Will indirect advertising in Korean dramas be allowed or not?
The Culture and Tourism Commission (Chair: Cho, Bae-Sook) of the National Assembly held a meeting with specialists on Dec. 18 on plans to continue expanding the Korean Syndrome, and in particular, in its first meeting, on indirect advertising in dramas. Issues on actors' fees and monopoly of drama copyrights will continue to be discussed in future meetings.
Indirect advertising often appears in dramas and films, a representative example of which is PPL (Product Placement), a type of advertising that exposes specific products or brands to stimulate consumers' desire to spend. In Korea, indirect advertising is prohibited by Broadcasting Laws (Clause No. 73). However, it is tacitly allowed in the broadcast industry.
In recent years, indirect advertising has emerged as an issue related to the Korean Syndrome. It has been argued that as a large number of Korean dramas have advanced into Japan, China, and Southeast Asian countries, along with the popularity of Korean culture, Korean goods and brands exposed in these dramas have influenced such products' performance in these countries. On the other hand, some people argue that excessive indirect advertising is degrading the image of Korea and Korean products.
Specialists in the discussion were divided into those who said indirect advertising in dramas exported to these countries should be allowed and those who said it should not.
"In the current production environment in which these programs cannot receive additional financial support from broadcast companies, indirect advertising is inevitable for production companies to have realistic production costs", said Park Chang-Sik, Executive Director of Kimjonghak Productions. "Over 70% of the dramas that created the Korean Wave are those that have expended a huge amount of production costs". Park continued to argue, "It is desirable to allow indirect advertising in those dramas that are going to be exported to China and other regions where the Korean Syndrome is growing strongly by introducing separate virtual advertising in these dramas".
"The Korea Tourism Corporation has recently announced that those dramas exported as part of the Korean Syndrome have raised the national brand and the brand images of Korean companies by hundreds of billion Korean won", said Bae, Seong-Rye, Chief of the SBS Contents Strategic Team. "Regulations should be loosened up for products and brands that are naturally exposed in these dramas".
However, Kim, Jae-Cheol, Director of the Korean Broadcasting Commission, said, "The vitality of the Korean economy due to these dramas is the result solely of these programs", and that it would be too stretching to see this under the name of the Korean Wave . "It has not always been the case that dramas with lots of indirect advertising enhanced the brand image of Korea and Korean products", Kim argued, "because Jewel in the Palace ("Dae Jang Geum") and "Damo": The Undercover Lady Detective did not have anything to do with indirect advertising but played a major role in promoting Korean industries and tourism".
"Exports of Korean dramas have decreased by 3% compared to last year. While this may have something to do with the anti-Korean Syndrome or hatred of the Korean Syndrome, one sure cause of this is typical and humdrum stories with high-class protagonists in these dramas", said Park, Noh-Seong, a researcher at the Korea Broadcasting and Advertising Corporation. "If we want to find a way to sustain the Korean Syndrome, we must look for another way, not indirect advertising". Park then proposed various alternatives such as establishing a Korean drama channel in these foreign markets and promoting various other cultural genres besides dramas.
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