The Grand Narrative

Introduction/Recap 

If you’ve lived in Korea for more than a couple of years, then you’ll probably have noticed that many Korean alcohol companies - and those that sell soju in particular - have recently gone from presenting innocent and virginal women in their ads to in-your-face sexual images instead. Hell it’s hard not to notice, and you certainly didn’t see ads like the above even in 2005, let alone when I first came in 2000. And I wrote that before I realised how see-through Lee Hyori’s clothes were.

I already have strong academic interests in Korean consumerism and feminism (see here and here for my most recent work on both), and I also happen to be a normal, albeit extremely virile, heterosexual male too, and the combination has meant I’ve already written a lot on the changes, most recently here and here. In those posts, I mentioned that I was puzzled by a recent ad (below) of Jeong Ryeo-won’s for the medicinal wine sansachun/산사춘, as the ads for that drink hadn’t explicitly been “sexualized” yet, and so my plan for my next posts on the subject was to find and translate articles about the Baesangmyun Brewery Company’s decision to hire her. Was the the ad still the exception, or was it part of the new rule?

I did quickly find some on that here and here, and most importantly found a series of four on alcohol advertisements as whole here, but most were either devoid of any real information and/or repeated similar articles that I’ve already translated. I was placed in a bit of an impasse, and realised that what I’d really like to do is look at more academic analyses of the recent changes, rather than repeated announcements of which companies have hired which stars for their new advertising campaigns. But unfortunately there’d be very little in Korean on those yet, let alone in English, and my Korean isn’t quite at that level yet anyway.

A New, More Sophisticated Narrative

But the impasse made me realise that there’s actually little more to say on the subject, other than:

• Yes, of course alcohol advertisements are becoming more sexual, starting with those for soju.
• You like them? Yes, me too. We should totally hang out sometime.
• Yes, they may signal and/or prompt a new social acceptance of sexual assertiveness by Korean women, but it’s too early to tell.

Did I miss anything out? I doubt it. So, I apologise, but I don’t think there’s really anything more to add. Sure, I won’t pretend that I wouldn’t like the hits that putting more posters of girls would bring, but would they bring actual readers?

The impasse was fortuitous really, as not putting posters up for the sake of mere popularity is in line with a direction I’d already been taking the blog in anyway. In a nutshell, I’ve written some damn good things on the blog recently, some of which I’ve spent weeks on and is at least at postgrad level, and I want them to be taken seriously. Hence it’s already been a good month since the last ever bikini graced my blog.

I was partially propelled in this direction because a female blogger recently singled me out and objected to some (unspecified) pictures of mine too. Seeing as she not only links to a blog with regular links to porn, but links to and recently met the owner of one that has porn (nothing against either blog though!), then I won’t lose any sleep over her hypocritcal comment (although I wish I hadn’t replied to it so politely). But I’ll admit that still she touched a nerve.

But having said that, this post, for instance, is about way women are presented in Korean advertisements, and that they’re not wearing much in them these days is the whole point, so I’m not going to, say, link to the ads instead of posting them to somehow pretend otherwise. True, the same can’t be said of some slightly risque pictures accompanying my last (academic) post on consumerism, but it’s a blog, dammit, not a textbook. What am I supposed to break the otherwise monotonous-looking text with? Puppies?

With that outline of my new blogging ethos out of the way then, onto the main subject of today’s post. 

Translation

While I have already covered most of the contents of the above articles like I said, the fourth one of that series of four is a actually quite a good summation of things, and so I’ve decided that I will translate it.

Because the article is longer than normal, I’ve changed the format of how I usually put translations up to make it easier to read, and because it mentions so many Korean actors that I’ve never mentioned before, I’ve provided links to their biographies when their names first appear too. But because I’ve written so about the subject already, I won’t be linking to earlier posts of mine as I go along; instead, if you’re a new reader and are interested, visit this category to find those.

[미녀스타와 술(酒)④]/Star Beauties with Alcohol ④

22 January 2008 

[이데일리 SPN 박미애기자] 주류 광고로 뜬 스타를 찾기란 쉽지 않다. 당대 톱스타들이 주류CF의 히어로 또는 히로인 자리를 차지하는 경우가 대부분이기 때문이다.

[E-Daily SPN, Park Mi-ae Reporting] These days, it is difficult to find a new star becoming famous through first appearing in advertisements for alcoholic drinks. This is because so many already famous stars appear in them now.

그런 점에서 주류 광고 메인 모델로 발탁된 연예인은 당대 톱스타 또는 유망 신예로 가능성을 인정받은 차세대 스타로 볼 수 있다.

This has a snowball effect, as alcohol companies react to each other’s star-based advertising campaigns by using already established stars and/or those that are most likely to become even more famous in the future in turn.

그러나 광고는 트렌드에 민감한 까닭에 모델 역시 그때그때 다르지만 주종에 따라서 선호하는 스타일에는 다소 차이가 있다.

Advertisements are still sensitive to trends however, and while alcohol advertisements may all look the same today there are slight differences between those for different kinds of alcohol.

일반적으로 소주는 맑고 깨끗한 이미지의 여성 스타를, 맥주는 젊은이들이 즐겨 마시는 술인 만큼 성별에 관계없이 트렌디한 스타를, 전통주는 제품의 특성을 효과적으로 나타내는데 적합한 스타를 선호해왔다.

In general, soju advertisements want to give off a clear, clean and bright image using female stars, beer advertisements use trendy stars of both sexes, and advertisements for traditional alcohols like to present their alcohol’s unique effects, and prefer stars appropriate for the individual drink.

◇  이영애에서 이효리로…소주에 부는 새로운 바람 / From Lee Young-ae to Lee Hyori…A Fresh Breeze in Soju Advertisements

▲ (L-R) Lee Young-ae, Kim Tae-Hee, Kim Ah-jung

대표적인 주류인 소주의 경우 참이슬 후레쉬는 이영애 박주미 김태희 성유리 남상미 등이 모델로 발탁됐으며 처음처럼은 이영아 구혜선 등이 모델 계보를 이었다. 소주의 깨끗하고 투명한 이미지와 어울리는 모델들을 기용해온 셈이다.

In the case of soju, Jinro has previously has previously hired stars such as Lee Young-ae, Park Joo-mee, Kim Tae-hee, Nam Sang-mi and so forth to advertise its well known brand “Chamisul Fresh“, while Doosan has hired stars such as Lee Young-a and Ku Hye-Sun to advertise its brand ”Like the First Time“. Stars that go well with soju’s clean and transparent or clear image have tended to be hired. 

그러다가 참이슬 후레쉬는 영화 ‘미녀는 괴로워’로 스크린 스타 반열에 올라선 김아중을, 처음처럼은 트렌드 아이콘 이효리를 모델로 발탁해 주류광고에 새 기운을 불어넣었다. 단아하고 정적인 이미지에서 벗어나 밝고 동적인 이미지로 변화를 준 것이다. 이러한 이미지 변신이 젊은 소비자들의 눈길을 끌며 제품에 긍정적인 반응을 불러일으키고 있다.

However, Jinro has recently hired rapidly rising “200 Pounds Beauty” star Kim Ah-jung to represent Chamisul Fresh and inspire a fresh, new image for it, and Doosan has hired has hired trend icon Lee Hyori to do for same for Like The First Time. In the past, these brands presented an elegant, warm image, but this has been changed in favor of a bright and active one. Young consumers have reacted positively to the new ads and confirm that they draw their attention to the products. 

◇  박지성 보아…성별 관계없이 당대 톱스타 / Park Ji-sung, Boa…The Present Generation of Male and Female Stars for Beer

맥주는 소비층이 비교적 젊은 편이다. 그래서 광고 또한 타깃 소비층이 선호하는 스타나 트렌디한 스타를 모델로 두는 경우가 많다. 맥스 모델은 장동건이며 하이트 맥주 역대 모델들은 원빈 전도연 이병헌 고소영 박지성까지 성별에 관계없이 당대 톱스타들이 활동해왔다. 특히 박지성은 2002년 월드컵 4강 신화로 축구 열풍이 불면서 이러한 분위기를 광고에도 반영, 모델로 기용하게 된 경우다.

Compared to those that drink soju, beer consumers tend to be young, and so there are many cases of beer ads using trendy stars to target these consumers. In addition to the current model for Max Beer Jang Dong-gun, Hite has also used male and female stars such as Won-bin, Jeon Do-yeon, Lee Byung-hyun, Go-so Young, and Park Ji-sung. For instance, when Korea reached the semi-finals of the Football World Cup in 2002, Korean National Team player Park ji-sung was hired to reflect Korea’s new football craze.

이후 톱스타 기용에서 소극적이었던 하이트 맥주는 최근 ‘아시아의 별’ 보아를 모델로 발탁함으로써 다시 톱스타에게 눈길을 돌렸다. 이번 하이트 맥주 광고는 솔직하고 시원한 맥주라는 컨셉 아래 보아의 취중진담 형식으로 풀어나가고 있다. 맥주를 마시면서 속내를 털어놓는 톱스타의 솔직담백한 모습이 친근함을 불러일으키며 눈길을 끌고 있다.

From that point on, Hite Beer, which used to be so passive in its hiring of stars for its marketing campaigns, now actively seeks “Asia’s Stars,” recently hiring the singer Boa to turn people’s heads. Her ads are the start of a new concept for Hite whereby the stars appear slightly tipsy and present a fresh, honest image of themselves while drinking the beer, and Hite hopes to draw consumers with this friendly, more human side of the stars.

◇  이미연 송강호…신뢰할 수 있는 스타 통해 제품 부각 / Lee Mi-yeon, Song Kang-ho…Boosting Advertisements’ Effectiveness by Using Trustworthy, Friendly Stars

▲ (L-R) Lee Mi-yeon, Kim Jung-eun, Jeong Ryeo-won

대표적인 전통주 브랜드 ‘산사춘’과 ‘백세주’는 제품의 특성 및 신뢰를 높이는데 적합한 모델들을 기용해왔다. 산사춘이 1대 모델로 이미연을 쓴 것도 그러한 이유에서다. 이전까지 주류 광고의 대부분은 남성 위주로 만들어져온 것이 사실이다. 산사춘은 당당한 이미지의 이미연을 모델로 발탁한 덕분에, 여성들의 술이라는 컨셉을 부각시킬 수 있었다. 이후 신은경 이효리 김정은 한가인 등이 산사춘 모델로 활약했으며 현재 20, 30대 여성들이 가장 닮고 싶어 하는 여성 스타 정려원을 9대 모델로 발탁해 좋은 반응을 얻고 있다.

Meanwhile, in recent years representative traditional Korean alcohol brands Sansachun and Baekseju have emphasized using stars that consumers consider particularly trustworthy, warm and friendly, starting with Lee Mee-yeon. Until then they had actually mostly used male stars, but after using such an elegant and commanding model, women started drinking Sansachun in much greater numbers. After Lee Mi-yeon, other stars and models hired have included Shin Eun-kyung, Lee Hyori, Kim Jung-eun, Han Ga-in, and the latest, Jeong Ryeo-won, is the ninth. Ryeo-won has in particular received a favourable response, and many women in their 20s and 30s report that they want to be like her.

(I realise that it may be difficult to believe that Lee Hyori was ever considered a trustworthy, homely, warm and friendly girl, but actually she only started her hypersexual image in the last few years or so. For more on that old, not unattractive image of hers, see here)

또 하나의 전통주 브랜드 백세주는 송강호 김상경 지진희 송일국 조승우 등이 모델로 활약했다. 백세주가 기용해온 모델들의 면면을 살펴보면 트렌디한 스타보다는 안정감 있는 연기로 신뢰를 쌓은 배우들이 주로 활동해온 것을 알 수 있다.

However, the Baekseju brand has continued to use only men, including Song Kang-ho, Kim Sang-kyung, Song Il-gook, and Cho Seung-woo. Rather than using trendy stars, through them Baekseju wants to give off a strong, stable, and reliable image. 

(Which I’m not entirely sure the company managed to do with that ad!)

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