Kim and Jun seek to revoke contract for controversial Chinese ad

The two stars from the hit Korea drama “My Love from the Star” Kim Soo-hyun and Jun Ji-hyun are seeking to revoke their contracts for a controversial Chinese advertisement, a move that could potentially result in tens of millions of won in penalties for them. 

“We have asked (the Chinese bottled water maker Hengda) to revoke the advertisement contract,” said Kim’s agency Keyeast.

Jun’s agency has also confirmed that they have taken the same step.

“We have asked the Chinese company to repeal the ad contract, though we have yet to receive a definitive response. We’ve also requested a meeting with the company officials to further discuss this matter,” said Culture Depot.

The moves came shortly after the duo came under fire over their appearance in the ad, which Koreans claim incorrectly states the source from which the water originated. 

The Chinese mineral water, Hengda bingquan, lists its water source as “Jang bai shan,” rather than the original Korean name -- “Mount Baekdusan.”  

Mount Baekdusan, which lies on the border between China and North Korea, is one of the many flash points between the two countries over their shared history.

Koreans suspect that calling the mountain “Jang bai shan” is part of a Chinese campaign to make ancient Korean kingdoms located in northeastern China such as Goguryeo a part of their history.

The on-screen couple has completed shooting the commercial, although the ad is yet to run.

They reportedly received a record pay of 1 billion won for their participation in the ad, directed by the famous filmmaker Chen Kaige.

By Sohn Ji-young (jiyoung.sohn@heraldcorp.com)