SUGA's Candid Remarks on the Chances of K-pop Idols performing in China Draw Attention After the Summit

 

In January this year, Chinese President Xi Jinping and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung met in Beijing during Lee's state visit to China. At the Great Hall of the People, the two leaders held discussions on a wide range of the key bilateral issues, including security, the economy, cultural exchanges, and regional peace.

Notably, the two sides also discussed expanding cultural exchanges and entertainment content, including measures to increase the presence of Korean culture in China after years of restrictions. President Lee and President Xi agreed to strengthen people-to-people exchanges, particularly among young people, as well as cooperation in the media, sports, and local government sectors between regions and cities.

The discussions immediately sparked hope among fans that BTS' world tour might eventually include Beijing as one of its stops. However, the reality is that despite the recent thaw in relations between Seoul and Beijing, the prospects of lifting the so-called "Hallyu Ban"—the unofficial restrictions imposed on South Korean cultural content in China—remain uncertain.

As a result, mainland China is still absent from BTS' 2026 world tour itinerary. Even after the tour expanded to 88 shows across 34 cities worldwide, the group has eyt to schedule a single concert in mainland China.

Singaporean newspaper Lianhe Zaobao reported that although BTS boasts more than 5.6 million followers on Weibo, the group has confirmed three concerts in Hong Kong in March 2027. The reprt noted that this underscores how the unofficial restrictions—widely believed to have stemmed from South Korea's deployment of the THAAD missile defense system in 2016—remain firmly in place in mainland China, where nonexistent for nearly a decade.

In this context, fans recalled a "predictive" remark made by SUGA during a live broadcast. At the time, fans asked him to hold a concert in mainland China, but he immediately responded with visible helplessness: "Everyone, it isn't possible for me to perform in China."

He explained that promoting music in China is extremely difficult—even for groups with Chinese members. He pointed out that if a group includes a Chinese member, only that individual member may be allowed to work domestically, while the group as a whole is not permitted to promote there.

"In one K-pop group these days, there are Koreans,Chinese, and members of different nationalities. I've seen instances where the Chinese members are allowed to work in China, but the group itself is not allowed to," he said.

A clear example supporting SUGA's explanation is aespa. Since Ningning is Chinese, she can return to China and carry out individual activities, but aespa as a group cannot perform in China. The cases of Seventeen and WayV are similar, despite both groups also having Chinese members.

Not only SUGA, but also industry experts and academics continued to express similar views. Although South Korean President Lee's recent visit to China may signal a diplomatic thaw, experts believe that any relaxation of the cultural restrictions will be "painfully slow."

Sarah Keith, a media scholar at Macquarie Universty, noted that it could take up to five years for Korean artists to restore their presence in China to pre-ban levels. She also pointed to a "cultural deficit," arguing that China's strong consumption of Korean content may lead Beijing to prioritize the interests of its domestic entertainment industry.

While smaller-scale "cultural exchang" activities—such as fan-signing events—may gradually resume in first-tier cities, analysts believe that stadium-level tours are unlikely to return anytime soon, as Beijing continues to balance market demand with the protection of its domestic entertainment industry.

In fact, even during the bilateral summit itself, Xi Jinping implied that lifting the restrictions on Hallyu would be difficult, stating, "A three-foot layer of ice does not freeze in a day, nor will it melt all at once. Fruit falls only when it is ripe."

The thick layer of ice restraining Hallyu began to form around 2016, after South Korea deployed the THAAD missile defense system. Since then, for nearly a decade, not a single K-pop idol concert has been held in mainland China. Meanwhile, Hallyu-related music, films, and variety programs have frequently faced restrictions, been denied licenses, or been blocked from broadcasting on Chinese platforms.

Beyond serving as an unofficial retaliatory measure against South Korea, these restrictions are also rooted in Beijing's defensive mindset—namely, concerns that the Hallyu wave could introduce capitalist influences and undermine China's cultural foundations. Although music and politics are two separate spheres, they inevitably influence one another. China, it appears, intends to limit the spread of Korean popular culture in the mainland for as long as possible.