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Reliance on Korean purchasing agents and suppliers years of experience, says companies relying heavily on
also causes logistics problem. “Since we are not in Korea hosting K-pop shows are hit hard by the pandemic.
ourselves (to check the quantity of the goods), sometimes “For example the companies I used to work for mainly
goods that are supposed to be shipped aren’t shipped,” work on projects involving Korean artists and more than
Wong says. 80 per cent of the shows hosted are for K-pop stars. They
She adds that agents sometimes fail to buy timely mer- rarely host shows for Chinese-speaking artists, only once
chandises. “For example, Seventeen (a K-pop boy group) or twice a year,” Leung says.
has debuted for years and the agents once bought us goods Leung says these companies are surviving by helping
consisting of the group’s debut photos.” brand products companies to find K-pop stars as spokes-
Revenue of the couple’s business dropped by around 50 persons, operating e-commerce of Korean goods, or pro-
per cent in the first half of 2020. moting K-pop artists in Hong Kong depending on their
“Our shop is located in a shopping mall which was specialties.
sometimes closed, and the shopper flow was low. Also, we She adds that only a few Hong Kong organisers will buy
were not familiar with the new changes caused by the pan- exclusive rights of screening online concerts from Korean
demic at first,” she says. entertainment companies. In Hong Kong, it is also rare to
Wong thinks the people have become more used to have exclusive online video chat fan-sign events, in which
changes brought by the pandemic since the second half of usually 50 fans interact with their idols one-on-one di-
2020. They have become more willing to go out and con- rectly.
sume. “When we have online events now, organisers lose
“Our revenue now is more or less the same as it was the edge of having Chinese fans joining events hosted by
before,” she says. Hong Kong organisers. They will join the Mainland ones
instead,” she explains.
The Industry Strives to Survive Chinese fans account for a huge part of the audiences
Event organizing companies in Hong Kong that work in Hong Kong K-pop events. “The ratio of Mainland Chi-
with Korean entertainment companies are still badly af- nese audience in Hong Kong K-pop concerts can be up to
fected by the pandemic. 50 per cent or even more for some Korean artists’ shows,”
Nicole Leung Nga-wai, an event organiser with ten Leung says.

K-pop goods and delivery boxes in which goods were shipped. (Photo courtesy of Kary Wong ka-man)