China moves to improve ties with South Korea, starting with tourism and K-pop

There are hopes Beijing could further ease unofficial restrictions on cultural imports as is tries to mend relations with Seoul

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K-pop group IVE held a signing event in Shanghai on Thursday. Photo: Handout

Published: 6:00am, 25 Mar 2025Updated: 7:58am, 25 Mar 2025

Beijing is extending an olive branch to Seoul by embracing the return of South Korean tourists as well as cultural imports like K-pop, as the two neighbours take steps to improve ties.

Some 200 Chinese fans turned up to see K-pop girl group IVE at a signing event in Shanghai on Thursday, the same day Seoul announced Chinese tour groups would get visa-free entry to South Korea in the third quarter of the year. That came after China waived visas for South Korean visitors to the country in November.

Thursday’s K-pop event followed a visit by Twice, another South Korean girl band, to Shanghai last month to promote their new album. That was their first event in China in more than nine years after one of their members, Taiwanese singer Chou Tzu-yu, angered mainland Chinese internet users when she waved a Taiwan flag on a television show in 2015.

Meanwhile, South Korean director Bong Joon-ho’s latest film Mickey 17 has been screening in Chinese cinemas since early March.

All of this is fuelling hopes that Beijing may further ease unofficial restrictions on hallyu – or Korean wave, referring to South Korean popular culture – as it tries to mend relations with Seoul at a time when both nations are facing new tariffs from Washington.

China unofficially banned South Korean entertainment products in 2016 after Seoul agreed to deploy a US missile defence system on its soil.

China moves to improve ties with South Korea, starting with tourism and K-pop

There are hopes Beijing could further ease unofficial restrictions on cultural imports as is tries to mend relations with Seoul

nproxy.org