All members of the Korean national group EPEX will hold a solo concert in China.
The agency C9 Entertainment announced that EPEX will hold a solo performance titled 'Youth Scarcity in Fuzhou' on May 31 in Fuzhou, China. This marks the first time a Korean national group has held a solo concert in China in nine years since the implementation of the Korean Wave restriction (限韓令) in 2016.
China has enforced an unofficial measure known as the Korean Wave restriction against Korean music, dramas, and films in response to the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system by the U.S. military in South Korea. Although China has eased the Korean Wave restriction, most groups have performed in places like Macau rather than Mainland China.
C9 Entertainment noted, "EPEX has emerged as a new leader in the K-pop Korean Wave in China, being the first idol group with all members being Korean to cross the continent." It was also mentioned that they had previously collaborated with a Chinese magazine for a photo shoot and interview, and in January, they held fan signing events in Shanghai and Qingdao.
EPEX has been continuing their 'Youth Scarcity' concert tour across Asia starting from Seoul in December last year.