Who made the most money doing commercials in 2013? Depends on which source you ask. According to MBC's "Section TV Entertainment News," celebrities, Shin Min Ah, Jun Ji Hyun, and miss A's Suzy topped the list of actresses doing celebrity endorsements.
Without making any TV appearances this year, Shin Min Ah, star of the drama "Arang and the Magistrate" and the film "The Naked Kitchen," made almost three million dollars just doing commercials. She bought a house with her commercial earnings.
Shin Min Ah, who has modeled for such top brands as Calvin Klein and LG, was chosen as the first Asian model for an ad campaign by the American clothing brand Rag & Bone. That campaign was featured in The New York Times.
Miss A's Suzy Bae appeared in 22 commercials last year, earning the nickname "100 billion won girl." She earned about $950,000. She has been called the CF Queen for the number of commercials she took part in. She helped sell clothing, cosmetics and sugar.
Jun Ji Hyun, who now appears in "You Who Came From The Stars," had not made any commercials for a while but this year her appearance in the drama and the films "Thieves" and "Berlin File" have prompted new offers.
Does the research support MBC's claims? According to the Korea CM Strategic Research Institute, Suzy topped the list of celebrity endorsers in October but then got bumped from first place a month later by her "Gu Family" co-star Lee Seung Gi. The Institute said that Lee Seung Gi topped the list for celebrity commercials in May and by November had reclaimed the top spot.
On their list, actress Kim Tae Hee, who starred in the drama "Jang Ok Jung," came in third while Jun Ji Hyun came in fourth. Actor Ha Jung Woo was the fifth most popular.
Two other celebrities who saw their commercial revenue jump this year were singer Psy and the year's breakout star Kim Woo Bin. After Kim Woo Bin's appearance in the hit drama "The Heirs," his agency says he got flooded with offers for both dramas and commercials. In 2013 alone his commercials already included selling beer, jeans, banana milk, hair products and snacks.
But he has not yet done a commercial for ramen. Much like his character in "The Heirs," he loves ramen.
"I would really like to do a ramen commercial," he said.
Next year will see more commercials for Kim Woo Bin and one of them is sure to include ramen.
