The K-pop industry is global and not just limited to idols from Korea. Although the “K” in K-pop clearly stands for “Korean”, fans have witnessed numerous non-Korean idols making their waves on the scene. Some of the famous names include BLACKPINK’s Lisa from Thailand, Jackson Wang (Hong Kong) as well as Mina, Sana and Momo from TWICE, who hail from Japan.
Not to mention, there are also many Chinese K-pop idols making their debut in various famous groups. Most of them debuted in third-generation groups (from early 2012 all the way to 2017), including EXO, NCT, Seventeen and also Cosmic Girls. However, it appears that there has been a decline in the trend of recruiting K-pop idols from China as of late.
In this case, a few possible things could have contributed to this recent development. Among the reasons include political tensions between the Korean and Chinese governments. Back in November 2016, the latter called for several Hallyu-related content – including K-Dramas, K-Pop concerts, and fan meets – to be banned. The move was reportedly made in response to a dispute over the deployment of the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system in South Korea.
In November 2022, however, reports broke out that Chinese streaming platform Tencent has resumed distributing South Korean content after suspending it for nearly six years. The company also began streaming the 2018 movie “Hotel By The River”, helmed by Korean director Hong Sang Soo.
Additionally, it was also noted that many Chinese K-pop idols have been victims of alleged mistreatment and mismanagement by their companies. The Chinese members of EXO filed lawsuits against their label SM Entertainment to nullify their contracts back in 2014. In related news, former Wanna One member Lai Guanlin was in a prolonged legal battle with Cube Entertainment, which lasted over three years. Fans of NCT (another subunit of NCT) also feel the group has been very mismanaged by SM. They often bring up the fact that the group has yet to hold their own concert, although they’ve been around for four years in the scene.
Since then, many fans have noticed the decrease in Chinese idols debuting in K-pop groups. With the exception of Ningning from aespa, Yuqi from (G)I-DLE and Yiren from Everglow, a lot of currently trending groups like IVE, Le Sserafim, NewJeans and even NMIXX comprised of members of different nationalities, but none are Chinese. Thankfully, two Chinese trainees – Zheng Hao and Ricky Shen – are set to debut in the upcoming boy group Zerobaseone, further cementing that idols hailing from China still have a place in the K-pop industry.
Meanwhile, fans have taken to social media to share their own two cents on the matter. Some of the comments include:
- “Maybe because they’re treated very differently, and harshly.”
- “Chinese market is big. Maybe they have better opportunities there. Plus, the K-pop market is hard. They have to work in long hours. They are not allowed to date. K-pop isn’t the only place to make it in Asian music.”
- “Many Chinese idols run away after they get famous. They can get easy money when they go back to China.”
- “Well… from the way the Chinese members get treated by the companies as compared to others, who would want to stay there? 🤷🏻 It’s not even about the law, it’s literally about xenophobia. Even Japanese members receive better treatment than the Chinese members.”
What’s your take on this issue? Feel free to hit us up in the comments.
