Oh! You are my soju girl~!

Hollywood stars were the pinup girls in WWII. For Korea in this day and age, the equivalent of the pinup girl would be the beautiful stars who appear in... soju commercials. Soju is Korea's main liquor, a distilled spirit made from rice, potatoes/sweet potatoes, or other grains. It's called the Korean vodka, and for some reason is linked to the image of being "clean and pure", thus making it a coveted product for stars to endorse, especially for the top soju companies.

Jinro's Chamisul ads before the invasion of the soju girls

Since men are the main target consumers for soju, the models endorsing the drink are inevitably young and beautiful women, although the occasional male star would make an appearance for the growing number of women who imbibe in the nation's drink. However, this trend of actresses and singers appearing in soju ads only started in the late '90s, when major soju company Jinro featured the actress Lee Young-ae (이영애, "JSA - Joint Security Area", "Dae Jang Geum:) in their Chamisul (참이슬) campaign. Lee Young-ae was an actress on the rise, and portrayed the image that Jinro wanted when they were promoting their new ambitious brand.

Lee Young-ae was the first ever soju girl

The Chamisul baton was taken over by a series of actresses including Park Joo-mi (박주미, "Heo Jun") and Kim Jeong-eun (김정은, "Lovers in Paris", Kim Jeong-eun's "Chocolate"):

Park Joo-mi and Kim Jeong-eun

Kim Tae-hee (김태희, "IRIS", "My Princess") then took over, but this was before she became the reigning queen of TV commercial endorsements and trendy K-dramas :

Kim Tae-hee before she became big

The torch then passed on to a number of young beauties including Seong Yoo-ri (성유리, Fin.K.L ) and Nam Sang-mi (남상미, "Sweet Spy", "Time Between Dog and Wolf - Drama"):

Seong Yoo-ri and Nam Sang-mi

The more refined Chamisul Fresh was launched in 2006, and with it came more pretty actresses: Kim Ah-joong (김아중, "200 Pounds Beauty"), Kim Min-jeong (김민정, "Fashion 70s", "The Thorn Birds"),

Kim Ah-joong and Kim Min-jung

the formidable Ha Ji-won (하지원, "Damo", "Hwangjin-i", "Secret Garden"),

Ha Ji-won is one of the biggest names to endorse soju

and currently Lee Min-jeong (이민정, "Boys over Flowers", "Cyrano Agency"):

Lee Min-jung is the current face for Chamisul

Jinro has several other brands of soju that feature soju girls. "J" started off with Song Hye-kyo (송혜교, "Autumn in my Heart", "Full House"), another big star:

Song Hye-kyo for "J"

Model turned actress Sin Min-ah (신민아, "The Beast and the Beauty", "My Girlfriend is a Gumiho") is now doing the honors:

Sin Min-ah hits stardom as a soju girl

The newest brand on the Jinro roster is Jeulgyeochahtgi (즐겨찾기), which literally means "to bookmark" or "favorite" in your internet browser. Fresh-faced actress Park Min-yeong (박민영, "High Kick!", "Sungkyunkwan Scandal") represents the brand:

Park Min-yeong for the newest brand from Jinro

Jinro isn't the only player in the soju market. Lotte Liquor also has several brands of soju.

Lee Hyo-lee for Cheoeumcheorum since 2007

Cheoeumcheorum (처음처럼, "Like the first time"), not only features singer/entertainer Lee Hyo-lee in their print ads, but also in their TV commercials. (Video from official site. From the 2011 S/S campaign.)

Before Hyori took on the reins, actress Koo Hye-seon (구혜선, "King and I", "Boys over Flowers") and singer Kim Yu-na (김윤아) did the honors:

Koo Hye-seon and Kim Yu-na

Of course, there is a sister brand called Cheoeumcheorum Cool (처음처럼 쿨), with another singer/actress who flaunts the product. UEE (유이), a member of the K-pop group After School is their chosen one.

Uie, known for her excellent proportions, is Cool

The company Kumbokju's soju Charm (참) has featured singer Son Dam-bi (손담비) and actress Park Han-byeol (박한별, "Couple Breaking", "My Black Mini Dress") :

Son Dam-bi and Park Han-byeol for Charm

Their current model is actress Lee Da-hae (이다해, "East of Eden", "The Slave Hunters") :

Lee Da-hae and her charms promote Charm

C1 soju's current spokesmodel is actress Han Ye-seul (한예슬, "Fantastic Couple", "Tazza") ; in the beginning, the ads featured actress Han Hyo-joo (한효주, "Shining Inheritance", "Dong Yi").

Current and precedent soju girls for C1: Han Ye-seul and Han Hyo-joo

Bohae's Yipsejoo (잎새주) has gone through a slew of models including Jang Nara (장나라, "Wedding"), Han Ji-min (한지민, "Dae Jang Geum", "Yi San") and Jeong Ryeo-won (정려원, "My Name is Kim Sam-soon").

Jang Nara, Han Ji-min , and Jeong Ryeo-won

Their current model is the singer Baek Ji-young (백지영).

Baek Ji-young for Yipseju

Probably the only group of soju girls, K-pop girl group Secret sing and dance for Joeunday (좋은데이) :

Secret and their Joeunday TV ad

O2 Linn, whose name comes from their emphasis on their oxygenated soju, featured Han Chae-young (한채영, "A Man Called God", "Boys over Flowers") and Yoo In-yeong (유인영, "A Man Called God"):

O2 Linn's Han Chae-young and Yoo In-yeong

And of course, there are tons of soju brands by region that have their own soju girls who might not be celebrities but are as beautiful, and there's not only soju but other alcoholic beverages that the beautiful girls are promoting, but this post will never end so I'll cut it here. As for the soju girls, you'll see them online, in print, on TV, you'll see them in bars and restaurants where soju is sold, and sometimes, even at the supermarket on the corner.

Soju girls smile at your neighborhood supermarket