By Jae-Ha Kim
KOCOWA
December 1, 2021

Who among us hasn’t enjoyed watching a K-drama, only to groan when the characters eat a Subway sandwich… or vacuum with a Dyson… or pop in a Kopiko candy for energy… or drink a cup of instant Maxim coffee as if it’s the best thing ever? Then there are the de rigueur scenes of the leading ladies sitting at their makeup tables, gently applying lotion/foundation/lipstick — with the brand names clearly visible to viewers — to their already beautiful faces.

Hello and welcome to the world of product placements (PPL), which can be annoying (but also comical) for viewers. But there’s a reason why there’re prevalent. Commercial breaks aren’t a big thing in South Korea. It doesn’t sound like a huge deal, right? But commercials are big moneymakers and without them, producers need to find other ways to fund their programming.

“Squid Game” and “Hellbound” are the only recent Korean shows where I didn’t notice any product placements. Then again, they had the backing of Netflix. But even in “Dr. Brain” —which was the first original K-drama produced by Apple TV+ — there was product placement: Apple computers, of course.

PPLs are so commonplace that the concept was even included in the plot of “Because This is My First Life.” Hoping to become a K-drama writer one day, the female lead character has to endure her job as a product placement coordinator to get her foot in the door.

SUBWAY: K-DRAMA’S FAVE “CO-STAR.”

With the worldwide popularity of K-dramas, many companies were happy to jump on the product placement bandwagon. But none have done so with as much gusto as Subway, which may be the most ubiquitous product to appear in all of K-dramaland.

Subway appears in so many Korean productions that it may as well get a co-starring role.  “Good Doctor,” “Goblin,” “Doctors,” “Homemade Love Story,” and “Descendants of the Sun” are just some of the Korean dramas where the submarine sandwich chain is featured prominently as a breakfast joint, place to meet for a date, and just an all-around cool destination. In “Record of Youth,” the writers went a step further and had the male lead (played by Park Bo Gum of “Love in the Moonlight”) actually work at a Subway restaurant.

WANT CREAM & SUGAR WITH YOUR COFFEE? BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT YOU’RE GETTING!

Yeah, sorry, KOCOWA doesn’t carry “Vincenzo,” but it was one of my favorite shows of 2021. And there are a few scenes that perfectly illustrate the absurdity of some PPLs. Vincenzo was raised in Italy and is such a snob about food that he refuses to eat the inauthentic Italian food served to him by a Korean chef. But … we’re supposed to believe that this espresso-drinking consigliere actually likes Maxim instant coffee sticks? Noooooooooo. Although, I suppose we can also think of it this way. His adaptation to instant coffee shows that even though he was raised in Italy, he’s still got Korean taste. Because in reality, even though South Korea has awesome coffee shops everywhere, Koreans still enjoy their Maxim.

And because I teased you with a Song Joong Ki series you can’t watch on KOCOWA, let me share some of his programs that you may watch on this platform: “The Innocent Man,” “Descendants of the Sun,” “Triple,” “Will It Snow for Christmas?” and the classic early episodes of “Running Man.”

NOT YOUR PARENTS’ GINSENG.

I will admit that for the longest time, I thought K-drama characters were sucking on instant coffee sticks for extra energy. Like when I saw Kang Ha Neul in  “The Heirs” and Song Joong Ki in “Descendants of the Sun” sucking on these things, I thought, “OK, that’s a little weird, but maybe I should try it.”

Nope, the product placement in series like these was something a bit lesser known: KCG CheongKwanJang ginseng sticks. Ginseng is beneficial for your health. When I was a child, my grandfather brewed ginseng roots and forced me to drink it. I still shudder at the memory. These sticks are much easier to drink than an 8-oz cup of brewed ginseng. To me, they don’t taste great. But these actors really sell it with their acting, don’t they? This product was also placed in the K-dramas “Pretty Noona Who Buys Me Food” and “Uncontrollably Fond.”

What’s your opinion of product placements popping up in K-dramas? Do they annoy you? Or is it just all part of the K-drama fun? Speak up and let me know in the comments below, OK?!