An online poll showed a majority of the Chinese public supports a government ban on K-pop stars as relations between China and South Korea have soured over the deployment of a US missile shield system.
In an online poll on Sina Weibo, a social media platform similar to Twitter, over 86 percent of the 280,000 people polled said they would support a government ban on South Korean entertainers as of press time on Wednesday.
The poll received over 110,000 comments, with many saying "patriotism must precede entertainment" while criticizing the deployment of the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system for threatening regional security.
South Korea declared on July 8 that it had agreed to deploy the controversial US missile defense system as a countermeasure against North Korean weapons tests, drawing strong criticism from China and Russia. THAAD's long-range radar system is capable of spying on activities within neighboring countries' territory.
Meanwhile, shares of K-pop agencies have slumped in the past month as investor confidence falters over strained relations.
The price of shares in Girls' Generation creator SM Entertainment Co has fallen over 23 percent since July 8, while shares of JYP Entertainment - known for groups such as Wonder Girls and 2PM - fell over 15 percent.
Stock prices slumped further this week after news portal sina.com reported Monday that China's State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television intends to limit South Korean entertainers' activities in China, though the Global Times could not verify the news.
A representative of streaming website Tencent Video told the Global Times that the platform has not received any official notice regarding this restriction. Zhang Junhan, the general manager of film production company Beijing Heying Times, also denied having received any official notice banning South Korean actors.
Lü Chao, an expert in Korean Studies at Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times that South Korea has benefitted from cultural, tourism and economic exchanges between the two countries.
"The truth is that there has been an overflow of Korean shows and movies in China in the past few years. Now with the deployment of THAAD, some people might feel uncomfortable seeing this many South Korean entertainers performing in China, knowing that China's national security is being damaged," Lü said.
Meanwhile, China's State media have launched a publicity campaign against the THAAD system, urging South Korea to take action. The Xinhua News Agency has released six consecutive editorials criticizing the system's deployment, a rare gesture from the State-owned agency and an indication of the issue's severity.
People's Daily, the flagship newspaper of the Communist Party of China, and the People's Liberation Army Daily, China's official military newspaper, have also published multiple commentaries criticizing the deployment.
Cao Siqi contributed to this story