While the situation in Cbiz has not cooled down yet, Korean media raised their suspicions on what would happen to Chinese idols in KPOP?

After the new regulations for strengthening the idol fandom’s culture were carried out in China, many people worry that fandoms’ activities in this entertainment industry will be restricted significantly.

The movement of China’s Government aiming at the entertainment industry is fierce. Not only do the Government strengthen their control of celebrities who caused social controversies, but they have also put a crackdown on idol fandoms. The whole entertainment industry of China has been turned upside down when Chinese fans could no longer spend extensive amounts of money to support their artists; otherwise, they would be punished.

In fact, the Chinese Government has issued many regulations to reinforce their managing power in various fields. Their recent movement is the political movement that the Communist Party of China carried out to focus on repair the wrong trend in the party. Based on this, China is now turning to Pop culture and expanding the regulations on many individuals.

In the name of correcting the disorder of fandoms, various regulations tảgeting fans have been issued. The Government put a ban on releasing celebrity popularity charts, prohibiting fundraising for supporting celebrities on entertainment programs. Moreover, fans are also blocked from purchasing songs multiple times on China‘s largest music site, QQ Music. Fanclubs that raised money for celebrities will be disbanded, and young children will also not be allowed to spend money on famous stars.

However, the question of to what extent these regulations would affect the entertainment industry remains unanswered. Recently, netizens are worrying that Hong Kong and Taiwanese celebrities may also be attacked. China has never ruled Taiwan since the end of the 1949 Civil War, but they consider Taiwan their territory, not as a separate country. Therefore, it is a fear that will pressure the celebrities who support the Independence of Taiwan and Hong Kong.

In particular, the news that TWICE Tzuyu‘s fanclub was ordered by Weibo to change their fanclub name had caused a stir in public. Moreover, in 2016, Tzuyu was once attacked by Chinese netizens and had to apologize for raising a Taiwanese flag on a Korean program.

The Korean entertainment industry is going to face a big loss because the China market is one of the leading consumers of KPOP. Although many activities have been reduced due to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, the restriction of fan activities in China would certainly be a burden for KPOP.

Particularly, netizens are paying more attention to idol groups with Chinese members because they are afraid that these idols will be directly affected by the situation in China. Chinese idols who are supposed to be active in their home country but are currently performing more in Korea may become the target of China‘s Government. In fact, Chinese celebrities who made political remarks on SNS did also receive intense criticism from Korean netizens.

However, it is undeniable that KPOP is having anxiety about “China Risk“. On September 3, the stock price of SM Entertainment fell 1.94%. It is reported that the decline has been continued for six consecutive days since the 27th of last month.

JYP Entertainment also recorded a decrease of 1.57% compared to the previous day, while YG Entertainment‘s stock price dropped 2.54%. Despite having idols with a high reputation in China, such as NCT 127, Stray Kids, and BLACKPINK Lisa, the BIG3 companies couldn’t avoid the “China Risk.

Moreover, there is a high possibility that Mnet’s survival show ‘Girl’s Planet 999“, which has many Chinese trainees, will also be negatively affected.

Mnet had made a “big hit” in the Japanese market when they formed the group IZ*ONE. However, they didn’t expect to meet an unexpected issue when they decided to make “Girl’s Planet 999” with an aim at entering the Chinese market.

If a trainee who was criticized for making political remarks later joins the debut group, controversies will be sparked in Korea. Moreover, the regulations on idol fandom carried out by the Government of China could become an obstacle for this group to expand their popularity in this country. Therefore, the solution for the negative situations before the competition is over is expected to be the key factor for the success of Mnet‘s new group.