In South Korea, one of the top 10 advertising markets globally by expenditure, the ad industry has evolved in line with the country’s rapid economic growth and downturns throughout its nearly 130-year history.

As a mirror of society, ads offer a glimpse of the times. One example is a television commercial for energy drink Bacchus, which recently won the top honor in the Korea Advertising Awards, selected based on consumers votes.



Under the theme of “Living life as a father/undutiful child/boyfriend in Korea,” the ad series was adapted from self-produced 29-second videos submitted by ordinary Koreans.

The videos depicted their daily struggles to fit into society. But eventually in the ads the men find comfort in family members and loved ones.

“The current trend in advertisement here underlines the emergence of ads that touch viewers and evoke sympathy. Now ads play the role of comforter to tired hearts and minds due to the sluggish economy,” said Park Hyun-soo, a professor and president of Korea Advertising Society.

Recent television advertisements’ method of expression is far different from the first modern Korean ad commissioned by a German business firm and appearing in the country’s first newspaper, the Hanseong Jubo, in 1886.

It simply listed a range of products they wanted to buy and what they offered to Korean consumers.

“Korean consumers’ levels of education and understanding have improved as the country’s economic growth has brought increased living standards. Hence, the ways to convey messages through ads also changed to meet their level,” Shin In-sup, an advertising guru who coauthored “The History of Korean Advertisement” told The Korea Herald.

The Korean advertising industry began to grow and take its current shape in the mid-1970s, lagging behind Western countries, in the aftermath of the Japanese colonial rule and the Korean War.

The country’s five-year economic plan began in 1962, which triggered a compressed economic transformation, raising the TV penetration rate from less than 2 percent to 80 percent in a decade. And the small screen established itself as a strong advertising medium along with newspapers.

During the 1980s, the local Korean advertising industry faced challenges caused by market liberalization as foreign-based advertising agencies, mainly U.S. firms, started their operations in Korea.

The 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, which made Korea an Olympic host for the first time, was a milestone for the ad industry ― the first full-page advertisement appeared during that year. Thanks to the sporting event, the country’s advertising industry came into its heyday, breaking into the global top 10 ad market in 1990s.

The country’s total advertising spend increased nearly tenfold from 1987 to 2014, from $1.2 billion to $11.84 billion, according to ZenithOptimedia and other government data.

Advertisers of information technology-related services and products, including mobile phone and Internet services, pushed other main advertisers like food and pharmaceutical firms off TV screens, as Korea became an IT powerhouse in the mid-1990s.

“The most significant change at that time was the shift of marketing’s focal point to consumers from the product. The use of visual elements was strengthened while the quantity of written copy decreased,” said Kim Hong-tack, the chief creative officer of Playground, a creative solutions group.

By Park Han-na (hnpark@heraldcorp.com)