BTS hit Dynamite on the radio in Beijing brings hope of further thaw in China-South Korea relations after 2016 missile row

A long time coming, Metro Radio’s first playing of Dynamite, the new single from K-pop supergroup BTS, is taken as a sign of Sino-Korean cultural thaw
An academic based in China notes that popular interest there in Korean pop music and dramas has never dimmed despite the countries’ frosty relations

K-pop, Mandopop and other Asian pop

Tamar Hermanin United States

Published: 5:45am, 23 Dec, 2020

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Four years after South Korea and China had a falling out over the former’s stationing of United States missiles ostensibly directed at deterring a North Korean attack, which led to a ban on Korean entertainment, K-pop supergroup BTS’ newest hit song, Dynamite, was played on Beijing radio for the first time this week.

According to South Korean news reports, Metro Radio played the English-language song on December 21. It’s the first time since the ban that a BTS track has been played by the station, which broadcasts international music.

This is latest example of South Korean entertainment making roads in China since the THAAD missile controversy in 2016. Political and cultural developments in recent months point to a normalising of cultural exports, even if Chinese and Korean internet users have butted heads over cultural matters.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited South Korea last month, and expressed a need for stronger ties between the two countries.

A US forces Korea truck carrying parts required to set up a Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) missile defence system in Pyeongtaek, South Korea. Photo: United States Forces Korea via Getty Images

Areum Jeong, assistant professor at the Sichuan University-Pittsburgh Institute, says the popularity of Hallyu, or Korean wave, cultural content in Chengdu, the city in southwest China where she is based, has continued undimmed despite the frosty relations between the Chinese and South Korean governments.

Stores regularly run advertisements featuring K-pop stars, she says, and many Chinese students keep up with Korean dramas and variety shows.

BTS performing Dynamite. Photo: YouTube/Big Hit Labels

“Dynamite playing on the radio does make it seem somewhat hopeful, but whether it can be viewed as an optimistic sign … it is probably too soon to tell,” Jeong tells the Post.

She sees the playing of Dynamite, the partly Chinese state-owned tech company iFlyTek expressing interest in working with South Korean music management agency SM Entertainment’s founder Lee Soo-man, and the Korean game Summoners Wars recently being licensed in China, as positive signs. Still, Jeong expresses caution.

“Of course if the ban is lessened, it could become a boon for Korean entertainment and tourism,” she says. “At the same time, the ban fours years ago could also be seen as a turning point for Korean content [creators] to [become] more versatile in exporting [their] culture globally, and not becoming dependent on or heavily influenced by a few nations.”

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