in Hong Kong on Dec. 2, Friday. CJ E&M will host the music festival.
As expected, YG Entertainment artists will be absent from the yearly music festival due to the tight ban of China among Korean performers. In 2015, global performer PSY performed the opening number, while K-pop groups BIGBANG and 2NE1 were also among the top favorite performers in the music event.
It was earlier rumored that YG artists are not performing at the MAMA event because they were not invited by CJ E&M. The host of MAMA, however, cleared that YG artists informed them that they have prior international bookings, and so they cannot attend the event in Hong Kong.
Check out the updates on China banning Korean entertainment over the THAAD conflict: