Korean-Born Idol Group EPEX to Hold First Solo Concert in China in 9 Years — Sign of Hanban Rule Easing

The eight-member Korean boy group EPEX will hold the “2025 EPEX 3rd Concert: Youth Deficiency in Fuzhou” at the Daxue Cheng Cultural and Art Center in Fuzhou City on May 31. This marks the first time since the implementation of the Hanban rule in 2016 that a K-pop group with all members holding Korean citizenship has staged a commercial solo concert on Chinese mainland soil. China began enforcing the Hanban rule around 2016 as an unofficial retaliatory measure against the deployment of the THAAD high-altitude missile defense system by U.S. forces in South Korea, restricting Korean music, dramas, films, and other cultural products. While foreign-born K-pop stars have occasionally appeared on Chinese TV programs, formal solo concerts by Korean idol groups have been prohibited. EPEX’s approval to perform is seen as a signal of recent efforts to ease the Hanban restrictions. Last December, American-Korean singer-songwriter Jimin received permission to perform in China. In January of this year, the three-member Korean hip-hop group HOMEDL held a tour there, and in April, singer and actor Kim Jaejoong held a fan meeting in Chongqing. However, none of these events were formal commercial performances. As part of their “Youth Deficiency” tour that began in Seoul last December, EPEX will visit Fuzhou in May after stopping in Macau and Taipei, Taiwan. Their agency, C9 Entertainment, stated, “EPEX has become the first idol group composed entirely of Koreans to cross into the Chinese mainland, emerging as a new leader for K-pop popularity there.” The agency added that the group has been striving to connect with Chinese fans by taking photos and giving interviews for Chinese magazines since their Debut, and by holding local fan sign-ups in Shanghai and Chengdu in January of this year. Experts cautiously suggest that allowing formal solo concerts could lead to the opening of China’s concert market to top-tier K-pop stars from major agencies in the future. Currently, famous K-pop stars such as BTS’s j-hope, SEVENTEEN, ZEROBASEONE, and EXO’s Kai hold concerts in Macau rather than on Chinese mainland to reach fans in the Chinese-speaking region. An industry expert said, “There have been rumors since early this year that the Hanban rule might ease between May and June. It seems permission is being granted for small-scale concerts with fewer than 2,000 seats in regional cities rather than in Beijing. But since major singers need to hold events with over 10,000 seats, we will have to wait and see.” The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs commented on EPEX’s performance approval by saying, “We maintain an open attitude toward conducting beneficial cultural exchanges and cooperation with South Korea.”