Home > National > Social Affairs

Drug test stickers promote drama series 'Strong Girl Nam-soon'

Published: 21 Nov. 2023, 14:29 Updated: 21 Nov. 2023, 19:40

KIM JU-YEON
[email protected]

Kim Kang-min, the art director behind the promotional posters for the drama series ″Strong Girl Nam-soon,″ poses for a photo with the posters in the background. Stickers on the poster contain drug reagents that can be used to test beverages for drugs. [CHEIL WORLDWIDE]

Most promotional posters go unnoticed, but a new kind of poster in downtown Seoul — riddled with holes no less — has been catching people's attention with its offering of thumb-sized drug test stickers.

They're the promotional posters for JTBC’s currently running drama series “Strong Girl Nam-soon,” and their marketing tactic is raising awareness with their creativity and social relevance.

The stickers contain a yellow reagent testing liquid that can test beverages for drugs. Just dab some of your alcoholic drink or beverage on the sticker; if the sticker turns green, it means it's been spiked.

A total of 800 posters were put up around the Gangnam and Sinsa Station areas, where many people gather for drinks, and already there’s a shortage in supply.

The mastermind behind the poster is Kim Kang-min, an art director at Cheil Worldwide, a marketing company under the Samsung Group. In an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo on Nov. 14, Kim explained the story behind how the poster came to life.

“Even ordinary citizens have become anxious about drugs after the Burning Sun scandal,” he said, referring to the 2019 sex crime scandal which alerted the nation on date rape drugs. “It just so happened that the Kang Nam-soon [drama series] was about fighting drug rings in Gangnam, so I thought, why don't we incorporate drug testing into the promotion?”

The campaign idea was given the green light by the production company, but there were difficulties in getting the posters produced. The first hurdle was on concerns that the drug reagent would not function after being exposed to high temperatures during the printing process.

“We searched for a printing house for two months,” Kim said. Printing finally started on the condition that the poster’s size would be reduced, the color of the poster adjusted to an apricot color similar to the reagent [stickers], and no letters would be printed on top of the reagents, relayed Kim.

Art director Kim Kang-min with the ″Strong Girl Nam-soon″ promotional posters [CHEIL WORLDWIDE]

The response to the campaign has been explosive. Plastic surgery clinics and movie theaters have been asking for extra supplies. Requests are also trickling in through social media, with posts saying “I wish the posters were hung in our area.”

GHB, a type of depressant that is colorless, odorless and tasteless, is commonly used as a date rape drug for sex crime activities in restaurants and clubs, according to the police. A woman was arrested in April this year for giving out drinks spiked with methamphetamine and ecstasy to students in the cram school area of Daechi-dong, southern Seoul.

“Drug crimes are incredibly threatening, to the extent that ordinary people have started to feel like the crimes are happening right next to them,” said Kim. “I wanted to spread the message that drugs are a serious crime through promotional posters that are easily encountered in daily life,” he said.

BY KIM MIN-SANG, KIM JU-YEON [[email protected]]