In 2016, China banned South Korean television shows, pop idols and entertainment exports after Seoul allowed US missile systems on its territory.
The move, known as the Korean Limitation Order, collapsed the market in China, costing the industry millions of dollars.
China’s growing influence on global culture has now become a key tool of diplomacy – from the global spread of Mandarin-language media to restrictions on foreign content; Beijing’s efforts to regulate what crosses its borders – and how its culture is perceived abroad – reflect a broader strategy of ‘soft power’ and show that cultural trade remains a significant tool for state authorities in international relations.
Reflecting on this, new research from Loughborough University shows how diplomatic disputes can also damage cultural production.
Dr Taeyoung Kim’s new paper, How diplomacy matters to cultural production: A case study of China’s Korean limitation order and Korean television, examines China’s 2016 ban on Korean television shows, pop idols, and entertainment exports.
Although the sanctions were never formally declared, Chinese firms cancelled co-productions, suspended Korean celebrity appearances, and halted the import of TV dramas, films and K-pop concerts.
As a result, Korean TV exports to China collapsed by 99% between 2016 and 2018, and dozens of projects were abandoned mid-production.
Dr Kim conducted in-depth interviews with 35 producers, investors, broadcasters and policymakers in the Korean television industry. Their experiences revealed the extent to which global entertainment depends on fragile diplomatic ties.
“Many producers described feeling ‘blindsided’ by how quickly a political dispute wiped out their largest overseas market,” said Dr Kim.
“Several companies went bankrupt, while others shifted toward Western partners such as Netflix and Disney+, reshaping the global flow of Korean content.
“The Korean Limitation Order shows that globalization hasn’t erased national borders in media.
“When politics and nationalism collide with culture, production networks can collapse overnight. This was not only an economic crisis for Korea but a reminder that diplomacy still decides what the world watches.”
The study highlights how China’s use of cultural trade as leverage – what scholars often call ‘soft coercion’ – exposed deep vulnerabilities in the Korean Wave (Hallyu), the global popularity of Korean pop culture.
It also prompted Korean producers to rethink their dependence on foreign markets and diversify their partnerships to reduce political risk.
Many participants in the project started questioning China as a reliable market, with one producer saying, “As long as politics decides who can buy our shows, the Chinese market might as well not exist.”
Beyond the Korean case, Dr Kim’s findings raise wider questions about cultural globalization.
Despite the rise of global streaming platforms, media flows remain tightly bound to diplomacy, nationalism, and state power.
For policymakers and the creative industries alike, the study offers a clear message: political stability and cultural openness remain essential for sustainable international collaboration and for promoting creative industries, considering the level of market integration and the fundamental role of culture as a political instrument for the state.
The paper has been published in the journal, Media, Culture & Society.
ENDS
Notes for editors
Press release reference number: 25/154
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