More foreign YouTubers create Korean contents

Revier Gomez (31), who runs a YouTube channel titled “Café Juseyo” with around 280,000 subscribers, creates contents on crimes, security, and police investigations in Korea. The videos, which are created in Spanish, are widely popular in South America. Many comments mention that it would be nice to live in Korea where it’s safe to stay outside until late hours.” Gomez, who previously worked at the Ministry of Legal Affairs in Mexico came across Korea as a country with good security and arrived in Korea to study. He is currently studying for a doctor’s degree in Criminal Psychology at Kyonggi University. 　

K-pop, dramas, films, and other Korean contents have become globally popular. Interest towards Korean contents naturally deviate to Korea, so there is a growing number of YouTube channels created to meet this demand. While channels created by foreigners targeted Korean viewers by praising Korean contents, more channels are recently portraying diverse aspects of Korea: as a safe place to live, beautiful countryside and general lifestyle of Koreans. “I’m aware that I can get more hits if I create videos based on specific keywords such as BTS, Parasite and Squid Game. But I want to show more diverse aspects to Korea,” YouTubers say. 　

Bart, a Dutch travel vlogger who runs a YouTube channel titled “igoBart,” is inspired by the Korean countryside. He bikes around the country, showing the rural landscape. The former businessman got interested in Korea when meeting Korean tourists during his trip. The vlogger who is currently residing in Korea, travelled more than 2,000 kilometers over the last two months. “I was interested in Korean society and history, particularly majoring in geography,” he said. “I want to create educational contents that are different from others. It’s rewarding to share the beauty of the Korean countryside and kindness of the people.”

French YouTuber Jake, who runs a channel titled “Jake the Korean Dream” with 110,000 subscribers, shares glimpses of his life in Seoul. He details his office life while working for a start-up in Korea for those who are aspiring to work in Korea. Amanda from Brazil is running the channel “Oh, My friend!” with 430,000 subscribers. He interviews Koreans to ask about their life, personal relationships, and fashion trends. “There is a rapidly growing number of people who are interested in what Korea is really like, in addition to K-pop and films,” said Jake. “I am working to create more contents to meet this rising demand.”


pep@donga.com