The top 1% of YouTubers and live-streamers, also known as BJs (Broadcast Jockeys), earned an average of 1.325 billion KRW (approximately $1 million USD) annually. (Image courtesy of Pixabay/CCL)
SEOUL, Jan. 28 (Korea Bizwire) — The rapid rise of individual media creators in South Korea has led to significant earnings for top content producers.
The top 1% of YouTubers and live-streamers, also known as BJs (Broadcast Jockeys), earned an average of 1.325 billion KRW (approximately $1 million USD) annually, according to data released by Representative Jung Il-young of the Democratic Party of Korea on Monday.
Data provided by the National Tax Service shows that the total reported income of YouTubers and live-streamers for the 2024 tax year amounted to 1.7861 trillion KRW ($1.2451 billion USD). This marks a steady rise from 101.1 billion KRW in 2019 to 1.0083 trillion KRW in 2021 and 1.4537 trillion KRW in 2023.
The top 1% of creators, representing 247 individuals, collectively earned 327.1 billion KRW accounting for 18.3% of the total income in this sector. On average, these creators earned 35.5% more than the top 1% in 2019, when the average income was 978 million KRW.
Meanwhile, the top 10%—2,479 creators—earned a combined 899.2 billion KRW, representing more than half (50.3%) of the total reported income in the sector.
The number of individual media creators has surged dramatically in recent years, growing from 1,327 in 2019 to 24,797 in 2024—a nearly 18-fold increase in just five years.
Despite the rapid growth in earnings, Representative Jung criticized the limited number of tax audits conducted on these creators in the past three years.
“While the annual income of YouTubers and live-streamers has been rising sharply, the number of tax investigations has remained stagnant. Stronger tax enforcement is necessary,” he stated.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
