Chinese citizens are expressing deep anger against Koreans, saying that they are "traitors" after the missile system deployment from South Korea.
Protesters showed up in front of Korean grocery chain Lotte to show anger after state media called for a boycott of Korean products.
Students, taxi drivers, and senior citizens went to the streets to express nationalist sentiments and to spite South Korean businesses.
"Get out of China!" said Li Xin, one of the protesters, "We don't want traitors!"
Some protesters posted online and wrote, "Korean are betrayers! They stabbed us in the back."
The anti-Korean sentiment spread further as Chinese vowed to stop eating kimchi. A South Korean band had to cancel their concert tour in China due to denial of their entry to the mainland.
South Korean shows are no longer showing on television and are not being circulated online. However, the strong anti-Korean sentiment is also being refuted by other groups.
The government is still trying to maintain amicable relations with South Korea as the political instability has been ongoing since the ouster of President Park Geun-Hye. There are fears that the replacement will favor war over peaceful negotiations with Pyongyang.
Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi said, "We hope friends of South Korea will think calmly that whether the THAAD system is conducive to their national security, to the peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, and to the solution of the nuclear issue of the peninsula."
There are other citizens like Liu Yuanyuan, an employee from Beijing, who said that peace is a better option.
"Peace is most important," he said. "Countries should not threaten one another."
There are about 13,000 employees in 112 Lotte stores in Beijing and are fearing the insecurity over their jobs. The nationalists' position to boycott South Korean products might lead to a large drop in sales.