K-Pop concert to be held in Hong Kong and aired in mainland China, organisers say

SEOUL, Dec 23 (Reuters) – A K-Pop concert will be held in Hong Kong in February and aired across mainland China by a state-run broadcaster, the organiser said, amid growing hopes of cultural exchanges between China and South Korea after nearly a decade of an unofficial ban. Chinese President Xi Jinping last month visited South Korea for the first time in 11 years and held a summit with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, where the two leaders also discussed cultural exchanges, raising hopes of China lifting its unofficial ban on Korean culture. The unofficial ban was introduced in 2017 as China protested against the U.S. deployment of a missile shield system in South Korea and has in effect meant no Korean concerts or TV shows have been approved by the Chinese authorities. Dream Concert 2026 will be held at Kai Tak Sports Park for two days from February 6 and the recording will be broadcast by China's state-run Hunan Television, according to From Entertainment, a South Korean firm organising the event. "It will be the first time for a K-Pop concert to be broadcast in mainland China since cultural exchanges were severed. First in years," an official at From Entertainment said on Tuesday. China's foreign ministry said on Tuesday it was not aware of any planned concerts or lifting of the unofficial ban on K-Pop. The two countries are also coordinating a visit by Lee to China early next year, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said in an interview with Yonhap News on Monday. The From Entertainment official gave no details of which K-Pop acts would be performing. However, shares of K-Pop agencies rallied on Tuesday, with HYBE rising 5%, SM Entertainment gaining 8%, JYP Entertainment adding 3% and YG Entertainment jumping 4%. Dream Concert, a K-Pop event hosted annually by the Korea Entertainment Producer's Association, was held this year in Abu Dhabi in November, after South Korean media reported that earlier plans of holding it in mainland China and Hong Kong were cancelled. South Korean entertainment firm CJ ENM also hosted its annual MAMA Awards in Hong Kong last month. (Reporting by Jihoon Lee in Seoul, Additional Reporting by Joe Cash in Beijing; Editing by Alison Williams)

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