Song Eun-yi’s Vivo TV.
SEOUL, Jun. 11 (Korea Bizwire) — An increasing number of celebrity comedians in Korea are turning to YouTube for work.
As comedy sketch programs on terrestrial TV channels continue to dwindle, leaving comedians with fewer work opportunities, they are pivoting to new platforms, namely the Internet.
One key difference that distinguishes online platforms like YouTube from TV shows is that the former is more interactive than the one-directional latter.
Comedienne Song Eun-yi is enjoying her second heyday through podcasts and a YouTube channel. Together with colleague Kim Sook, Song started a podcast titled “Your Secret is Safe” and created “Vivo TV,” a channel on YouTube.
The podcast was ranked amongst the top three podcasts according to Podbang, a podcast platform, while “Vivo TV” has more than 210,000 subscribers.
Song and Kim were able to further cash in on their online popularity by taking their ventures back to the small screen.
Kim Jun-ho’s YouTube channel.
Comic Kim Jun-ho also operates his own YouTube channel, where he airs footage of himself eating (known as “meokbang” in Korea). He also creates other content for his channel such as parody skits and ASMR.
By combining his talent with content made only for YouTube, he has managed to attract more than 380,000 subscribers to his YouTube channel.
Kang Yu-mi, another comedienne, has a created her own YouTube channel that caters to a wide audience by addressing an array of topics from hotel reviews to plastic surgery procedures.
If Kang is a “generalist” YouTuber, others have become experts by sticking to a single field. Comedian Kim Ki-su is one such example, with a YouTube channel that specializes in giving beauty tips.
One PR expert says that comedians are limited when it comes to TV work.
“Because comedians want to create their own content, YouTube is the most important platform for them,” said the expert.
TV critics note that with YouTube expected to become a popular platform for comedians out of work, fans should be to see more of their favorite stars creating their own content online.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
