Foreign fans delight at sight of Kopiko coffee in K-drama
Haiva Nurani could not quite believe her eyes when she spotted her favourite brand of Indonesian coffee confectionery in an episode of hit South Korean television series Vincenzo.
The 22-year-old college student from Bandung, Indonesia, has been a fan of K-drama since high school, but said she had never seen her own culture represented in one of the shows. The “unreal” experience “surprised me and made me proud”, she said.
“I think Kopiko’s decision to invest in product placement in the drama was a smart move to expand to the global market since South Korea also has a big coffee culture,” Nurani said.
Vincenzo, which aired its final episode this month, stars 35-yearold Korean wave – or hallyu – actor Song Joong-ki in a dark role as an Italian mafia lawyer. It has since become one of the highestrated drama series in Korean cable television history.
Stills from the show featuring Kopiko and kopi luwak, a coffee produced in both Indonesia and the Philippines from beans that have been partially digested by Asian palm civets, have been widely shared by social media users in both countries.
“I immediately searched online to buy a Kopiko blister pack after watching the show,” said Pikx So, a 20-year-old creative content writer in the Philippine region of Calabarzon.
That was not the first time So has been inspired to try the products that have appeared in her favourite Korean dramas. She said she bought some tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes) and roasted sweet potato from a local Korean grocery store after seeing them in a show once, and also tried soju for the first time after watching the characters in Vincenzo drink the alcoholic drink in multiple scenes.
“I think people want to get to know these foods that appear in K-dramas because food is a really big part of the Korean culture,” she said. “It’s also the same here in the Philippines, so people here have an extra reason to try them out.”
Product placements have become a staple of Korean dramas, and foreign brands try to get their products featured in some of the biggest ones.
This can stir controversy, however, as when Song’s character in Vincenzo was shown eating a Chinese version of popular Korean rice dish bibimbap.
The backlash over Zihaiguobrand bibimbap appearing in the show was so great that the scene featuring it has now been removed from all online streaming platforms. Song also issued a public apology last week in response to the controversy, which follows in the wake of much heated debate online over the origins of kimchi, hanbok and other elements of Korean culture that some have claimed originated in China – sparking accusations of cultural appropriation.
“As an actor in a title role, I think it is right to apologise to those who are disappointed with our programme,” Song said last week. “After that controversy, we focused more on improving the quality of our show.”