Crackdown on Korean TV

[Anchor Lead]

In the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Region in China's Jilin Province, authorities have launched a crackdown to prohibit residents from watching South Korean TV programs. It appears that China has now begun sanctioning people for watching South Korean shows.

[Pkg]

The Yanbian Korean Autonomous Region, which has the largest consumer market within China of Hallyu contents, is home to 800-thousand ethnic Koreans. More than one million people in the region watch South Korean TV. Each house has a satellite antenna to watch Korean TV shows, but lately Chinese authorities have begun cracking down on their installation.

[Soundbite] (Yanji Resident (Voice modified)) : "Ethnic Koreans who live here watch South Korean TV programs via satellite dishes and the Internet. Every house has a satellite dish. Authorities are bring ladder trucks to remove the satellite dishes."

Authorities are removing the satellite dishes while also regulating electronics stores' sales of satellite and Internet equipment.

[Soundbite] Choi Hong-nyeo (Yanbian Resident) : "We will protect the Yanbian region's political, cultural, social and intelligence safety."

The local Yanbian TV confirmed that the broadcasting of shows by South Korean terrestrial broadcasters, including KBS, were suspended from a while ago. Ethnic Koreans in China are concerned that the latest crackdown could expand throughout all of China.