China has disallowed a South Korean content agency to set up facilities to promote Korean-made titles during an upcoming annual international animation festival, the agency said Thursday, the latest in a spate of retaliations against the deployment of a US missile defense shield in Korea.

This shows that the Chinese government's ban on Korean culture has been expanded to affect animations from previously popular TV dramas and variety shows.
 

The Korea Creative Content Agency, which oversees state support for the local content industry, said it was informed by organizers of the China International Cartoon and Animation Festival on Wednesday that it cannot establish a Korean pavilion at the festival set to open in Hangzhou in late April.

The festival authority cited violation of the country's fire safety laws as the reason, the same one mentioned when Beijing suspended operation of a massive number of South Korea-based Lotte Mart stores in China earlier this month.

The KOCCA planned to promote titles from 27 Korean animation companies in the Korean pavilion during the festival that runs from April 26 to May 1. The agency also planned to set up business booths for the companies in an effort to help increase exports of homegrown animations.

Many industry insiders forecast that the festival would probably deny the Korean firms' application for participation in the future.

"We're greatly embarrassed by the Chinese notification," a KOCCA official said. "They cite a breach of fire safety laws, but this is practically nothing but the behavior of throwing a tantrum," added the official. (Yonhap)