The Increasing Sexualization of Alcohol Advertising in Korea
(”Lick Me Baby” by Renato Piereck)
Back on Wednesday I briefly discussed an advertisement for the Korean drink sansachul that confused me, for the drink had always been marketed towards women, but that particular ad was clearly aimed more at men. I wondered if it was just me that saw the ad that way, or if it was part of a new marketing strategy by the Baesangmyeon Brewery Company that made it, and promised to find press releases and translate them next week to find out. I’ve decided to begin now instead though, partially to practice Korean, and partially to displace the previous post about problems with a troll (still important, but it’s not good for first impressions to have it at the head of the blog).
I’ve also found much much more than I thought, and I’ve realised that the subject combines well with many books and journal articles on consumerism and women’s issues in Korea that I’ve read and had sitting around in my apartment for years, but never really had a chance to blog about. So then, practicing Korean vocab, a combination of light translations and serious academic posts (but easily less than 1500 2000 3000 words), the word “sex” easily insertible into most post titles…what more could a geekish, hit-seeking blogger want? Hence I’ve decided to run with the topic for a while, probably at least until my Korean test in 5 weeks. I’m looking forward to writing about it, but in passing I must apologise, for doing so marks the end to any pretence that I will eventually cover the subjects promised earlier in the year. Apologies to those readers interested in them, but in hindsight some subjects are simply not bloggable, either because of the dry subject matter or the length of the posts required.
Having said all that, tonight’s translation is rather short and easy, primarily to get the ball rolling. Apologies if some readers don’t like the format, but I’ve returned to including translations directly under each line or paragraph again. There will be the odd mistake, and I think that presenting them this way makes it much easier for myself and others to spot them and correct them. And please do let me know if you find anything or have any questions about the translations; even in the rare case that I’ve made a perfect translation in a technical sense, choices of the equivalent English words can still be very subjective.
정려원, 이효리 김아중과 ‘전쟁‘…‘산사춘‘ 9대 모델
War with Jeong Ryeo-won, Lee Hyori and Kim Ah-jung…Sansachun Announces it’s Ninth Model
(12th December 2007)
배우 정려원이 (주)배상면주가의 대표 브랜드 ‘산사춘’의 9대 모델로 발탁되었다.
A Baesangmyeon Brewery Company spokesperson has announced that the company has selected actor Jeong Ryeo-won to be the ninth model to lead an advertising campaign for its drink sansachul.
배상면주가 측은 “정려원이 이미연, 신은경, 이효리, 김정은, 한고은, 한가인, 황보라, 윤진서 등에 이어 산사춘 광고 모델로 뽑혔다”고 밝혔다.
According to the spokesperson, previous models used in advertising campaigns have included, amongst others, Lee Me-yeon, Shin Un-gyeong, Lee Hyori, Han Go-un, Hwang Bo-ra and Yun Jin-seo. (James: you can see all of them here).
배상면주가 브랜드를 거친 모델 중에 이효리와 김아중(자청비)이 현재 소주 시장을 양분하는 ‘처음처럼’과 ‘참이슬’의 모델로 활동하고 있어 연말 미녀들의 주류 전쟁이 이어질 것으로 보인다.
Lee Hyori and Kim Ah-jung, previous models that have represented the Baesangmyeon brand (Kim Ah-jung was in ads for the drink jachungbi- see below), currently represent rival soju drinks ‘Like the first time’ and ‘Chamisul’ respectively, and have split the soju market (James: read more about that here)
정려원은 지난달 26일 포스터 촬영을 했고 12월 7일 TV 광고 촬영을 마쳤다.
New posters of advertisments featuring Jeong Ryeo-won started apprearing on the 26th of November, and the shooting of TV commericals finished on the 7th of December (James: here’s one of the commercials below).
이번 포스터 및 TV 광고 촬영에서 자연스러운 표정 연기와 부드러운 몸짓을 통해 밝고 명랑하고 스타일리쉬한 매력을 발산하며 주체적 여성의 모습인 산사춘의 캐릭터를 잘 표현해냈다는 평가를 받았다.
In the shooting of these posters and TV commercials, the company wants Jeong Ryeo-won to present a bright, cheerful and stylish image through natural expressions, soft gestures, and especially to express sansachun’s basic feminine character and appeal.
And so there you have it, straight from the horse’s mouth. But if you think I was over-analysing Jeong Ryeo-won’s advertisement I include in that earlier post, then let me present you with this one of Kim Ah-jung’s for jachungbi below, also supposedly marketed towards women:
You don’t need to have bought a body language book by Allan Pease (although it’ll easily be the best use of $15 you’ll ever make) to know that she’s standing in the female equivalent of the sexually-aggressive “Cowboy Stance.” The question is why? Is the drink, in fact, aimed more at men? Or is the idea that women would want to emulate the attractive, sexually-aggressive woman in the ad? I suspect (and wholeheartedly applaud) the latter, but my point made in earlier posts is that the latter is relatively new in alcohol advertisements here, although it has been around for many different products on TV for years, most notably in ads featuring Jeon Ji-hyun/전지현 (see here for examples). Does that trend now being replicated in print media mean that it’s becoming (relatively) socially acceptable for women to publicly (very many always did privately) assert themselves romantically and/or sexually in Korea? Or is it all just “porn-chic” transplanted from the West, where skin, simulated sex in music videos, and just general sluttiness is almost de rigeur for female celebrities now? If so, not even I would argue that it’s “empowering” somehow.
(Update: If anyone’s interested in the beginnings of the porn-chic phenomenon, the 1999 New York Times article “The Mainstream Flirts With Pornography Chic” is a good place to start)
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Nice article here mate !!
Those women are a ……..i dont know how to describe it !
I am loss at words here .speachless should i say .
Thanks. I should really start analysing advertisements with men in them too though, to help maintain the absurd pretence that I don’t just put up the pictures of women to look at them myself!
Hi James, I disagree with your interpretation of the Kim Ah-jung picture as sexually aggressive. I agree that the “cowboy” thumbs in the belt loops make the picture sexual, but other elements of the stance make it sexual AND DEMURE, not aggressive. Usually, in the cowboy stance, the shoulders are relaxed and legs are slightly apart, with weight more on one foot than the other (see for example the picture of the woman on page 240 of the Pease book). However, Kim Ah-jung’s shoulders are raised, as if she is shrugging slightly in a demure way. Her elbows are straight and held close to her body to take up as little space as possible, which is not typical of the relaxed cowboy stance. Her legs are also tightly closed to take up as little space as possible, and they don’t look like they are about to take her toward what she wants. Her head is tilted down so she can look up demurely at the viewer. The combination of raised shoulders and lowered head is similar to the “Head Duck” in the Pease book (p. 235), which shows submissiveness. Also the wind effect makes it look as though whatever she is looking at (presumably a male viewer) is powerful enough to nearly blow her away while she marvels at him and waits for his approach. She doesn’t look like she intends to act, but rather like she hopes to be acted upon–sexual but still submissive.
Hi..er…huncamunca, and thanks. Now that I actually need it my copy of the book I can’t for the life of me find it in my bookcases, but your points are well taken, and I’d have to say that you’re completely right about the advertisement. I did misinterpret it.
Still, in my defence, the “waiting to be acted upon” aspect of the advertisement is still quite a depature from traditional soju ads (some of which you can see here), and that’s what I was (over)reacting to.