Following Jebewon, NCT Wish! ‘Closed China, definitely moving’
K-pop ‘big star’ NCT WISH is garnering attention by holding a large-scale press conference in Shanghai, China with the attendance of 60 major local media outlets. Photo courtesy of SM Entertainment
“It‘s definitely stirring.”
A diary from a K-pop insider looking across the sea at China. It’s a sign that China is opening the door it has firmly closed to K-culture. Looking at the current state of affairs within K-pop, which is the ‘core’ of K-culture, it seems that the lifting of the THAAD ban is ‘surfaced’ beyond a simple mood.
The recent activities of Zero Base One and NCT Wish, who are considered top tier 5th generation idols, are strong evidence. Following Zero Base One, who confirmed a large-scale event lasting about a month at Chaoyang Joy City, a complex shopping mall called the ‘pop-up mecca’ in Beijing, the capital of China, NCT Wish held a press conference in Shanghai, inviting many influential local media outlets.
The event also featured a special introduction to their second mini-album, ‘PopPop’, which will be released on the 14th, and was reminiscent of a virtual album release showcase for legacy (mainstream) media.
Although K-pop music is distributed on major local pop music platforms, considering that official promotions and promotional events have not been able to proceed smoothly due to the direct and indirect impact of the so-called THAAD ban, this NCT Wish event in Shanghai can be seen as an ‘untypical event’.
Ahead of NCT Wish, group Zero Base One garnered attention by announcing a ‘very long-term’ pop-up store in Beijing, the heart of China, on the 23rd. Specifically, they will be opening a pop-up store for their 5th mini-album ‘Blue Paradise’ from the 3rd to the 26th at Chaoyang Joy City in Beijing‘s Chaoyang District. The main theme of this event is Zero Base One’s new physical album, their 5th mini-album ‘Blue Paradise’.
XG, which is categorized as a K-pop group despite having all Japanese members, recently went on a tour of China. Reflecting the great response from local fandom, additional performances were urgently scheduled for performances in so-called ‘5-star cities’ Hangzhou, Shanghai, Beijing, and Chengdu. Photo courtesy of XGALX
XG, which is categorized as a K-pop group despite having all Japanese members, also had a local tour some time ago. Reflecting the great response from local fandoms, they even urgently scheduled additional performances for their performances in so-called ‘5-star cities’, including Hangzhou, Shanghai, Beijing, and Chengdu. It is reported that the number of local audiences they attracted through this tour, named ‘The First HOWL’, reached 40,000.
Reporter Heo Min-nyeong mignon@donga.com
This article is automatically translated using Google AI. If you notice any inaccuracies, please let us know at allkstar@donga.com.
