Three luxury houses pulled Jun Ji-hyun's China ads within days of her drama backlash

Jun Ji-hyun, one of Korea's best-known actresses, held active endorsements from three international houses in mainland China: skincare brand La Mer, fashion house Louis Vuitton and jeweller PIAGET. The trio of contracts made her one of the most visible Korean faces in the market.

In September 2025 her new Netflix drama 《暴风圈》 drew sharp criticism from Chinese viewers, who called parts of it insulting to China. The topic trended on Weibo and viewers demanded her brands cut ties.

By September 21 the brands had moved: La Mer's official Weibo deleted every post featuring her, Louis Vuitton's official Weibo did the same, and PIAGET removed her advertising content. The drama's Douban rating slid from above 7 to 4.2 as the backlash ran its course.

None of the houses issued a statement — the deletions were the severance, the same silent tactic Dior had used with its Vietnamese ambassador months earlier. Three contracts, each priced for a flagship China market, ended within days of each other over the reception of one drama.

All three houses deleted her China ads within days, no statements, because a deleted post says less than a press release and is harder to argue with.

The brands shared no announcement, so there was nothing to defend: a deleted post says less than a press release and is harder to argue with.

Her value in China rested on local sentiment, so one Weibo backlash made three separate contracts the same decision — none of them could stay while the others left.

The trigger was a work product, not a personal scandal: the risk a house takes on a face is inseparable from everything that face appears in next.

Speed mattered — every hour a post stayed up read as a position, so the deletions happened in days, not weeks.

A star's value in one market can die with the reception of a single work: three houses deleted Jun Ji-hyun's China ads within days, with no statement and no appeal.