"I donate my 149,941 shares to the Korea Social and Trust Fund. My son Il-seon has graduated from college, so make your own way and live independently."
On the 24th, the voice of the late founder, Dr. Yu Il-han, flowed through the former headquarters of Yuhan in Dongjak District, Seoul. It sounded as if he were reading his own will. When he died in 1971, he left $10,000 to his granddaughter, 5,000 pyeong of land to his daughter, and donated the rest of his assets to society.
This is a promotional video Yuhan made to mark its 100th anniversary. It restored Dr. Yu Il-han's voice from past radio broadcasts using AI.
Yuhan, inheriting the founder's belief that profits should be returned to society, turned its former headquarters, used from the 1960s to the 1990s, into a mixed-use cultural space, Willow House. Any citizen can freely relax there. During a media tour that day, the company released this kind of video. The company said it created the AI video to convey the founder's philosophy more vividly.
Domestic pharmaceutical companies have recently been racing to make AI videos. For corporations, it can save production time and expense. While drugmakers had focused on informing the public about the ingredients and effects of over-the-counter medicines, recently they have been trying a wider range of approaches with AI and moving closer to younger generations.
Eighty-five-year-old drugmaker Ildong Pharmaceutical recently advertised its vitamin fatigue recovery product Aronamin Gold Active with AI. The video shows yellow vitamins flying among modern people working out. With the narration, "A day jammed by fatigue, switch on your energy," a caption in the corner reads, "Produced using AI technology."
Aronamin is a long-running brand that Ildong Pharmaceutical unveiled in 1963. Last year, Ildong Pharmaceutical's Aronamin product line posted 71.5 billion won in sales. It is the No. 1 item, accounting for 13% of total revenue. Aiming at Millennials and Gen Z (born in the 1980s–2000s), the company has been trying to refresh its image. An Ildong Pharmaceutical official said it reflects the "healthy pleasure" trend of pursuing health and fun together.
Sixty-eight-year-old Dongkook Pharmaceutical also recently produced an AI ad for its hair loss drug Pansidil. A rock singer named "Hair Loss Advisory" sings, "How should I fill this empty sense of void," "Starting today, with an oral hair loss drug, there will be less shedding and more fullness," and "People with hair loss, rise up." The so-called "B-grade vibe" clicked, and views on social media (SNS) topped 11 million.
In addition, it produced a video promoting the benign prostatic hyperplasia urinary disorder treatment Caritopotene, featuring a trot singer named "Jeon Ip-seon" singing, "I hate that I'm always fidgety and anxious today as well." Dongkook Pharmaceutical's capsule medicine sales, including Pansidil and Caritopotene, came to 57.1 billion won last year. That is about 6% of total revenue. A company official explained, "By creating characters with AI and adding music and a cheerful narrative, viewers can enjoy it without resistance."
Pharmaceutical companies are rushing into AI content production because it is cheap and fast. With production costs soaring, they aim to try new things with AI and catch customers' eyes. However, when producing AI videos, they say prompts must be crafted carefully to avoid exaggerated or misleading claims about efficacy.
An industry official said, "AI ads can go beyond simply informing about product effects to experimenting with various concepts." The industry is watching with interest as long-established, decades-old traditional drugmakers use AI videos to reach future customers.