Soju, Sexuality, and Kim Ah-jung: A Quick Update
(Bigger version available here)
On the way home from my local university district last week, I noticed this Chamisul/참이슬 soju advertisement of Kim Ah-jung/김아중’s being put up outside all the bars and restaurants:
(Better versions of this and similar posters available here)
For those that don’t know, Kim Ah-jung is a front-line soldier in Korea’s ‘Soju Wars,’ and a few months ago I wrote a post about what soju advertisements largely featuring innocent, virginal looking women and those for beer featuring “manly” men say about drinking culture here, and especially societal notions of “appropriate” expressions of sexuality. Those earlier posts cover those issues in a lot of detail; today’s post is mainly just about some things I’ve noticed since.
First up, I agree, “innocent and virginal” wasn’t the first thing that came to mind when I saw that poster either. But that is precisely what makes this ad so interesting, as all of her previous ads in the series had been up until now - in a way, hers had been the last bastion of male-targeted ads that had presented women like that. New readers might justifiably argue that I’m reading too much into that one ad, but then compare these (mostly) older, more traditional ones still hanging up inside those bars as it was going up:
True, not all of those are for beer or soju, and given that the decidedly non-virginal Lee Hyori/이효리 was in the third picture, working for a rival company, then the new emphasis on Kim Ah-jung’s “S-line” and the placement of her hand in response was pretty predictable.
In the meantime, the third picture from the bottom is for the medicinal wine Sansachun/산사춘, something also very much on my mind recently. Judging by past commercials, it appears to be primarily marketed towards women, but then I only started thinking about it in the first place because of this now ubiquitous poster with Jeong Ryeo-won/정려원 in it:
The TV commercials are still definitely aimed towards women, but surely it’s not just me thinking that something’s amiss in that ad? A female friend thought nothing of it, but I still can’t help but think that that particular one would appeal more to men…it certainly works on me. Is the idea that men would like women who drink it? What do readers think?
I’m also tempted to talk about Bronwyn Mullen appearing in so many idiotic beer commercials recently too (example below), but I’ve only just started watching Global Talk Show/미녀들의 수다 to study Korean with, and besides which, Matt at Gusts of Popular Feeling is better qualified then I to write about the subject of non-Koreans on television (see here and here for why). I’ll concentrate on Jeong Ryeo-won instead then, and will find and translate some “news” articles about the new Sansachul ad campaign next week.
Finally, I’d like to refocus on Kim Ah-jung, because less than half an hour after I saw those soju posters of hers, I saw these pictures of her from her school days on the internet:
No, I’m not going to laugh at her for her decidedly unglamorous high-school looks (I can hardly talk), nor lambaste her for (clearly) having had a lot of plastic surgery, which is pretty routine for average Koreans, let alone celebrities. But having watched 200 Pounds Beauty/미녀는 괴로워, like most people enjoying it despite myself, “art imitating life” can’t help but spring to mind after seeing the pictures?
By coincidence, I recently read over at Dramabeans that she’s considering starring in a sequel, which revolves about her regaining the weight. But although the soju ads may arguably have been her most successful “project” since the original movie, I personally predict that a sequel would be a disaster. After all, fat jokes weren’t the reason why so many people liked the first one…but a sequel that probably concentrates on them? Sounds like it would be a Korean version of The Nutty Professor, and about as successful.
If you’re interested in images and the media treatment of women in Korea, and if you’re still reading this despite the unflattering pictures above then you probably still are, then I recommend that you also read Dramabean’s post about real life “200 pounds beauty” Kim Mi-Ryeo/김미려. Unfortunately, real life didn’t quite imitate art in her case.
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I was fortunate enough to attend a party with (in the loosest sense of the word) Jeong Ryowon last week, she is hot although a lot smaller than I expected having seen her in 투얼굴의 여친.
Sigh…for a boring accountant, you sure do move in more elevated circles than I can ever aspire to.
I forgive you this time, but next time please make sure to a) get me an invitation too…I promise to shave and hire a tux…and b) to corner her and ask her about that particular Sansachun ad. After all, inquiring minds want to know.
Seriously though, I haven’t heard of that movie, but thought that she was okay in 내 이름은 김삼순, and would consider watching something with her it in merely for her acting skills rather than her looks (despite my reputation, I’ve only ever watched precisely one Korean movie because it had an attractive actor in it - 신부수업 and 하지원 - and soon regretted it). Would you recommend it?
On a final note, considering the times you always seem to comment on my blog, I can’t help but reflect on how appropriate your moniker is. Have a good night!
I guess my timing makes me “Seoulowl”. I really have to say that I am by no means a misuda expert. I just happened to catch the samsung card ad at the theatre (I don’t even watch TV!) and stumbled upon the other photos by accident on Naver. If anyone needs to be read regarding misuda, Joe Mondello over at the The Joshing Gnome does (but if you read him only for his misuda commentary, you’ll miss out on one of the best Korea blogs out there).
I believe his earliest post about misuda is here. More importantly, in this post he reconsiders what he wrote earlier, and also links to a few other posts he’s written about misuda. They’re well worth your time
Bulgasari, I edited your italics, hoped that’s what you meant. And not that you mention it, but sorry if you may think (I would!) that only your comments are set aside for moderation for some reason. Actually, any comment with 2 or more links automatically gets held for moderation.
(update: and now all are because of a troll…sigh…)
Thank you very much for the links, although actually I’d already read all of them, and have tried to make a start on his other stuff - there’s a lot to read! I was planning to discuss what he and other bloggers like Michael Hurt say about Misuda soon actually, but only once I had something worthwhile to add myself. But so far I’ve only watched 2 out of the 52 episodes or so of the first season, so that post will have to wait a couple of weeks yet.
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The old shot of Kim Ah Jung’s screen list her as a Junior in high school.
Korean girls during their Junior/Senior years of high school years are usually at their worst in physical traits due to extreme ’study’ environment in which they face high degree of stress to do well on the competitive college entrance exam. Some girls fall in trap of resolving their stress by eating a lot, leading to temporal weigh gains during their teen era.
Thanks Lala. And to add to those problems you mention, on top of that they have not getting enough sleep and living off snacks and instant noodles between institute classes until dinner at home at 1am too (I talk about this more in some old posts on Korean education here, here and here). Now that I think about it, it’s no wonder that Korean celebrities transform so much after high school, even without plastic surgery!