Park Jin-young meets Chinese president, sparking speculation over lifting of hallyu ban

Park Jin-young, co-chair of the Presidential Committee on Popular Culture Exchange, met with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a dinner at the Korea-China summit held alongside the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, fueling speculation that China’s unofficial ban on Korean cultural content may soon be lifted. The committee, however, urged caution against placing too much meaning on the encounter. Park, the founder of K-pop powerhouse JYP Entertainment, shared a photo of his meeting with Xi on social media Sunday. “I was truly glad to meet and speak with President Xi Jinping. I hope that through popular culture, our two peoples can grow even closer," he wrote. The message was also posted in Chinese. Rep. Kim Young-bae of the Democratic Party of Korea wrote on Facebook that during the summit dinner, Xi responded positively to a suggestion from President Lee Jae Myung and Park about holding a large-scale concert in Beijing, even calling Foreign Minister Wang Yi over to give direct instructions. “It could mark a historic moment —Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times