South Korean girl group Kep1er and rapper Kid Milli are set to hold concerts in China next month, signaling a potential easing of Beijing’s years-long restrictions on Korean entertainment ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s expected visit to South Korea.
According to industry sources on Wednesday, Kep1er will stage a solo concert on Sept. 13 at Fuzhou in Fujian Province. This marks the first time in nine years that a K-pop idol group will perform in mainland China. Formed through Mnet’s audition program Girls Planet 999, Kep1er is a fourth-generation K-pop group composed of multinational members from Korea, Japan, China, and Thailand.
The next day, Sept. 14, Kid Milli — best known for appearances on High School Rapper 3 and Show Me the Money 777 — is reportedly scheduled to perform in Fuzhou.
These concerts stand out not only as long-overdue performances but also for their timing: they come as Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to visit South Korea in late October for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju. The coincidence has fueled speculation that Beijing may be softening its years-long cultural ban, imposed in 2016 after Seoul’s deployment of the THAAD missile defense system.
If these shows go ahead without disruption, they could pave the way for more Korean artists to return to the Chinese stage. Signs of warming ties are already visible: BTS’s management company HYBE recently established a subsidiary in China, while tech giant Tencent Music has become the second-largest shareholder in SM Entertainment.
Write to Byung-Yeon Yoo at
yooby@hankyung.com
