South Korea's trade surplus in cultural contents relating to the Hallyu, or Korean Wave phenomenon, is down by 40 percent this year due to China’s retaliation over the deployment of the U.S. missile defense system THAAD in South Korea.
 
Travel revenue has also posted a double digit drop because fewer Chinese tourists have been coming to Korea. 
 
According to Bank of Korea data, the trade surplus in music, TV dramas and movies between January and September plunged 40-point-three percent year-on-year to below 244 million dollars.
 
Regular travel revenue during the first nine months also fell 22 percent to ten billion dollars apparently due to China's ban on group travels to South Korea imposed since March.
 
With the bilateral agreement to normalize relations, industry watchers anticipate the effect of Beijing’s retaliation will be alleviated.