Singer and co-chairperson of The Presidential Committee on Popular Culture Exchange Park Jin-Young revealed that Park met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and said, "I hope we can have more conversations so that the peoples of the two countries can become even closer through popular culture."
On the 2nd, Park said on Park's social networking service (SNS), "I was truly pleased to meet President Xi and have a conversation. I sincerely thank you for listening and for your kind words," and stated accordingly.
On the 1st, Park Jin-Young is said to have attended the official banquet for the Korea-China summit as chairperson of The Presidential Committee on Popular Culture Exchange and had a brief chat with President Xi. In a photo Park posted on SNS, Park is standing side by side with President Lee Jae-myung and President Xi, talking together.
On the same day, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Kim Young-bae said on SNS, "There was an unexpected scene at the banquet hall," and "In response to (Park Jin-Young's) suggestion to hold a large-scale performance in Beijing, President Xi reacted positively and gave direct instructions to Foreign Minister Wang Yi." Kim added, "Might this be the moment when the door opens to a full-fledged advance of 'K-culture,' beyond lifting the ban on Korean content?"
Regarding this, The Presidential Committee on Popular Culture Exchange said, "The conversation between President Xi and Chairperson Park was a simple exchange of pleasantries at the level of greetings during a diplomatic event," and explained, "We judge that excessive interpretation would be cautious and hasty." The committee added, "As the atmosphere of friendly cooperation between the two countries has been further elevated through this Korea-China summit, we expect more active cultural exchanges to take place going forward."
However, it also said, "As the atmosphere of friendly cooperation between the two countries has been further elevated through this Korea-China summit, more active cultural exchanges are expected to take place in the future."
Since the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system by U.S. Forces Korea in 2016, China has blocked the airing in China of content produced by Korean corporations and advertisements featuring Korean entertainers. Offline events such as fan meetings, fan signings, and pop-up events—where entertainers sing little—have been held, but concerts mobilizing more than 10,000 people have not been held.