Fictional idol group fuels viral marketing for Korean film

A music video released on YouTube on April 21 has gone viral, drawing attention for blurring the line between fiction and promotion. The track, “Love Is,” is credited to a group called Triangle. While the name may be unfamiliar, the performers appear strikingly recognizable, with viewers identifying actors Kang Dong-won, Park Ji-hyun and Eom Tae-goo dressed as early-2000s idol group members.

The video is part of the marketing campaign for the film Wild Thing, set for release on the 3rd of next month. Distributor Lotte Entertainment released it without any explanation about the film and more than a month ahead of its premiere.

Lee Hanna, head of brand marketing at Lotte Entertainment, said the strategy was designed to build curiosity first. “We believed that sparking interest early would naturally lead people to the film,” she said. “The actors trained for months in singing and choreography and delivered a level of quality beyond expectations. That process gave us confidence that ‘Triangle’ could work as content in its own right.”

The music video was shot shortly after the film wrapped production last year. Attention to detail was a central focus. In the film’s narrative, Triangle is a co-ed idol group that debuted on June 3, 2002, under Yonggu Records. To make the concept feel authentic, the production team recreated early-2000s idol aesthetics, from camera movement and visual texture to effects, vocal style and even vibrato.

Lee said the team also borrowed heavily from real-world idol marketing practices. “We used promotional language and tactics commonly seen in actual idol debuts,” she said. “We even created a NamuWiki page and social media accounts to build out the Triangle universe.”

As of May 5, the video has drawn about 2.27 million views. Comment sections are filled with viewers embracing the fictional premise, with many saying it evokes nostalgia for memories that never actually existed. More notably, some users say the video alone has made them want to see the film in theaters.

Wild Thing is a comedy about the fictional disbanded group Triangle, who reunite 20 years later for a second shot at success. Their comeback project, centered on the lyric “Why is love so, so difficult,” appears to have already succeeded in its first objective: capturing audience attention well ahead of release.


김태언 beborn@donga.com