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| ▲ This photo of K-pop girl group Kep1er is provided by KLAP Entertainment. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
SEOUL,
Aug. 27 (Yonhap) --
The fan concert was originally scheduled for Sept. 13 in Fuzhou.
"Due to unavoidable local circumstances, Kep1er’s performance schedule has been postponed," agency Klap said in a statement, adding that a new date has yet to be decided.
China has maintained an unofficial ban on Korean pop culture, known as the "Korean Wave restriction," since around 2016 in protest of the deployment of the U.S. THAAD missile defense system in South Korea.
As a result, K-pop concerts were largely absent from the Chinese market for years.
Recently, however, small-scale fan meetings have been allowed, with artists such as SHINee’s Taemin, Kang Daniel and Mamamoo’s Solar meeting fans locally. Even then, they were unable to perform live stages, and in some cases, venues were disclosed only to ticket holders to avoid scrutiny.
Kep1er’s Fuzhou fan meeting had drawn attention because the group was reportedly preparing to perform more than 10 songs on stage, fueling expectations of a potential easing of the restrictions.
But the event was postponed less than two weeks before its planned date.
In May, boy group EPEX canceled its announced concert in China, while BIGBANG member G-Dragon’s media exhibition in Shanghai was also called off.
Industry insiders note that since the restrictions remain unofficial, concerts in China remain uncertain until they actually take place.
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