The entertainment sector is also expected to join in following what many claimed was a Chinese government ban on South Korean entertainment and stars. Even though there are no current signs of recovery for once-popular Korean dramas on China's video streaming sites, which were ditched en masse by Chinese viewers, Korean entertainers are gradually returning to China's local television. Korean all-female group Mamamoo took part in Sichuan TV's music program on November 1, according to media reports.
This series of changes is welcomed by the public. One Chinese citizen who often purchases Korean products told the Global Times that she is glad to hear the news. She looks forward to Chinese travel agencies re-starting their package trips soon so that she can go shopping and sightseeing in South Korea. "I think it's great when both sides can make money; it's a win-win situation," she said.
Utterly devoid of customers
Li Kaisheng, a research fellow at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times the relationship recovery is something to be praised. He hopes to see tourism, economic and cultural exchanges pick up the pace and normalize to the way things were before THAAD.
"A long-term stalemate is not in the interest of developing bilateral relations and harms the stability of the entire region. It certainly does not help with the urgent denuclearization issue," he said.
After Korea decided to deploy THAAD last year, many businesses and individuals on both sides were affected in the aftermath. The most obvious effects were seen in the tourism sector. Travel agencies and tourism sites stopped providing trip packages to South Korea, and some airlines reduced routes. One guide told the Global Times she used to lead four trips per month to Korea, but after THAAD she was lucky to make one trip.
Statistics from the China National Tourism Administration showed on its website that due to the THAAD issue, the number of Chinese visitors to South Korea was only 7.76 million from January to July this year, down 20.9 percent year-on-year.
When this Global Times reporter visited Jeju Island in May, few Chinese tourists were seen. The streets were literally empty, and shops with Chinese-language signs, including the island's largest duty-free shops, were utterly devoid of customers.
The situation also affected individuals. A post written by a Chinese citizen on question-and-answer site Zhihu (China's version of Quora) in October 2016 asked whether it was the right choice for him to transfer to a Korean company due to the tension caused by THAAD. Most of the post's commentators suggested holding off on switching jobs due to the bad timing.
Lotte also had a rough few months following THAAD. Ever since news broke out that the company had offered its land for THAAD deployment, its shops in China faced boycotts and protests from local consumers. In September, the company reportedly considered selling off its supermarket operations in China due to bleak business prospects.
Mutual respect and interests
Many Chinese and Korean consumers look forward to the recovery of relations, but just as many are expressing their discontent, saying South Korea was let off the hook too easily. One irate netizen wrote, "I don't care how the government deals with this, but THAAD is still threatening my country. Under this circumstance, I still will boycott Korean products."
Li said it is normal for the Chinese public to feel this way, as they might think that their boycotts and protests failed to achieve any satisfactory results. "But in diplomatic relations, both sides need to respect each other and carry out affairs in a way both sides can accept. So the current situation is normal and should be understood," he said.
South Korea and China said that they will communicate about THAAD through military channels in the future and handle related issues.
Li thinks there are a few important issues that still must be addressed if Sino-Korean relations have any hope for a steady recovery. The Korean side, for instance, needs to respect Chinese interests; both sides need to cultivate more mutual benefits, such as trade, in order to strengthen the relationships; and, of course, push for denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.
