ZeroBaseOne racks up 700,000 views in 5 days promoting K-Seafood

Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries taps ZeroBaseOne as K-Seafood promotional models

Four seafood exports paired with hangul keywords targeting younger, global audiences

Campaign to expand to Incheon Airport, Seoul Station and overseas media next month

A thumbnail from the promotional video [Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries]

Global K-pop group ZeroBaseOne has taken on the role of promoting Korean seafood — oysters, olive flounder, abalone and dried seaweed — to the world. The promotional video they star in, titled "Give it a Kick, Dive into K-Seafood," racked up roughly 700,000 views in just five days after its release.

South Korea's Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced Tuesday that it had selected ZeroBaseOne as its K-Seafood promotional models and produced the campaign video.

The video was released Wednesday on the ministry's official YouTube channel and other SNS platforms. Within five days it had accumulated roughly 700,000 views and about 15,000 likes, drawing comments in Korean, English, Japanese and Chinese.

The campaign consists of four 30-second clips, each centered on one of South Korea's leading seafood exports: oysters, olive flounder, abalone and dried seaweed. A distinctive feature is the use of a short hangul keyword for each product, designed to be easily remembered by younger and overseas consumers.

Oysters are paired with "pom," olive flounder with "gak," abalone with "tting" and dried seaweed with "jjin." "Pom" echoes the visual shape of the Korean character for oyster and draws on the expression "pom nanda," meaning something looks stylish. "Gak" links the sharp angles of a flounder's fins to the phrase "gak naounda," conveying a crisp, defined look. "Tting" comes from the slang "ttingjak," meaning a masterpiece, while "jjin" derives from an expression meaning "the real thing."

The soundtrack also incorporates Korean elements, blending traditional instruments including the geomungo with a K-pop style in a track called "Give it a Kick, K-Seafood." The song, built around a repeated "K-Seafood" refrain, is available on domestic and international music platforms including Melon, YouTube Music, Spotify, Apple Music and Naver Vibe.

Starting Oct. 1, the ministry plans to extend the campaign overseas. It will screen the videos at Incheon International Airport terminals and Seoul Station to reach foreign visitors, and will distribute the content through broadcast and online media across Asia, Europe and beyond.

"Rather than presenting our seafood in a dry, technical way, we designed this campaign to let people encounter it naturally through K-pop content that audiences around the world already love," Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Hwang Jong-woo said. "We will continue to produce diverse promotional content and pursue private-sector partnerships to showcase the appeal of our seafood, and we will actively engage not only with younger generations but with consumers everywhere."

adastra@heraldcorp.com