Whilst it might appear the Hallyu ban is over, but it’s looking like some C-Netizens have strong opinions against it. Global K-pop sensation BLACKPINK recently made their way to Macau’s shores with a well-attended concert at the Galaxy Arena. Aside from a huge turnout of enthusiastic fans who all flocked to the venue to sing and dance to their performance, celebs like Angelababy, Esther Yu Shuxin, Ouyang Nana, Cheng Xiao, Anita Yuen, Joey Yung just to name a few also turned up for the party. Who could’ve guessed though that their attendance would unexpectedly result in an uproar amongst some Netizens who blasted them for being unpatriotic. There’s even a supposed list of celebrity attendees going around online.
Angelababy in particular was seemingly singled out by angry Netizens after she was filmed attending the concert. “Angelababy is the number one fan of Korean artists. I never really liked her in the first place, I hate her even more now” was just one of the comments made. Actress Cheng Xiao who was spotted being wheeled into the event on a wheelchair with a broken leg also didn’t escape scrutiny. “Next time you injure yourself at work don’t bother fishing for any sympathy”. Others have angrily called for Chinese stars in attendance to be “dragged to political classes”.
Fallout Could See New Wave of Events
At its height, the unofficial Hallyu ban in 2017 has pretty much ensured no Korean film or music group had any access to the Chinese market. Things appeared to have slowly eased up in in recent years especially now as Korean stars finally managed to appear in Chinese productions such as Korean actress Choo Ja Hyun who’s a celebrity contestant in Ride the Wind 2023. Then, out of the boatload of C-dramas featuring Korean stars put on the backburner for years because of the unofficial ban, The Lover’s Lies 恋人的谎言, also known as The Girls’ Lies, filmed back in 2016 and starring actress Jia Qing and Jung Il-woo was actually green lit for release on May 20, 2023.
While fans are certainly happy to see the easing on Hallyu content, what happens now given the backlash from some C-Netz, we don’t really know yet. There are rumours that it will affect other Korean stars like Hyuna who previously said she intended to go to China to perform might become a “casualty” of the backlash following BLACKPINK’s concert.
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