Park Jung-min x Samyang Group: “Making the Impossible Make Sense” — Allulose and Specialty Materials
What if corn could help make plastic, or an ingredient could provide sweetness with almost no calories? These ideas may sound strange at first, but they point to the kind of science that can transform everyday products.
In its corporate advertising campaign “Making the Impossible Make Sense” (말이 안 되는 것을 말이 되게), South Korea’s Samyang Group teams up with actor Park Jung-min to introduce specialty materials through surprising, humorous situations. One of the campaign’s five episodes focuses on allulose, a low-calorie sugar alternative that is attracting attention in the food industry.
For international K-pop and K-drama fans, this advertisement offers more than a celebrity appearance. It provides a fun introduction to a Korean company working with food ingredients, advanced industrial materials, and biotechnology. Let’s look at the campaign’s creative idea, what allulose is, and why specialty materials matter.
Official YouTube Video
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1. Who Is Park Jung-min, the Face of Samyang Group’s Campaign?
Park Jung-min (박정민) is a South Korean actor known for his performances in films and television. In this campaign, he takes on a different kind of role: a character who delivers seemingly impossible statements as though they were perfectly reasonable.
According to the campaign announcement, Samyang Group selected Park Jung-min again because his natural, mischievous delivery suited the concept. His performance helps turn unfamiliar industrial technologies into something viewers can approach with curiosity and humor. 【turn128893search1】
This is an interesting choice for a corporate advertisement. Instead of relying on a serious narrator to explain technical information, the campaign uses an actor’s timing and an unexpected premise to capture attention.
For international K-drama fans, Park Jung-min’s appearance also provides a familiar entry point into a company whose work extends far beyond consumer-facing products.
2. What Is Allulose? Understanding the Featured Ingredient
Allulose is a type of sugar that occurs naturally in small quantities in certain foods, including some fruits. It is also known as D-allulose or D-psicose.
Although its chemical structure resembles that of ordinary sugar, the body metabolizes it differently. It contributes considerably fewer calories than regular sugar, which makes it useful in the development of reduced-calorie foods and beverages. 【turn889080search3】【turn889080search6】
Samyang Group includes allulose among its specialty food ingredients, alongside products such as dietary fiber and other food materials developed through food and biotechnology research. 【turn889080search0】
Why are food companies interested in allulose?
Consumers increasingly look for ways to manage their sugar and calorie intake without giving up sweet flavors entirely. Allulose offers food manufacturers another ingredient to consider when developing products with different nutritional profiles.
It can be used in a range of food applications, including beverages and baked goods. However, its taste, sweetness, and performance depend on the formulation and the other ingredients used.
One important distinction is that low-calorie does not automatically mean zero-calorie. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's guidance allows a value of 0.4 calories per gram for allulose when calculating calories on nutrition labels. Labeling rules also vary by market. 【turn889080search4】
So, when exploring allulose products, check the ingredient list and nutrition information rather than assuming that every product containing it is calorie-free.
3. What Does “Making the Impossible Make Sense” Mean?
The campaign’s Korean slogan, “말이 안 되는 것을 말이 되게,” can be translated as “Making the Impossible Make Sense.”
The phrase plays with the idea of something that sounds unreasonable becoming understandable through science and technology. It is a natural fit for specialty materials, which can have important functions that are not immediately obvious to everyday consumers.
The allulose episode is one of five campaign stories. The wider series also introduces isosorbide, ion-exchange resin used in producing ultrapure water for semiconductor manufacturing, the SENS gene-therapy delivery platform, and absorbable surgical sutures. 【turn128893search2】
These topics may seem unrelated at first. One concerns a food ingredient, another involves materials derived from corn, and others support semiconductor production or medical applications.
The common thread is that specialty materials can solve specific technical problems, even when their functions are not visible to the final consumer.
From an advertising perspective, this is the campaign’s central idea. Humor attracts attention, while the underlying science gives the story substance.
4. Why Is This a Corporate Advertisement Rather Than a Product Commercial?
Many advertisements focus on a single product, such as a drink, smartphone, or jacket. Samyang Group’s campaign takes a broader approach by introducing several areas of expertise under one corporate identity.
Samyang Group operates across food, chemicals, biopharmaceuticals, packaging, and related business areas. Its corporate strategy emphasizes research and development and higher-value specialty materials. 【turn889080search1】
This makes the campaign different from a conventional consumer product advertisement. Viewers are not being asked to purchase one particular item immediately. Instead, the campaign aims to build awareness of what the company develops and why those materials matter.
The creative strategy has three parts:
Surprise: An unusual statement makes viewers pause and pay attention.
Humor: Park Jung-min’s delivery makes an unfamiliar subject more approachable.
Explanation: Each episode connects the unusual premise to a real material or technology.
This format can help bridge the gap between complex industrial research and general audiences. It does not replace a detailed scientific explanation, but it gives viewers a reason to seek one out.
For international fans, the campaign also reveals another side of South Korean business innovation beyond the entertainment, beauty, and consumer brands they may already know.
5. What International Viewers Can Learn from This Campaign
If you are interested in Korean advertising, this campaign is worth watching for more than Park Jung-min’s performance.
First, notice how the slogan creates curiosity before explaining the subject. The unexpected statements are designed to make viewers wonder how something seemingly impossible could actually work.
Second, consider how the campaign connects different technical fields. Allulose may be the most familiar example for consumers interested in food, but the other episodes show how specialty materials can also support industrial and medical applications.
Finally, distinguish the advertisement’s creative message from the technical facts. A campaign can make a complicated subject memorable, but specific claims about ingredients, calorie content, or product performance should still be checked against reliable sources.
You can learn more about Samyang Group’s business areas through its official website and explore its food business information.
Key Takeaways
Samyang Group’s “Making the Impossible Make Sense” campaign, featuring Park Jung-min, uses humor and surprising statements to introduce specialty materials to a general audience.
The allulose episode provides an accessible starting point. Allulose is a low-calorie sugar alternative that can help food manufacturers develop products with different nutritional characteristics. It is not necessarily calorie-free, and the details of a finished product depend on its formulation and local labeling rules.
The larger campaign also demonstrates how corporate advertising can communicate complex technology without turning every scene into a technical lecture.
For K-pop and K-drama fans discovering Korean brands, this is a useful reminder that South Korea’s business landscape extends well beyond entertainment and consumer products. Sometimes, a memorable advertisement can introduce an entire world of science and innovation.
Watch the video, enjoy Park Jung-min’s playful performance, and look beyond the punchline to discover the technology behind the story.
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