Starring in the hottest k-drama of the moment makes it likely that you will be offered commercial deals. And since "You Who Came From The Stars" is so far this year's hottest drama it makes sense that Jun Ji Hyun is currently the most desirable commercial model.
In a recent survey by the Korea Institute of Advertising the actress placed first in terms of who consumers wanted to see in commercials. That means Jun Ji Hyun is ahead of Olympic figure skater Kim Yuna and last year's favored star miss A's Suzy.
In the survey Jun Ji Hyun placed first with 14.8 percent of the vote. She was in second place in January but now tops the list.
Olympic silver medal winner Kim Yuna and singer-actress Suzy previously held first and second place. Last year, when Suzy starred in the fantasy saeguk "Gu Family Book," she was the most popular model.
Before "You Who Came From The Stars," Jun Ji Hyun had not done a drama for 14 years, concentrating mainly on films. But the drama's popularity and her lovable character in it thrust her back into the spotlight. She was besieged with offers for commercials for a variety of products.
This month Kim Yuna was in second place with 12.63 percent of the votes, while Suzy was in third place with 6.03 percent.
Lee Seung Gi, still enjoying the popularity he earned from "Gu Family Book," was in fourth place with 4.76 percent of the vote. Kim Soo Hyun, who co-starred with Jun Hi Hyun in "You Who Came From The Stars" was in fifth place, although in China his rank is probably higher.
Kim Soo Hyun and Jun Ji Hyun recently signed a deal to promote Samsung Electronics in China.
Their drama was so popular in China that it received 2.5 billion views on one site alone. It sparked several trends for everything from the food eaten on the show to the book Kim Soo Hyun's character read. The co-stars were asked to promote Samsung's new Galaxy S5 smartphone and Galaxy Tabs, plus its UHD TVs and refrigerators.
According to Park Jae Soon, Samsung Electronics' vice president in China, the Jun Ji Hyun and Kim Soo Hyun are expected to improve the company's brand image when they promote Samsung products together.
Altogether the stars of "You Who Came From The Stars" were said to earn $28 million in endorsement deals.
