K-pop concert-China

▲ This file photo shows the 2024 edition of the Dream Concert. (Yonhap)

K-pop concert-China

Large-scale K-pop concert slated for China this fall

SEOUL, April 30 (Yonhap) -- In another potential sign of easing its tacit ban on the South Korean entertainment industry, Chinese authorities have apparently approved a large-scale K-pop concert set to take place in the country this fall, the first of its kind in years.

The Korea Entertainment Producers' Association said Wednesday that its annual Dream Concert, featuring top K-pop acts, will take place Sept. 26 at a 40,000-seat stadium in Hainan, China's southernmost province.

The artist lineup is still being finalized, according to the association.

Launched in 1995, the Dream Concert is South Korea's longest-running K-pop event, having featured major acts over the three decades, including H.O.T., Sechskies, TVXQ, Girls' Generation and BTS.

The upcoming concert will mark the largest K-pop event to be held in mainland China since Beijing imposed an effective ban on South Korean pop culture content around 2016. The ban, widely seen as retaliation for Seoul's deployment of the U.S.-led THAAD missile defense system, has restricted activities of Korean entertainers, including K-pop acts.

Recently, however, signs have emerged that the restrictions may be softening.

Earlier this month, Korean hip-hop trio Homies held a tour concert in China, and singer-actor Kim Jae-joong hosted a fan meeting in Chongqing. K-pop boy band Epex is also scheduled to stop in Fuzhou next month as part of its Asian tour.

However, since those events are relatively small in scale, whether larger-scale concerts involving tens of thousands of spectators will materialize is being seen as a key indicator for a broader policy change.

"We've been preparing this concert for a long time, believing that with the global popularity of Korean pop culture and the support of international fandoms, a day would come when we could hold a major concert in China," said Im Baek-woon, head of the industry association.

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