Actor Oh Yeoung Su - best known for his role as the elderly Oh Il Nam in the wildly popular Netflix series Squid Game - recently turned down a lucrative opportunity to become the face of South Korea's biggest fried chicken franchise, Kkanbu Chicken.
The seeds were planted in episode six of the Korean drama - considered by fans to be the high-point of the show, when Oh Il Nam memorably referred to series protagonist Seong Gi Hun (played by Lee Jung Jae) as his 'gganbu'.
Although the word doesn't have an official meaning in Korean, it roughly translates as 'a neighbourhood friend that one shares everything with', and serves as a poignant moment between the two characters who had become close throughout the show's run up to this point.
Advert
After teaming up with each other for the next challenge, Oh Il Nam called Seong Gi Hun his gganbu before embarking on a deadly game of marbles.
At that point, the players believed they would be playing in teams against other players, but they soon found out that they were playing against their own teammates and that only one player from each team would survive.
The heartbreaking twist proved to be one of the series' most memorable moments, and after viewing episode six of Squid Game, many of the show's Korean fans started joking about how Oh Yeong Su would be the perfect spokesperson for Kkanbu Chicken.
The chicken franchise's name is also based on the gganbu concept, but romanized slightly differently than Netflix did in Squid Game.
Advert
Kkanbu Chicken has since started posting about Squid Game on their social media, and have revealed that they're planning to release a new item called 'Squid Chicken' on 11 October to cash in on the show's popularity.
After fans started creating memes imagining Oh Yeong Su as the spokesperson for Kkanbu Chicken, the fried chicken franchise reached out to him to see if he would be willing to be their 'endorsement model'.
But according to Korean News outlet JoongAng Daily, Oh Yeong Su rejected the offer, stating that he would rather focus on acting instead.
"On the 6th, a Kkanbu Chicken spokesperson shared during a phone call with JoongAng Ilbo, 'It is true that we offered Oh Yeong Su to be our endorsement model sometime last week, but the actor declined the offer. Oh Yeong Su rejected it by stating, 'I want to remain in my position as an actor' as the reason behind his decision", Joongang Daily reported.
Advert
So while we won't be seeing Oh Yeong Su promoting fried chicken any time soon, it seems like the future's looking bright for the elderly actor.
Whatever he ends up appearing in next is sure to be worth watching.
Featured Image Credit: NetflixTopics: TV and Film, Netflix, Squid Game