▲ A person takes a photo at a photo zone set up at a McDonald's store in the bustling Sanlitun area of Beijing on the afternoon of October 12.
Large-scale advertisements featuring singer G-Dragon (Kwon Ji-yong) have appeared at McDonald's stores and on major city billboards across China, signaling potential changes in the Korean Wave market that has remained tightly closed since the THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) conflict.
China McDonald's launched new products in collaboration with G-Dragon across its more than 8,000 stores nationwide starting October 8, and is running outdoor advertisements featuring G-Dragon in bustling downtown areas of major metropolises such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou.
At the Sanlitun store in a representative bustling area of Beijing, large photographs and daisies—G-Dragon's symbol—were hung, and visitors continued to flock to the photo zone to take commemorative pictures against the backdrop of G-Dragon's photos.
A store employee said, "After the collaboration event with G-Dragon began, the number of customers increased significantly," adding, "Most of them are G-Dragon fans who come to buy hamburgers and limited-edition items and take pictures."
It is highly unusual for large-scale outdoor advertisements featuring a South Korean star to be launched across all of China, given that large-scale advertisements and activities by South Korean celebrities have been restricted in the wake of the THAAD conflict in 2016.
An official at the South Korean Embassy in China evaluated, "To our knowledge, this is the first time that advertisements featuring a South Korean celebrity are being conducted on a nationwide scale since the outdoor advertisements for Gianna Jun from the drama My Love from the Star," adding, "We consider this a positive sign."
Because commercial advertisements by global companies are separate matters from the entry of South Korean pop culture content into China's broadcasting and performance markets, it is difficult to judge solely from this advertisement that China's restrictions related to the Korean Wave have been eased or lifted.
However, the fact that large-scale commercial activities fronted by a South Korean celebrity are taking place in major Chinese cities is being accepted as a notable change.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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