Users question use of teen idols in alcohol advertising in South Korea

One of the hottest topics on the internet in South Korea right now is the use of teen idols, which has as underage fans, mainly male and female k-pop singers, in advertisements for drinks alcoholic.

Jennie, a member of the group BlackPink, and Irene, a member of the group Red Velvet, both with a large teenage fan base. Photo: Playback.

The questions took shape after the release of a convention where several academics discussed the risks that alcohol consumption can bring to health, in particular the emergence of cancer.

One such academic was Professor Lee Hae Guk, who warned that South Korea is the country with the highest number of cases of alcohol-related diseases among member countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

“Korea ranks first with the highest number of people suffering from alcohol-related illnesses among OECD countries,” he began. “And it's the only nation where idols promote alcohol through commercials,” he concluded.

Still in his speech, the expert criticized South Korea's stance in relation to other countries. According to him, while other nations limit alcohol advertising, his country does not invest in this control.

“While other nations such as the US and France ban the sale and consumption of alcohol, as well as celebrity endorsements of alcohol, depending on the platform, locations and time of day, our country has not been able to increase investments in the regulation of alcoholism, based on the numbers collected in 2018″, he alarmed.”

Netizens are also unhappy with the situation.

Having access to speeches like Lee Hae Guk's, thousands of netizens crowded South Korean public internet forums to complain about the situation.

“There is also this general culture in Korea where drinking is considered part of the customs,” quoted one netizen.

Citing the issue of South Korean culture, other Internet users pointed out traits of customs adopted in the country with regard to alcohol consumption.

“There are many accidents in Korea caused by alcohol, and people here think that drinking well is a nice thing to show off. But personally, I wouldn't want to see alcohol advertising on TV,” said another forum participant.

In another post taken from a forum, a user shows concern with the way some idols of young people and teenagers advertise alcohol.

“Idols promote alcohol even when they are not the branded models, because nowadays they tend to create individualized content centered around alcohol consumption.”, he stated.

“I am also an adult, so personally I am not affected as much, but I do worry about underage fans.”, reported the netizen.

Among thousands of other comments, two other netizens questioned why the South Korean government does not regulate alcohol consumption as it regulates cigarette consumption.

"I don't know why our country is so soft on alcohol while banning media exposure to cigarettes," said one "forumer".

“I think Korea should regulate the promotion of alcohol, like it does with cigarettes,” another user pointed out.

Graduated in History and Human Resources Technology. Passionate about writing, today he lives the dream of acting professionally as a Content Writer for the Web, writing articles in different niches and different formats.