Things may be thawing between South Korea and Mainland China, or at least both sides are attempting to warm things up. South Korean President Moon Jae In visited Beijing last week along with Hallyu top actress Song Hye Kyo and three members of the boy idol group EXO for the opening ceremony of the Korea-China Economic and Trade Partnership Forum. His attendance was clearly the first step forward to repairing the frazzled relations between the two countries from last year stemming from the South Korean decision to deploy THAAD to as a defense of sorts from North Korea. The three members of EXO in attendance were Chen, Baekhyun, and Xiumin, all popular in China and of course Song Hye Kyo has been one of the most well-known South Korean artists in China for over a decade having done Chinese movies and also her last drama Descendants of the Sun was such a hit there the government actually tried to tamper the viewer mania. I’m all about diplomacy over blowhard international relations tactics so this is a positive move for both sides.
I guess Song Hye Kyo and Exo must know how important they are to world peace. China is the reason why North-Korea has been surviving this long. And China is the key in bringing down the Kim dictatorship. So it’s crucial for China and South-Korea to have mutual understanding of what’s in the best interest for both of them. China doesn’t tend to do friends when it comes to world politics but it sure wants to keep things under control
Gosh, you make China sound so powerful but if they were NK would listen to them. China only has money to flex its muscles. It isn’t that powerful at all.
95% of NK’s foreign trade and hard currency comes from China and the rest from former Soviet countries. China returns NK refugees back to NK and closes its eyes from human trafficking. If China decided to help the refugees and close all the market and black market, the regime would fall down as fast as I can write that LJS is overrated.
China won’t cede as it uses NK as leverage in the Asia Pacific region. It sees its role largely as a new geopolitcal pole of power alongside Russia who want to be players on a international scale. China has been quietly building up its defence forces by illegally constructing bases on atolls in the region as well as increaseing their defence budget. NK know it’s reliant on China but at the same token it fights to remain completely isolated as that it is how it holds tenuous power of its population. SK is doing all it can to try to walk that fine line and using their entertainment stars as part of that strategy as it’s perceived to be non-threatening and possibly create lines of dialogue after THAAD.
@gonggirl, yes, China’s defence budget has been increasing yearly but what is China’s defence budget vs America’s defence budget? Also, the political world is not what we see it as. Russia is a clever country that does things without people knowing.
Lol as soon as you can write LJS is overrated, super funny :):):)
lmao, what a clueless naive soul you are LJS Top anti fan lol. As long as South Korea is a puppet of the West, China will never flex it’s muscles on it. You’re wrong to assume China is the reason for NK survival when NK purpose in this World is pushed by China herself. you are nuts into thinking NK is operating on itself, China is pulling them on the strings. If you’re a South Korean, you’re in a dangerous waters staying in the middle of clashing tides, good luck!
Beautiful Representative for the Korean people.
Its all about exporting drama and pop music…Sorry to say it wont fix the worlds problems PA.
It’s called optimism. Ever heard of that? Sports and arts connects people btw. You should definitely watch the interviews om North-Korean defector Thae Yong Ho.
*of
Hmm well, Korea takes its soft power extremely seriously so it’s not that surprising. SHK looks pretty uncomfortable and I would be too even if I was paid handsomely to appear (not sure if that was the case, just speculating).
xiumin is not even top 5 in terms of exo popularity in china
i dont think it matters that he isnt, they represent the whole grp. and they did sent a sub unit.
I hope with this and the continuing efforts of both countries to bolster their relationship a mutual understanding will be held to the benefits of both countries.Korea entertainment industry really needs China money.
She looks so cute when hitting that stuff
I always thought Jun Ji Hyun was more popular in China but seeing that they have Song Hye Kyo as a representative her soft power must be really something. She looks fabulous.
she is in hiatus due to give birth nxt month.and 1 reason they gave for shk’s presence, dots.
Actually Song Hye Kyo has been on hiatus since end of 2015 when DOTS finished filming while LOTBS only ended early this year. DOTS was a huge hit in China and world over compared to both LOTBS and MLFAS which is also surprising. Never realized how popular Song Hye Kyo is overall.
SHK is way more popular in China compare to Jun Ji Hyun..she is well loved not only by the commoners but celebrities as well.
Completely agree with you. She is huge in China.
Foreign Policy through soft power. THAAD boycott must be biting hard. China is a superpower on the world stage and getting more and more powerful in light of the regression of the US on the world stage. Sth Korea needs to be in that mix to try and ease tensions particularly as they would be in the eye of the storm. Entertainment and pop are two of its biggest exports and it doesn’t create waves to show up with some perceived popular stars in the Chinese market. The Sth Korean govt is being cluey to bring in stars that have no scandals in the Chinese market and are relatively likable. Diplomacy at work. I am no fan of either the pop stars or the actress but they are doing their bit considering how tense things are.
An interesting view of the Chinese people living so close to the border.
An inconvenience Border: where China meets North Korean
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wRLQ8MVi0Q&feature=share