IU and Park Bo Gum have just been crowned Korea’s top advertising models for 2026, after an industry survey named them the nation’s representative ad faces for the year.
Chosen by professionals, not fans, the result signals that brands are betting on stars with clean images and massive mainstream appeal. For IU, it extends a three-year streak as CF queen, while Park Bo Gum hits number one for the first time, powered by recent dramas and variety shows that sold a soft, approachable image.
Inside the 2026 MAD STARS Ad Model Rankings
In July, the Busan International Marketing and Advertising Festival, known as MAD STARS, announced that IU and Park Bo Gum were selected as the 2026 Korea Representative Advertising Models after a survey of people working in advertising and marketing.
The poll, run from March to April, asked industry professionals which faces they were most likely to book, rating candidates on likelihood of appearing in real campaigns, brand influence, and popular reach. It covered three categories – representative ad model, rookie ad model, and creator.
For IU, it is her third consecutive year at the top, underlining how her music career and acting roles in Netflix series When Life Gives You Tangerines and MBC drama The Grand Lady of the 21st Century keep her constantly visible and trusted with the general public.
Park Bo Gum takes the male title for the first time, after expanding his range through When Life Gives You Tangerines and drama Good Boy. Korean coverage also points to his hosting on KBS show The Seasons – Park Bo Gum’s Cantabile and tvN variety series Bogum Magical, which built a warm, easygoing persona that advertisers favor.
The same survey also highlighted the next wave of faces:
- Rookie ad models: actors Go Youn Jung and Park Ji Hoon.
- Creator winners: entertainer Lee Su Ji and online personality Kim Sun Tae, known as Chungju Man.
Why Brands Are Betting On Their Clean Image
The MAD STARS result fits a bigger pattern in Korean advertising, where surveys keep putting IU and Park Bo Gum near the very top. A Korea Broadcast Advertising Corporation trend study this year ranked IU as the most preferred advertising model among consumers, with Park Bo Gum also high on the list.
Commentary from that survey and separate K Brand Index research emphasized that advertisers now prioritize how well a star delivers a brand message, along with trust and low scandal risk, rather than pure name recognition. Experts have even described IU and Park Bo Gum as irreplaceable top models, reflecting how comfortably their images fit many different product categories.
What This Means For Future CFs And Fans
Being chosen as the 2026 Korea Representative Advertising Models signals that IU and Park Bo Gum will stay at the front of the line when brands plan new commercials. With their recent pairing in When Life Gives You Tangerines, also titled You Have Done Well, fans on Korean forums now refer to them as the When Life Gives You Tangerines couple.