Kimchi appears in New York’s Times Square, huge ads to promote it in the US

Kimchi is one of the most well-known South Korean side dishes in the world. The popularity of this seasoned and fermented vegetable has grown in recent years due to the rise of Kpop, and today, local producers are promoting it outside of the country to further boost its marketability.

Daesang Corporation, a leading food manufacturer in Korea, has taken its promotion of kimchi to another level by featuring it at Times Square in New York City. Korea Joongang Daily reported that the kimchi ad in the said location will run until Nov. 6.

Moreover, Daesang’s kimchi video advertisements on the huge screens are set to play 240 times per day, and it has already started on Monday this week. The company is aiming to promote the side dish that is often featured in Korean drama series and shows to Americans.

Daesang’s Jongga Kimchi is on display at a major commercial intersection in Midtown Manhattan, which is also a common tourist destination and entertainment hub, so it is certainly an excellent spot for promotion. The company said the vegetable dish is drawing attention around the world not only due to Kpop but because of the interest it got after it was revealed to be good for health.

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, people have been looking for ways to boost their health and immunity. Aside from exercise and vitamins, kimchi was found to be one of the best health foods to be considered. Thus, even after the pandemic started to ease up, people continue to have kimchi in their homes.

Daesang is one of the major producers of kimchi in South Korea, and it makes up 60% of the total kimchi exports. It brings the product to more than 40 countries, and now it is aiming to focus more on the United States, which already showed an increase of orders by 22.5% to $28.5 million last year.

The company has been selling its Jongga Kimchi brand in some Walmart stores in the U.S. since 2021, and it is hoping to add more outlets. At any rate, it reportedly spent KRW1 billion or $701.7 million for the advertisement in the U.S.

As per The Korea Herald, the latest kimchi video ad campaign was co-produced by Daesang and Seo Kyung Duk, an expert in overseas promotion of Korea. They have used the tagline, "Taste the original," for the ad to show that South Korea is the real originator of kimchi.

Seo is also a professor at Sungshin Women's University, and he said the 30-second kimchi ad at Times Square was made to spread the message that this Korean side dish is now for everyone around the world.