Comedian Chu Dae-yeop is the talk of the town on YouTube thanks to his alt character Kapichu’s kitschy sense of humor. © Captured from YouTube

Comedian Kim Shin-young caused sensation by debuting as her alternate character Second Aunt Kim Davi with the trot song “Gimme Gimme.”

The Rise of Individualism
The 1997 Asian financial crisis and the 2009 global financial crisis fundamentally changed both the labor market and attitudes toward work. The crises broke the labor-management pact; companies laid off employees and sharply increased short-term hiring. Employee loyalty consequently sank. The younger generation in particular, treated as disposable, temporary assets, began questioning the conventional virtue of sacrificing today for a better tomorrow. In today’s workforce, across generations, there is increased emphasis on happiness here and now instead of chasing after an uncertain dream. The attitude toward work-life balance is also being recast.

In a March 2020 survey by Job Korea, a support service agency, three out of four company employees said their at-work and after-hours personas differ. Respondents said their true identity is exhibited after work hours when they engage in what they really want to do. The older generation, whose life was only about work, had only one persona. But the younger generation, which values many things besides work, needs alternate personas to explore the various facets of life. After work, they dive into activities completely unrelated to their job, and they consider that aspect of themselves an alternate character.

At times, the relationship between a main character and an alternate one may be reversed. A hobby or a leisure activity enjoyed by a secondary character may become an even more lucrative source of income than the salary earned by the main character. Digital spaces, including YouTube channels, act as a catalyst, invigorating alternate character activities.

The alt character fad indicates that the way Koreans view personal identities is changing. Before, it was assumed that an individual’s persona remained unchanged, regardless of their surroundings. Now, people increasingly realize that everyone may have two or more personas coexisting within themselves. A new keyword in Korean society in 2020, “multiple personas” refers to “a multi-layered ego that creates new identities by transforming into other beings as if putting on different masks.”

Diverse Identities
Some celebrities had been “multi-ing” even before the alternate character concept became mainstream. This involved crossing over into a different realm of the entertainment industry. Thus, singers took a turn in movies or serial dramas, and appeared on TV variety shows making witty remarks. Some actors released albums. Of course, not all crossover attempts have been successful; some idol group members who flubbed their rookie role on TV or in movies have failed to receive sympathy.

What’s different about the recent alt character trend is that the alternate character is not involved in a professional stint but rather in a pastime or at play. In the world of alternate characters, therefore, it doesn’t matter much whether an individual possesses the “right” qualities to take on a different persona. The public is also mainly interested in how different or entertaining the alt character is. The reason Korean society has fallen deep into “alt character play” is probably because individuals want to unshackle themselves from group norms and finally unmask their alter egos.