When I saw Ji-sung Kang’s work ‘Naebokyak’ that won the first prize in the International Public Service Advertisement Competition’s student department, I felt just like what people might have felt when they saw Christopher Columbus who discovered the New World place an egg upright. The idea of ‘Naebokyak’, which is a compound word using ‘Naebok’ (inner wear) and ‘Yak’ (medicine), is very simple. It easily sticks in your mind. Ji-sung Kang also worked as a team leader at Dokdo Academy and now he is working at Je Suk Lee Public Service Advertising Talent Donation Center. What is the reason for him to pour his passion specifically into public service advertisement? We wanted to find out through this interview.

Q: Your major is sociology. What made you first have an interest in advertising?
 
A: When I was in high school, I had a thought to be a copywriter in my mind. But my parents wanted me to work for the government so I decided to major in sociology. When I was serving in the army, I had my own time to reassess my future and I decided to do what I really wanted to do. After coming back to school, I started studying advertising. One day, a professor showed us a paper, which turned out to be mine, and said: “All of you should have tested like this.” At that moment, I realized I was on my way.

Q: Do you have enthusiasm and passion for advertisements? You seem to really like advertising.

A: That's right. With advertising, I can intrigue people through my ideas. When an idea comes into my head, I almost always finish a draft on that idea even if it makes me stay up all night. In the case of the International Public Service Advertising, I already had a draft for the idea of ‘Naebokyak’, so it was easy for me to perfect it more than others in the competition. 

Q: Then, where do you usually get such a sparkling idea from?

A: I usually take the subway, and I cannot read anything in subway because it makes me sick. So while riding I spend my time looking at people’s behavior or staring at the posted ads, and imagining what I would do if I were to redesign those ads. Like this, I prefer getting ideas from everyday life than sitting at my desk and trying to pull out some ideas from my head.

Q: What was your first work that won a competition?

A: The gold award in the 2010 Kwang Dong Pharmaceutical Company Oksusutea Contest was the first prize I ever won. I became cocky after I got a big prize like that even though I was wondering about my career at that time. Unfortunately, that arrogance gave me a tough time because I haven’t won any big awards since I got that prize. Now people who know about that work and the hard time I had because of it, often tease me that work has a kind of love-hate relationship with me.

Q: What is the most important thing to prepare for a competition?

A: Recently I realized something important. What you have to do in addition to preparing for a contest, you have to read people’s mind such as what the organizer’s intention is or what the judge’s tendency is. Also, you need a lot of references because advertising isn’t completed with just an idea alone. Lastly, you should look into whether your idea has already been used by other people or not.

Q: What are the advantages and disadvantages of working individually or as a group?

A: When I work by myself, I don’t need to get disturbed by the other people’s opinions and it makes me be able to focus on my work with my own perspective. It’s the greatest advantage when I work alone. When I work with a group, there are many times when the members don’t cooperate with each other. But working with many people also brings the chance to get various ideas from members with different perspectives. When I work in a team, I try to hear the designer’s view as much as possible to improve the artistic aspect in our work.

Q: I heard you learned computer techniques like how to use programs such as Photoshop by yourself in order to win a competition. How did you do that?

A: I like to learn new things. After I studied advertising, the first thought I had in my mind was that making better designs than other advertising major students could be a great benefit for me. So I bought a Photoshop book and followed what it said. Also I visited many blogs and cafes about Photoshop to learn more skills. I’ve been working with only a Laptop pad without a mouse, and sometimes my design major friends are surprised about my skills. I want to say when you need to learn something then don’t be afraid to face it, and just do it.

Q: I guess it was not easy preparing for the contest as a graduate student. Don’t you worry about getting a job?

A: Those competitions and contests are only available when you are a student. My current goal is “getting a job without a TOEIC score”. But as I have become a graduate student, I feel like the TOEIC score is very necessary. But instead of a TOEIC score, I think my competition winning experiences and also my skills can tell about me.

Q: Tell us if there is any moment when you thought “Oh, this is creative!”

A: I prefer works that can make people sympathize rather than make it clever. Once I walked around the street to look at signals to come up with some ideas for an Alcohol Prevention Poster Contest, but it didn’t work. I almost gave up but on the way home, I saw Makgeolli on a shelf in front of a market. As soon as I arrived at home I created a copy in the form of a poem, “Driving while intoxicated. Starting with Makgeolli. Driving without conscience. Making you a silent dead body. Your family fading away.”

Q: The first award was definitely amazing, but I think it’s quite different when you get a gold prize in an International Public Service Advertisement Campaign.

A: My parent didn’t want me to study advertising, so I almost ran away from home and had to earn money for the tuition fee, rent and costs of living to keep studying advertising. At that time my father was in the hospital and that made me feel so guilty. But this prize gave me an opportunity to have my parents trust my ability and decision about my career. My father was so happy and congratulated me, saying he already knew I got the prize from his dream of picking up a gold ring. Though I’ve been at a ceremony several times before, I got so nervous because this time, the ceremony was broadcast live on TV.

Q: What activities are you doing at Je Suk Lee Public Service Advertising Talent Donation Center?

A: I found about the center from the book I read, “Genius of Advertising, Je Suk Lee”. In this center, students like me can join the groups with designers and volunteers and work as a team, just like the clubs in college. We have a meeting once a week to settle on draft proposals and make contracts with public corporations. President Je Suk Lee has been so busy working abroad, but I had the opportunity to meet him about 10 times since June, 2011. It has been valuable experience for me to have had the chance to talk about advertising with a person like him.

Q: As we can see from your work for Dokdo, it seems like you have a special interest in public service. What encourages you to do public service?

A: After I saw Je Suk Lee’s ads, I thought I might be able to use my ability to contribute to public interests. The Dokdo project was actually one of my friend’s recommendations for me and it was a great opportunity to work for the public. I took the role as a student representative in the project, and tried my best to be more enthusiastic than the others. We did many different kinds of work for the Dokdo project, such as making a report on the cases of the wrong spelling of ‘Dokdo’ in books to domestic and foreign libraries so that they can correct them. And we also did some street performances to promote Dokdo to foreigners in Insadong, and sent chocolates to conscripted police officers in Dokdo. If I get the chance, I want to work at a company doing only public advertising. Even if I get a job at an advertising agency, I would rather be a mentor and share my dream and experiences with students who want to do advertising, than to work as a copywriter. 

Q: How did you finish your last semester?

A: I had 12 credits remaining so I took one required subject in sociology and three classes in advertising. I’ve been a main vocal in a band club named ‘Awoosung’ since my freshman year, but I wasn’t fully concentrated on it, with the excuse of my busy schedule. So now I’ve been trying to get to know my juniors so that I can be a part of them. Since it was the first club I joined, I’m trying to participate more actively.

Q: Lastly, is there anything you want to say to Kookmin students?

A: I needed to study harder because my major was not advertising, not like most other students. I think the only difference between me and them is that I found what I wanted to do just a little bit later. Also I want to say that everything depends on how much you put yourself into your work at school, no matter whether you are in a different major or not. I hope you can be a student who shows competence with your ability.

I doubted at first about what he said, “Getting a job without a TOEIC score”, but after I saw his works and heard what he said, I could understand why he thinks it’s possible. I felt sincerity from his comments that as soon as he got an idea, he ran to the computer to make a draft. I believe that his sincerity and passion were the reason why he could win in many competitions in such a short period. I hope someday we can see his works everywhere on the street.