While the China-South Korea THAAD detente affect K-ent viewers mostly with oppa not being as accessible, there is likely going to be a huge economic loss for South Korea this year alone. The South Korean GDP is around 1.5 trillion and the Chinese ban and boycott of South Korean consumables and goods has been calculated by pundits to hit the wallet at a 20 billion loss. It’s not insignificant and one of the sectors to be hit the hardest is tourism as Chinese tourists which accounted for nearly 50% of all visitors to South Korea is now halting all upcoming trips. This on top of current and recent Hallyu shows including variety and dramas being pulled from all Chinese streaming portals, and the closure of all Lotte Duty Free and Mart stores in China ostensibly for business permit violations but really for Lotte donating land to the government to install THAAD. On this boycott there is also an unprecedented Chinese citizen support for the hard line tactics so it’ll be awhile before popular oppas get to visit China for promotional events or to do a joint project. Continue reading →