The first ever Youtube video was uploaded on the 23rd of April, 2005. That platform grew out to be one where 300 hours of footage are being uploaded every minute. With over 30 million visitors every day, Youtube has become a huge influence on our culture and our lifestyle as well. Just like many other countries, South Korea also met the era of “Youtubers”. Ranging from gaming channels to K-pop artists, let’s say more than a hand full of people are dreaming of becoming a star Youtuber. As a wannabe Youtuber myself, I was wondering the essential who, what, when, where, why, and how for becoming a famous Youtuber in Korea. How did they get famous? What did they do differently? Throughout my research, the trend has been found. The popularity of a Youtuber is determined through the content and the quality of the video, but it is also determined by whether or not the Youtuber can provide vicarious satisfaction to the viewers.
According to Doug and Botello, “The first ever YouTuber was Jawed Karim (Jawed) who uploaded a video called Me at the Zoo” (272). Currently that video has over 67 million views, and it is significant because it sparked the beginning of the platform Youtube. It was uploaded at 2005, by the website’s cofounder, making it the oldest video on the platform. However, unlike the states where Youtube has been used by a wide spectrum of members from quite a while ago, Youtube was only recently gaining its fame at Korea. Not until 2013-2014, nobody ever even thought about becoming a Youtuber and taking it as their job. It is mentioned over and over again, but PSY was eventually the one to make this platform be well known within the Korean society. With his big hit “Gangnam Style”, his video was once the most viewed video within the platform. Considering his content and his success worldwide using this medium, many of the Korean K-pop agencies jumped into the business. They uploaded more and more music videos and content on the internet, which can be said to have created the fandom of K-pop around the globe. The fancy cinematography and acting within the music videos were a big craze, and this was the first stage in where Youtube was becoming a major platform within Korea.
After a year or two, the videos being uploaded took a lot of different paths. There were a lot of gaming channels because of the huge popularity of Starcraft and League of Legends from those years at Korea. Many Youtubers were also gamers and they would stream their games and upload the content on the platform. On top of gaming channels, DIY/Tutorial channels were a big boom as well. Cooking videos and homemade crafts videos were a big hit and the Koreans were basically putting all education contents on Youtube. There was a Youtube channel that uploaded online class materials, which had professors teach certain concepts within a subject to the viewers. Korea took a similar path to most Youtube videos in the U.S, and was waiting for its boom to come forth.
Around 2015, Youtube has become this major platform for entertainment for the Koreans. It was also the period of the big boom of Korean Youtubers, as being a Youtuber was becoming a normality within society. Everybody would hear about the amount of money they make, “as a Youtuber with around 20K views per day make around $10,000 minimum per year” (Miles p. 12, 2017).
Then lets ask the WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY, and HOW for Youtubing in Korea…
WHO
Looking at the famous Youtubers in Korea, they usually divide up into three big categories; gaming, k-pop, and entertainment.
Within gaming, there are Youtubers such as YANGDDING, Sangho Lee, and Jaenun, who are all within the 1M mark for the number of subscribers. YANGDDING is a Youtuber who mainly plays the famous game called Minecraft. She is known for creating these huge buildings and unique structures within the game, and has been a Youtuber for almost 8 years. She also does other content where she talks about her daily life and happenings. Sangho Lee and Jaenun are both famous for their game play on League of Legends. They are both in the top tier for this game and their videos attract a lot of viewers who want to become better at that game. They upload tutorial videos but their main goal is to entertain by failing to make certain plays or “trolling (doing something others won’t do within the game)”. The common aspect with these three Youtubers are that they all come from a platform called AfreecaTV which is basically the Korean version of Twitch. They live stream almost everyday and can earn money when people shoot “Star Balloons” which is the currency in AfreecaTV. People can buy these balloons to send to certain streamers as they watch them live. For these gaming Youtubers, Youtube acts as a platform where they upload all the highlights to their content. They cut down the time and just upload the videos that are funny or interesting.
K-pop doesn’t need much explanation. There are hundreds of K-pop groups that all upload their music videos on Youtube. Depending on how famous their group is, their view counts will alter. However, these days, many K-pop groups also upload V-logs to interact more frequently with their fans. Although K-pop is known for its modern electronic music, it is also known for its crazy choreography and visuals in the video. They spend millions of dollars to create the set for the shoot, and they spend hours just to create a music video for their songs. Their songs success can really depend on the success of their video, and even till today, many agencies are working hard to create the best videos possible.
Entertainment is the key factor for most of the Youtubers in Korea. They have to create content that is both interesting and funny to watch. Since Youtube is used as a way to pass time, Youtubers have to ponder about what they should upload to get the most laughs from the audience. A Youtuber that is well known for its entertaining videos are called “Treasure Island“. They are a group that consists of three comedians. They upload videos of prank where they basically do a lot of crazy/mean things to each other. They have over 1M subscribers, and are currently one of the most famous Youtubers in Korea.
WHAT
So what do the Youtubers upload?
Content is considered to be the most important aspect of anything creative. Even in an essay, a book, and obviously in a video. Many Youtubers start off their day by planning what they would be filming. From contents where they taste food that other people won’t even dare of, to contents where they visit places for other people to watch. They spend their time and money to find the most interesting content possible. Most Youtubers in Korea already have a platform within their channel. They have a section for V-logs, they have a section for their most well known content, and they have a section where they just bring together all the highlights from all the videos. Finding the right balance between entertainment and providing useful information is the most tough task, but most rewarding when it succeeds. No Youtuber can succeed without good content.
Testing out different foods to ask why would anyone want to eat this…
WHEN
How often do they upload videos?
Most Youtubers post a video everyday. Normally, they will post a certain video in a selected day of the week. Posting a variety of different content everyday will keep the subscribers immersed with the content you have provided, and new subscribers will have a set of videos to choose from. Furthermore, the more videos you have, the higher chance of it reaching the mass audience when you first start uploading videos. “Upload a minimum of 3 to 4 videos a week to keep the viewers busy” (Doug and Bostello, p. 242, 2007).
WHERE
Where can you/should you film Youtube videos?
Location is a factor that is important in any form of filmmaking. Unless you are a Youtuber that is filming outside in the sunlight, most Youtubers create a home studio. This studio contains all the lighting equipment with backgrounds that make it seem like a professional studio. Editing and the quality of videos impact the professional look within a video, but location also plays a big role. Apart from a studio, there are a lot of Youtubers that go out and film their content as I’ve mentioned above. They are normally Youtubers that visit different places or restaurants to introduce unique events or dishes to the viewers. The best option is to have a bit of both. A couple of contents that is filmed in a studio, and a couple that is filmed outside to give a variety of looks for your videos.
WHY
What is their reason for uploading their videos?
Most Youtubers post entertaining content that is irrelevant with most real life events. However, some Youtubers use Youtube as a source to convey important current events or accidents from around the world. They can be individuals who introduce Korean culture worldwide, or they can be Youtubers that try to deliver unfortunate news to get help from the users of Youtube. “Youtube has become a platform that is not just used for entertainment purposes but also used to help increase public awareness of crises and help promote safety strategies” (Park, pg. 1059, 2016), this article talks about how Youtube was used by many Youtubers and AfreecaTV streamers to hep fundraise and raise awareness with an Earthquake incident in Korea.
(Event: Forest fire in Sokcho, South Korea)
HOW
How did they become successful?
We’ve finally reached the portion that most people would be interested in. The three factors in becoming a successful Youtuber is video quality, video content, and providing vicarious satisfaction.
Video quality refers to everything from cinematography, mise en scene, editing, and sound. A good video requires all the factors for it to be visually pleasing to watch. Low quality footage are not really the way to go, and decent editing is required to have the viewers watch the video in ease. Many negate how important the video quality is in aspect to content, but bringing your video game up is certainly a must do!
Content, as mentioned above, is like the heart and brain of the video. Interesting and intriguing content is necessary for the viewers to click your video and watch what you have to say. Try to experiment with different content that not a lot of people have tried out since repeating content can get boring. Also, think of a hook for your thumbnail so that you grab the audience’s attention when they are scrolling through the videos they have searched for. Another good tip is to post about current events so that your video has a higher chance of appearing in somebody’s search list.
Vicarious satisfaction is a necessary factor to be successful in Korean Youtube. Korean’s are extremely restricted to what they can do in their daily lives. If they’re a student, then they are busy with school then going to academies where they do extra work in order to excel in school. If they are older, they are busy working in the company. It is therefore important that people provide vicarious satisfaction through their videos. They need to do things that other people can’t do because they don’t have the time to do so. Travel videos, videos where people eat outside, videos that introduce travel locations, and videos that play games all provide vicarious satisfaction.
These are just some of the factors you need to consider when you are trying to become a Youtuber. All these factors are just for you to take into consideration when you are making your Youtube videos. Youtube was originally made so that people express their creativity throughout their videos and their content. Therefore, it is necessary that YOU DO YOU. Upload what you want to upload, and follow some of these steps to make your video more interesting for the viewers. I hope you can follow along in my journey in becoming a YOUTUB”ER”.
D_kimedia 