In South Korea, many famous female entertainers shoot soju advertisements, and their pictures are attached to the alcohol bottles. Maybe we will not be able to see the picture of female entertainers on alcohol bottles anymore because the government is considering the policy of banning female entertainers' photographs on alcohol bottles.

▲ the picture of female entertainers on alcohol bottles

There are some reasons why this issue was triggered. Because South Korea is the only country that attaches famous entertainers' pictures on alcohol bottles among OECD member countries, many politicians suggested the policy of banning the act of attaching entertainers' pictures on the alcohol bottles. Another reason is discrimination against the pack of cigarettes. On the pack of cigarettes, there are pictures of patients that are affected by cancer or other diseases caused by smoking. On the other hand, alcohol bottles have pictures of famous entertainers. Because of these reasons, politicians proposed the policy.

▲ the picture of patient who has disease caused by smoking on the pack of cigarettes

One of the members of the National Assembly, Nam Insoon, proposed the revised plan of banning the photographs of female entertainers. She said using popular female entertainers to advertise alcohol has a huge impact on young people, such as sprucing up drinking and recommending consumption, and many people point us that it is a commercialization of sex. She also said that she hopes that this will not be only a mere ban on the use of female entertainers' photographs in alcohol bottles but also a starting point that will allow substantive anti-alcoholism and improvement on the overly generous drinking culture. However, there are also some politicians who object to this policy, giving an opinion that the policy is not effective because people do not choose what alcoholic drink they will drink after they see the model of the drink on alcohol bottles.

▲ some politicians who object to the policy

The members of the National Assembly insist that entertainers have a big impact on children and teens, so at least the bottle itself should not be promoted using entertainers. Also, The Ministry of Health and Welfare has decided to consider to prevent the inclusion of photographs on alcohol bottles.

January 4th, 2020, by Go Seohyun