A limited edition Son Heung-min cup sits on a display shelf at a McDonald's store in Guadalajara, Mexico, Saturday. Korea Times photo by Park Joo-hee

Son Heung-min’s popularity has surpassed that of David Beckham, at least in the World Cup host city of Guadalajara, Mexico. The proof was not found in a poll or a marketing report, but on McDonald’s shelves. Among the collectible cups featuring some of football’s biggest names, the Korean national team captain’s edition was the one that kept selling out.

At 11 a.m. Saturday, I headed to a McDonald’s near where I was staying with one goal in mind. I wanted to secure a "Sonny cup." My motives were not exactly noble. I had heard that the Son edition had not been released in Korea, which made it seem worth collecting and reselling before I had even seen one.

I quickly did the math. If I could buy one in Mexico and resell it on secondhand marketplace app Karrot Market, it might help with household finances. As a father of two young children, I allowed myself to call it household budgeting.

The cup's absence in Korea appeared to stem from local advertising arrangements. Son is the commercial face of Domino’s Pizza in Korea, which likely made it difficult for McDonald’s, a rival food brand, to use his image in domestic marketing.

A poster featuring various football players for the McDonald's World Cup promotional meal in Guadalajara, Mexico, Saturday / Korea Times photo by Park Joo-hee

The lineup was impressive. Beckham, Ronaldinho, Thierry Henry and Lamine Yamal were part of a broader group of nine global stars, with seven versions available in Mexico. Seeing Son placed alongside some of football’s biggest legends made me feel a touch of national pride. It also gave me false confidence. Compared with those timeless icons, the Son edition would be surely easier to buy.

That assumption fell apart at the first burger shop. Every cup seemed available except Son’s. Even the edition for Mexico striker Santiago Gimenez sat in stock, but the Sonny cup had already sold out.

I opened Google Maps. Guadalajara had 18 McDonald’s branches. I called an Uber and traveled 8.8 kilometers to another store, and it was the same story. No Sonny cup.

A display case shows inventory of the collectible cup lineup at a McDonald's branch in Guadalajara, Mexico, Saturday, revealing that the Son Heung-min edition is completely sold out. Korea Times photo by Park Joo-hee

Source: Korea Times News