EPEX Holding 1st K-Pop Concert In China In A Decade Excites Markets

When EPEX takes the concert stage on May 31, the boy band won’t just be holding the China stop of their Youth Deficiency Asia Tour but marking a major potential thaw in cultural barriers and a possible business renaissance for K-pop on the mainland.

EPEX’s upcoming show at the Maaquu X CH8 Livehouse in Fuzhou will be the first full-scale concert by an all-Korean idol group in mainland China since the country imposed an unofficial K-wave ban in 2016 after South Korea accepted the deployment of the United States’ Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) in the country. Nearly a decade after diplomatic tensions cut Korean singers and actors’ opportunities to reach China’s 1.4 billion population, the concert from this rising boy band signals a brighter future for the K-pop industry.

“EPEX made continuous efforts to connect with Chinese fans in various ways since their debut,” the band’s record label and management agency C9 Entertainment said in a media statement, per Soompi. C9 is home to fellow boy band CIX, the popular singer-songwriter Younha, and veteran singer-actor Lee Seokhoon of K-pop trio SG Wannabe. Its distribution partner is currently with digital Korean conglomerate Kakao’s mass media wing, Kakao Entertainment.

“The group collaborated on photo shoots and interviews with Chinese magazines, and in January of this year, they held fan signing events in Shanghai and Qingdao, where they received an overwhelmingly positive response,” C9 Entertainment added.

The announcement gave Korean entertainment equities a boost. After the news broke, Bloomberg reported that shares of JYP Entertainment (home to top acts like TWICE, Stray Kids and NMIXX) jumped nearly four percent while SM Entertainment (with the likes of TVXQ!, Super Junior, Girls’ Generation, NCT and aespa) rose about two percent amid an overall market decline for the day. Other big players like HYBE (home to BTS, SEVENTEEN and NewJeans) ended up the day up 5.5 percent and YG Entertainment (BLACKPINK, TREASURE, BABYMONSTER) also closed the day in the green.

Investors seem to be looking beyond a single concert. The sense that reopened doors to a market of hundreds of millions of potential fans and recent pledges between Korea, China, and Japan to deepen economic ties could be an important cultural vanguard for greater future harmony and opportunity. Some experts worry how previous attempts at exporting Korean drama in China remain stalled and that regulatory clarity is minimal. However, others note how live performances are a softer entry point and carry less political weight than television. If EPEX sell out their shows and Chinese media coverage follows, other agencies may follow suit and hope to reactivate the fan clubs that once bulk-bought albums by the thousands.

EPEX’s Youth Deficiency Tour kicked off in Seoul last December with stops in cities like Tokyo, Macau, and Taipei, along with the forthcoming Fuzou date. C9 has stated that additional concerts for China may be announced as part of the tour in the coming days.

Since EPEX’s debut in 2021, the octet consisting of Wish, Keum, Mu, A-Min, Baekseung, Ayden, Yewang, and Jeff have delivered the razor-sharp choreography and soaring vocals expected of top K-pop acts while speaking to honest and real-life themes they and their peers are experiencing.

Debuting during the COVID-19 pandemic brought a deeper meaning to their debut single, “Lock Down,” while the group has not shied away from mental health topics and the in-depth questions facing youth today. From their start, EPEX has won honors like the Rookie Award – Male Group at the 2021 Hanteo Music Awards and Rookie of the Year at the 2022 Seoul Music Awards, with publications like Billboard ranking their material as some of the best K-pop of the year including Youth Chapter 2 : Youth Days from April 2024.

While Beijing has not announced a formal decree or comment, the concert’s mere existence suggests Chinese authorities are easing cultural restrictions, even if unofficially. For EPEX and their agency C9 Entertainment, it’s the payoff for grassroots efforts and universal music messages connecting directly with fans despite any barriers.

Ahead of their China shows, EPEX is gearing up for the release of “So Nice,” an upcoming collaboration with alt-pop band joan, out on May 6. Alongside EPEX, the Little Rock, Arkansas band also collaborated with J-pop star NOA and actress-singer McKenna Grace, securing the groups in the next generation of artists approaching music with a global mindset. Watch a teaser of “So Nice” below.