"Thank You for 38 Years Together"... Dongseo Food Pays Tribute to 'Longest-Serving Model' Ahn Sungki

Active as a Model from 1983 to 2021

National actor Ahn Sung-ki in a 1996 commercial for Dongseo Food's "Prima". Provided by Dongseo Food

Dongseo Food, which accompanied national actor Ahn Sungki for 38 years, bid farewell as he made his final journey.

On January 5, Dongseo Food expressed its condolences, stating, "We deeply mourn the passing of Mr. Ahn Sungki," and added, "We are grateful for the time we shared and will remember his legacy for a long time."

The late Ahn Sungki was selected as the model for Dongseo Food's coffee brand "Maxim" in 1983 and continued in this role for 38 years until 2021. This marks the longest tenure as a model for a single brand in the history of Korean advertising. With his signature gentle and warm image, he popularized advertising phrases such as "Coffee, now it's about the aroma," and "I want to drink it with someone warm-hearted," firmly establishing the brand in the public's mind.

Ahn Sungki also shone during challenging times for Dongseo Food. In 1989, when the company faced a crisis due to aggressive competition from Nestle, Ahn Sungki played the role of a "relief pitcher." He led a campaign emphasizing "Maxim has a great coffee aroma." As a result, Dongseo Food was able to recover a market share in the 70% range by the late 1990s.

His professionalism was also exceptional. During commercial shoots, he once drank boiling coffee straight from the pot to appear natural, resulting in burns inside his mouth. He also maintained a philosophy of avoiding excessive work to prevent overexposure of his image. Based on this trust, he was awarded the "Good Model Award Chosen by Advertisers" twice by the Korea Advertisers Association, in 1995 and 2018.

Ahn Sungki passed away at around 9 a.m. on January 5 after battling blood cancer. He was 74 years old. On December 30 of the previous year, at around 4 p.m., he suffered cardiac arrest at home after food became lodged in his throat and, despite being transported to the hospital, never regained consciousness.

The funeral hall has been set up at Seoul St. Mary's Hospital. The funeral will be held as a special film industry ceremony organized by the Shin Youngkyun Arts and Culture Foundation and the Korean Actors Association over five days. A space for public mourning will be open at the Seoul Film Center in Chungmuro until 6 p.m. on January 8.