“Commercial Queen” Jun Ji-hyun’s model contract with Nepa comes to an end… Is it because of “Jirisan”?

Actress Jun Ji-hyun ended her long relationship with outdoor brand Nepa.

Jun Ji-hyun, who first appeared as Nepa‘s face in 2013, has been on a rare long run in the domestic outdoor market centered on male models. The failure to renew the contract comes as a big shock as she has contributed greatly to the brand’s growth to the point of creating the formula “Nepa = Jun Ji-hyun” for nearly a decade.

Until now, Nepa has not spared praises for Jun Ji-hyun, such as “Jun Ji-hyun is a representative model of the domestic outdoor market thanks to a solid body that has been strengthened through exercise as well as her stylishness that leads trends.” 

Nevertheless, regarding the bold decision to break up this time, some people in the industry analyze that it may be due to the aftermath of the “Jirisan” PPL.

The drama “Jirisan” ended at the end of last year with an average viewership rating of 9.2%, but it did not meet expectations for a blockbuster featuring star writers and actors. In particular, it was criticized for its awkward CG and excessive PPL right from the beginning.

Nepa boldly entered PPL because of Jun Ji-hyun, but it is said that the expected advertising effect did not appear. The scenes where Jun Ji-hyun wore clothes with Nepa’s logo were mentioned, and they received unfavorable reviews from viewers. Even when a company sold Nepa’s products at its mall, it created a controversy by putting up a poster saying “Jirisan is ruined, but Nepa is still Nepa”. Of course, this happened due to the company’s wrong judgment, but it can be seen that Nepa spent a lot of money on the drama yet did not get the desired result.

In this regard, Nepa seemed to refuse to comment on the aftermath of the sponsorship of “Jirisan“. However, they released an official statement, “Our contract with Jun Ji-hyun, who has been with us as our exclusive model for 8 years, has ended. We have been discussing it enough before, and we are going to support each other in the future. Nepa intends to show a new look along with the overall brand lineup reorganization, and plans to carry out various activities starting with the SS pictorial.”

Meanwhile, Jun Ji-hyun is spending time recharging after finishing the drama “Jirisan” by choosing a sequel.