10 Korean Celebrities from Song Hye Kyo to Lee Young Ae, Brave Enough to Reject Advertisements for Principles and Not Care About Money

Song Hye Kyo once refused to star in an advertisement for a Japanese automotive company for the Chinese market. Her reason was that she did not want to appear in an advertisement for a company involved in forced labor during World War II.

In her heyday in the early 2000s, Lee Hyori was the queen of Korean advertisements. But in 2012, she stated that she no longer wanted to appear in commercial ads. She only wanted to appear in campaign ads for environmental or water conservation issues. Lee Hyori only accepted advertisements again in 2017.

Actor Jo Jin Woong rejected an advertisement offer from a Japanese-based company. The company even asked the actor's wife to persuade Joo Jin Woong. But he stated that his husband had a reason for refusing.

Famous Korean chef who is also a TV personality and Youtuber, Baek Jong Won, admitted to rejecting many advertisements because of his wife, So Yoo Jin. Baek Jong Won received advertisements for kitchen equipment but because his wife suggested training self-control, the chef ended up rejecting all advertisements.

Actor Park Hyuk Won rejects advertising offers because he believes it is not an actor's duty to shoot commercials. He admits to turning down advertising offers ranging from cosmetics to insurance.

Rapper BeWhy was once offered a lot of money to appear in a commercial for artificial flavor enhancer products. But he refused because he considered the product unnatural.

Ha Jung Woo was once offered to appear in a food commercial after his eating scene in a movie made people hungry. But the actor declined because he felt that appearing in commercials would diminish his sincerity in acting. He also stated that he would only shoot eating scenes for acting projects in movies or dramas.

Celeb Five, a girl group consisting of four comedians, stated that they reject advertising offers for Japanese drinks. They admit to rejecting the presence of Japanese products in Korea.

Park Jin Hee refused a multi-million dollar offer to star in a loan company advertisement. Her reason is that the advertisement could damage the mental health of people involved in debt.

Senior actress Lee Young Ae also declined to appear in an advertisement for a Japanese loan company. She also feels that financial companies like this can create social disparity and are not in line with her image.