'Meme Economics' You, Me, and Us Created '1il3kkang'... Falling into Memenomics

1il1kkang Shakes Industry: "Catch Singer Bi's Kkang Craze"... Saewookkang Ad Becomes a Meme
Satalla and Mutgo Double Burger King Memes Also Trending... Forced Memes Cause Discomfort and Image Decline

Screenshot from the "Hangout with Yoo" broadcast.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae] The 'Kkang' syndrome is in full swing with phrases like '1il3kkang (watching Kkang three times a day)' and 'sikhu-kkang (watching Kkang after meals).' Kkang is a song released by singer Rain in 2017. Although it did not become a hit at the time, it experienced a resurgence as comments and parodies on the music video on YouTube and social networking services (SNS) became a hot topic. Fun comments on the lyrics and dance in Kkang led to its spectacular revival after three years. As Kkang became loved as a meme (an online play culture and trending content using words, photos, videos, etc.), 'meme economics' has come into the spotlight. As memes shake the entire industry beyond online platforms, the industry is bustling with efforts to capture the 'meme-nomics craze,' born from the fusion of memes and economics.

Screenshot from the music video of singer Rain's "Gang".

◆Nongshim, the 'Marketing Genius'... Capturing Meme-nomics= Nongshim was quick to act. According to the industry on the 10th, Nongshim recently selected Rain as the advertising model, riding the wave of the Kkang craze that started as a meme and the simultaneous mention of Saewookkang, with many netizens requesting the casting of the model in comments. Previously, there were continuous online requests to cast Rain as the advertising model. Some posts even detailed specific advertisement content and gained popularity. One post read, "Nongshim should immediately cast Jihoon hyung (Rain) as the model and shoot a commercial. Saewookkang should be eaten 1il3kkang. Jihoon hyung makes a mischievous face, puts the snack in his mouth, and at this moment, the BGM 'The splendid lights surround me' plays. Jihoon hyung holds three bags of Kkang, smiles slyly, says 'I can never give this up,' and bites his lip."

Nongshim plans to produce advertisements in a way that allows consumers to participate directly to maximize the effect of meme-nomics. This strategy is interpreted as making the advertisement itself a meme, inspired by the fact that the Kkang craze occurred naturally online. Accordingly, Nongshim is promoting the 'Saewookkang National Challenge,' inviting videos enjoying the Saewookkang and Kkang trends, and will use the results to create advertisements with Rain. A Nongshim official said, "We planned this as a national participation campaign to facilitate active communication with consumers," adding, "We hope Saewookkang will receive great love along with the '1il1kkang' craze."

The industry highly praises Nongshim's move. They are satisfying consumer needs through interesting marketing and promotional activities. Saewookkang, launched in 1971, is the best-selling steady seller among Nongshim's snack products. It is so well-known that it ranked in the top 3 in sales in the domestic snack market retail stores (cumulative Q3) last year, so it might not have needed much marketing activity. However, Nongshim plans to leverage Rain's selection as the Saewookkang model to upgrade the image of this long-lasting product, which will celebrate its 50th anniversary next year, into a younger and more friendly brand image to maximize marketing effects.

Richard Dawkins, an evolutionary biologist, coined the term meme in his book The Selfish Gene, referring to cultural elements transmitted through imitation rather than genetic methods. 'Meme-nomics' is characterized by analyzing economic phenomena through values pursued by humans rather than market principles. Today, in popular culture, memes refer to 'specific cultural elements and content trending online.' Memes are energizing the entire industry beyond online platforms. Companies use 'meme-nomics' as a marketing tool to maximize profits. Thanks to Kkang marketing, optimistic forecasts are emerging for Nongshim's Q2 performance. The securities consensus estimates sales to increase by an average of 9-15% year-on-year, and operating profit is expected to rise nearly fourfold. Lee Kyung-shin, a researcher at Hi Investment & Securities, predicted, "With active content marketing, market interest continues to rise, and Nongshim's operating performance is expected to improve."

◆Proven Meme Economics... Forced 'Memes' Backfire= Before the representative case of meme-nomics, '1il1kkang,' there were starting points like Kim Eung-soo's 'Has Mapo Bridge Collapsed?' and Kim Young-chul's 'Satdalla.' Last year, Burger King's 'Satdalla' was a hot topic in the advertising market. It was an All Day King promotion ad selling for 4,900 won, parodying the line 'Satdalla' (meaning 'four dollars') from actor Kim Young-chul's character Kim Doo-han in the drama 'Rustic Period.' The ad starts with Kim Young-chul entering a Burger King store and ordering a burger set from an employee. When the employee announces the price, Kim Young-chul says the famous line 'Satdalla (4 dollars)' from Rustic Period. They agree on the price of 4,900 won, and the negotiation ends with the line 'Okay, thank you' from the drama and a handshake.

Burger King noticed the meme trend sparked by the 'Kim Doo-han style tough negotiation' online and on SNS and produced the ad. Having fully experienced the meme-nomics effect, Burger King later cast actor Kim Eung-soo. In the video, he stands seriously in front of the Burger King cash register, contemplates for a while, and shouts, 'Ask and double it!' When the third installment of the movie Tazza series, 'Tazza: One Eyed Jack,' was released, the character Gwak Cheol-yong from the first film was reappraised, and the line 'Ask and double it!' became a trending content.

Both ads were successful. The ads themselves were loved as memes, surpassing 5.76 million views (Kim Young-chul ad) and 7.12 million views (Kim Eung-soo ad) on YouTube as of the date. All Day King recorded cumulative sales of 15 million sets within 13 months of launch.

The industry is focusing on memes and putting great effort into meme-based marketing. Since the public creates content and only needs to utilize it, marketing becomes more accessible. Popular culture critic Jung Deok-hyun also emphasized the need to pay attention, saying, "Now is the era where the public creates content."

However, overly forced or indiscriminate use can cause backlash. For example, Lotte Chilsung posted a parody photo of an employee as Rain on its official Instagram on the 21st of last month during the 'Kkaesookkang X Kkang' event. When fans protested because the parody photo was posted without Rain's permission, Lotte Chilsung responded playfully, saying, "It was difficult to have him," and apologized for violating the '20 rules' (requests from fans to Rain to avoid certain actions). This response drew heavy criticism. Eventually, Lotte Chilsung took down the photo and issued an official apology.

Experts agree that meme-based marketing can be a double-edged sword, requiring delicate marketing strategies. Since consumers have a high understanding of the background and context of memes, thoughtless marketing that simply rides the trend can damage brand image. Seong Yeol-hong, head of the Graduate School of Advertising and Public Relations at Hongik University, emphasized, "A deep understanding is necessary to utilize memes effectively."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.