LEE JOON GI
ALLIANCES
LEE JOON GI
AND
THE PEPSICO COMMERCIAL
IN
HONG KONG
(2008)
 
Lee Joon Gi (extreme right)
The PepsiCo Commercial in Hong Kong 2008
The PepsiCo Commercial 2008
After the ginormous success of his movie, 'The King And The Clown' Lee Joon Gi was hot prpoerty and was signed on to promote Pepsi and McDonald's. In 2008, Lee Joon Gi was appointed a new model for the US PepsiCo commercial to promote Pepsi, a carbonated soft drink. The shooting was carried out in Hong Kong.
Lee, together with other East Asian celebrities, Louis Koo, Huang Xiaoming, Jolin Tsai and Show Lou shot the Pepsi commercial in outer-space style outfits and they got to play superheroes.
People tend to question everything. Why was Lee, a South Korean, chosen for a ‘Greater China’ commercial? The Pepsico people’s explanation was Lee Joon Gi’s enormous popularity in the Chinese-speaking region – Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan was the main factor.
 
It became quite obvious that among the various East Asian celebrities, Lee was the most popular which was evident by the constant ear-splitting screams of his name by fanatical teenyboppers at all his Pepsi events. It was not that Lee Joon Gi was trying to steal the other celebrities' thunder nor try to leverage his charms on his Chinese fandom; his very presence just drove his fans wild. The often wild chanting of his name turned them into a frenzied mass.
The shooting of the commercial for the globally famous brand must have been quite a milestone in Lee’s life as it was reported to be a very lucrative deal for him.
Lee also filmed another commercial for PepsiCo in Thailand in 2009.
In 2010 he was compelled to be enlisted into the military.
PEPSI FAMILY EVENT
ASIA WORLD EXPO
HONG KONG
2008
On April 1 2008, Lee Joon Gi attended a Pepsi Family press event held at Asia World Expo in Hong Kong.
Lee stood out because of his vibrant and inexhaustible energy, passion, sunshine personality, impressive dancing skills, and natural athleticism. He got what it takes to be a superstar. 
Lee Joon Gi: Inexhaustible energy, brilliant dancing skills & athleticism
The PepsiCo Asia World Expo in Hong Kong 2008
 
THE 'WORD' GIFT
'ALLIANCES'
The PepsiCo Event: ‘Alliances’ word gift at Asia World Expo in Hong Kong 2008
Lee Joon Gi with Harry Hui 
The PepsiCo Event: Asia World Expo in Hong Kong 2008
(from left) Show Luo, Huang Hsiao Ming & Lee Joon Gi
At that special Pepsi event at the Asia World Expo in Hong Kong, the South Korean Actor-Martial Artist-Singer-Model-Dancer was presented with a 'Word' gift, a Chinese character meaning ‘ALLIANCES’ by Pepsi Cola’s top man in Greater China, Harry Hui.
Taiwanese star Show Luo’s gift was ‘Heart’ and Mainland Chinese actor Huang Xiaoming’s gift was ‘Blood’. Each word had been carefully chosen to reflect Chinese philosophy.
Harry Hui, an entertainment and media expert, told Lee Joon Gi, that he (LJG) as the brand awareness representative of PepsiCo, could use his influence to develop connections or ‘Alliances’ with his global fans. ‘Alliances’ has the connotations of brotherhood, union and connection between people and countries.
What Harry Hui did not realise then was that Lee, through his many amazing future singing-dancing events, martial arts skills, movies and dramas, modelling stints would be a powerful influence over his world-wide audience including ‘Greater China’.
Results speak for themselves. The Joseon Gunman. Moon Lovers – Scarlet Heart Ryeo. Resident Evil: The Last Chapter. His multitude of fan meets. His awesome modelling projects.
Lee Joon Gi’s Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, according to news reports, had opened ‘to an enormous $33 million on its first day in China in February 2017. The massive box office takings is the third largest Hollywood debut ever in China. ‘The film’s first day in China is considerably more than its entire North American run, which sits at $26.6 million after four weeks’ according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Lee Joon Gi’s great influence and powerful connections to China cannot be denied. The previous Resident Evil movie in did not do well in China in 2012. It can be argued that the presence of Lee Joon Gi in the 2017 instalment had led to the rise in the awesome box office performance in China. Other than East Asia, Lee Joon Gi is also popular in Southeast Asian nations like Thailand, Indonesia, The Phillipines, Malaysia and Singapore.
JAPAN 
20.05.2016 SPLENDOR Family Day
TAIWAN 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbXXqP_xkXc
Arrival at airport in Taiwan
HONG KONG 
21.01.2017 Lee Joon Gi Arrival at airport in Hong Kong
SINGAPORE 
02.03.2017 Lee Joon Gi Arrival at Singapore Changi Airport
LEE JOON GI
THE PEPSICO COMMERCIAL
IN
THAILAND
(2009)
In 2009, he was again featured in PepsiCo’s commercial. He was literally in the driver’s seat as he was seen driving a huge PepsiCo truck loaded with boxes of Pepsi bottles. The other PepsiCo models were passengers in the vehicle.
Indeed, Lee Joon Gi had forged many strong alliances after that. His fanbase in China (including Hong Kong), Taiwan, Japan, Thailand and other parts of Asia expanded rapidly. Later, the rest of the world followed.
LEE JOON GI
AND
THE MCDONALD’S COMMERCIAL
(2008)
In 2008, Mcdonald’s, the American hamburger and fast food chain also wanted a piece of the action.
On 30 March 2008, Lee and the Hong Kong singer Joey Yung filmed a commercial advertisement for McDonalds ‘Shake N' Dip’.
McDonalds CF - Shake N' Dip - Lee Joon Gi & Joey Yung
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THE KING AND THE CLOWN   FILM FESTIVAL
18-28 OCTOBER 2007
‘RISING STAR AWARD'
Fans from Japan
Before the Pepsi advertisement, Lee Joon Gi was already a South Korean superstar. When he attended the Hawaii International Film Festival 2007, he was presented with the ‘Rising Star Award 2007’.
He had already won more than ten awards for his outstanding performance in his 2005 South Korean movie, ‘The King And The Clown’ which has been proclaimed as ‘one of the highest grossing Korean movies of all time’. It earned US$74.4 million. Lee was only 23 at that time.
Source
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THE STAR
PHOTO SHOOT
HAWAII
2016
It was reported that Lee Joon Gi loved Hawaii so much that he went back there for his holidays.
The Golden Boy of the South Korean Entertainment Industry even returned to Hawaii in July 2016 to have the photo shoot for the August issue of The Star magazine. He was the cover boy of the magazine.
  
An image of health, sexiness and confidence
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LOS ANGELES
2011
(19.09.2011-28.09.2011)
Arrival of Lee Joon Gi (Park Hyo Shin and Army Symphony Orchestra)
in Los Angeles on 19.09.2011
After his many whirlwind activities, Lee Joon Gi went on to forge other new alliances. In 2011, while on active military duty, Lee Joon Gi and Park Hyo Shin, participated in a five-day goodwill concert tour to different parts of California.
They joined the Korean National Symphony on the ‘Commemorating Unsung Heroes’ tour (20 September 2011 – 25 September 2011) to honour the heroes who had fought for Korea’s freedom in the 1950s. Lee Joon Gi acted as the Emcee for all the functions.
  
Lee Joon Gi
23.09.2011 Lee Joon Gi as Emcee at Grace Mission Church (Encore)
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THE RITZ-CARLTON
SEOUL
2015-2016
 
In 2015, Lee Joon Gi signed an agreement to be the ambassador of The Ritz-Carlton Seoul, a 5-star hotel which is located in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam, one of the most expensive areas in Seoul. The hotel closed for comprehensive remodeling to accommodate more guests with newer facilities starting from January 2017.
The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, based in Boston, Massachusetts, expanded the brand to other locations. The hotel company is today a subsidiary of the American multinational company, Marriott International.
    
His ties with The Ritz-Carlton, Seoul brought him closer to his fans, especially his Japanese fans. Lee Joon Gi's management agency organized various events in the hotel including White Joon Gi’s Day for his Japanese fans in 2016.
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RESIDENT EVIL
THE FINAL CHAPTER
2016 / 2017
In October 2015, Lee Joon Gi signed on to star in Resident Evil: The Final Chapter. Although it is only a cameo role, Lee Joon Gi must have been very happy to be part of Hollywood.
The movie was very successful in the East, especially in China where Lee Joon Gi has a very huge fan base. It cemented his status as one of the most bankable Asian stars. His fame and influence has spread all over the world.
    
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016-2017)
         
Lee Joon Gi with his co-stars in South Africa
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MOON LOVERS
SCARLET HEART RYEO
2016
    
Figurine of Emperor Gwangjong (Prince Wang So)
 
Subsequently, it was reported that NBC Universal Studios had invested 10 million USD in Lee Joon Gi’s 2016 historical fiction drama, ‘Moon Lovers – Scarlet Heart Ryeo’. The drama which is an adaptation of the famous Chinese novel, Bu Bu Jin Xin, had 2.5 billion views in China and had 73% viewership in Singapore and Malaysia. The drama is not only very popular in Asia but also the rest of the world. Lee won several awards for his performance, including the Best Actor Award from Taiwan's KKTV.
In the US, it is, so far, the only South Korean drama that has made it to the American Fandometrics list, debuting at no 18.
FANDOMETRICS
 
Drama Fever Awards 2016. Although Lee Joon Gi was nominated for the Best Actor Award, he did not win. It was a great disappointment for his global fans, especially when the voting for all categories closed earlier than expected. Scarlet Heart Ryeo won the awards for Best Historical Drama and Best Ensemble.
It was the time when strange storms had whirled around Lee. Voting for him probably stopped not because his fans did not support him but because of the shock from the unnatural storms which had wreaked havoc in South Korean drama land. The storms had done their predictable damage.
But, bad luck can’t last forever. Now, the situation is back to normal and his fandom is stronger than before. In fact, it is rising rapidly. This has proven his solid standing and status in the showbusiness industry.
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THE PRESENT
(The Gift) 2017   
19.07.2017: Press Conference for Criminal Minds
Lee Joon Gi has always been associated with many successful projects and campaigns.
 At present, Lee Joon Gi is in the midst of shooting his latest drama, a police procedural crime drama, Criminal Minds’ which is supposedly a ‘remake’ of the original Criminal Minds, a product of CBS, an American broadcast network.  
The Korean version of the police procedural drama will be launched on 26 July 2017 and is scheduled to be shown on TVN’s new Wednesday-Thursday late-night drama slot at 22.50 pm KST.
Lee plays Kim Hyun Joon a former SWAT / EOD member whose sulpuric temper inflames tensions in the NCI bureau but later, he comes to a consensus with his team members about the contentious profiling issue.
 Kim Hyun Joon, an on-site Investigative Agent and Behavioural Analyst is marketed as a unique character who is not related to any character of the original Criminal Minds.
Many may associate Kim Hyun Joon with Derek Morgan played by Shemar Moore, but other than their shared athleticism and cheekiness, they would have nothing much in common.
Lee Joon Gi will showcase his cornucopia of amazing skills and talents that will change one’s perception of Criminal Minds. The differences would be dramatic as Hyun Joon would be part of different bureaus - the POLICE force, the SWAT (militarised police / para- military), and the EOD (military), and finally, he ends up as a Behavioural Analyst with the NCI (National Criminal Investigation) bureau. 
LEE JOON GI
           
The Americans would not want a copycat or a cloned version of their beloved Criminal Minds as they are sticklers for creativity and originality.
Being a composite of characters, Kim Hyun Joon will have the combination of: the playfulness and hilarious sense of humour of Jackie Chan, the graceful fluidity of Jet Li, the Alpha masculinity and athleticism of Shemar Moore, the sexiness of James Bond, and the intelligence of Jason Gideon and Sherlock Holmes – all fused together.
The revamped version of the leading character of South Korea's Criminal Minds will reveal other surprising sides of Kim Hyun Joon that will make a crucial difference to one’s drama viewing experience.
THE CRIMINAL MINDS VIDEO
LJG CUT
                 
THE POLICE
KNP
(KOREAN NATIONAL POLICE)
     
THE MILITARIZED POLICE
(PARA-MILITARY)
KNP
THE SWAT
(SPECIAL WEAPONS AND TACTICS)
  
THE EOD
(EXPLOSIVE ORDNANCE DISPOSAL)
   
THE NCI
(NATIONAL CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION)
     
LEE JOON GI
THE MAGICIAN
PREPARES
A BAG OF MAGIC TRICKS
FOR
CRIMINAL MINDS
   
Talk about surprises: Lee Joon Gi never fails to astonish his viewers with new, bright and fresh ideas. He seeks perfection in all his roles.
Don’t scoff. Lee Joon Gi has a flair for magic tricks and will spring some surprises on everyone. Should Lee inject some screwball comedy into his role, it would add some fun to the serious drama.
It seems Lee, with his magic tricks, would be helping to ease the stress and trauma of some children who have been affected by some horrifying incident.
Viewers expect to be tickled by his delightfully clowny and flippant side but the poignant scenes might perhaps make them change their minds. Still, fans are waiting to be entertained.
KIM HYUN JOON
THE ‘BABY’
OF
SOUTH KOREA
Wonders will never cease with Lee Joon Gi in the driver's seat. Rest assured that Kim Hyun Joon, the main character of the South Korean version of Criminal Minds will be different. He is the unique ‘Baby’ (oops, Baby Boy) of the South Koreans. If you think otherwise, you’ll be in for a surprise. Kdrama viewers expect originality and uniqueness in their dramas. Which is what Lee Joon Gi is going to give them.
Based on the several teasers that have been released, it seems clear that, while the other characters may most likely resemble their original counterparts, the South Koreans are rewriting the image of their leading character.
The originality and creativity of the South Korean approach, with the imposing screen presence of Lee Joon Gi, is expected to win the adulation of the local viewers as well as the global audience.
Fans expect the drama to be a global success and that Lee would continue to forge further alliances. |
WATCH
THE CRIMINAL MINDS KOREA INTERVIEW
LIVE
 
26 JULY 1017
WEDNESDAY
5.30 PM KST
 
Be sure to watch the South Korean version of Criminal Minds! You might begin as a skeptic but you will end up a Criminal Minds Korea fanatic!
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