EPEX Breaks 9-Year Korean Wave Freeze in China with Solo Concert, Weibo Views Soar

EPEX Breaks 9-Year Korean Wave Freeze in China with Solo Concert, Weibo Views Soar

The K-pop group EPEX is generating massive buzz after announcing their solo concert in China, marking a significant moment as the first K-pop idol group in nine years to hold a standalone concert in the country following the “Korean Wave” restrictions (often referred to as the “Korean Wave freeze”).

EPEX (Wish, Keum Dong-hyun, Mu, A-min, Baek Seung, Aiden, Ye Wang, Jeff) will be performing their concert 'Cheongchun Gyolpip in Fuzhou' on May 31st in Fuzhou, China, with all members being of Korean nationality. Immediately following the announcement, interest in EPEX and the concert surged on Weibo, China’s leading social media platform.

The hashtag #EPEX福州演唱会 (EPEX Fuzhou Concert) garnered over 15.18 million views within just one day. The hashtag also surpassed 30,000 interactions, including reposts, and over 9,000 posts related to the concert were uploaded by Chinese netizens, demonstrating the overwhelming enthusiasm.

EPEX climbed to as high as 7th place in the real-time search rankings within Weibo’s entertainment category, reaching approximately 180,000 users who viewed the concert news.

Comments on Weibo overwhelmingly expressed positive reactions to EPEX’s upcoming Fuzhou concert, with users also expressing anticipation for the return of Korean idol group activities in China. Interest in both EPEX and the city of Fuzhou has noticeably increased.

EPEX has consistently engaged with Chinese fans through magazine photoshoots and interviews. In January of this year, they held fan signing events in Shanghai and Qingdao, directly meeting with their fans. This Fuzhou concert is expected to solidify EPEX’s position as a leading representative of the Korean Wave in China.

EPEX’s concert will be held on May 31st at 7:30 PM (CST) at the MAAQUU X CH8 livehouse. The group is also discussing the possibility of holding standalone concerts in other cities across China.

Meanwhile, EPEX successfully completed their ‘Cheongchun Gyolpip’ solo concert tour across Asia, starting in Seoul last December. They will continue the tour with performances in Macau on May 3rd, Taipei on May 24th, and Fuzhou on May 31st. The concerts feature new songs from their two full-length albums in the “Youth Deficiency” trilogy, along with EPEX’s dynamic performances, which have garnered enthusiastic responses from fans.

Furthermore, EPEX will release a collaboration single, “so nice,” with American retro synth-pop duo joan on May 6th at 6 PM (KST), continuing their global expansion.

Written by Mun Wan Sik

Translated by Lee So Yun