한국국제교류재단

Have you ever tried making dalgona coffee? What’s the best way to cook Chapaguri (aka ram-don) noodles, as featured in the movie Parasite? People around the world enjoy cooking and eating Korean food, following Korean makeup and fashion, and learning about Korean culture in detail. Thanks to Korean creators on social media, they can find all of this information in fun online content. Fans of all things Korean subscribe to video channels from K-creators who release content in English, Chinese, Japanese, and more.

In a survey conducted by a Chinese media company last year, YouTube creator Hanguk Dong Dong (韩国东东), who makes videos introducing Korean culture in Chinese (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCg4XpIyTqbAi7FFz3Ih_pGw), was the only Korean included on a list of foreign personalities loved by the Chinese people. The name “Dong Dong” is derived from the Chinese word dōngdōng, meaning “something cute.” The Korean YouTuber began her career by introducing interesting aspects of Korea and has expanded the scope of her channel to cover broader topics including food, entertainment, fashion, and daily life. She chats casually about anything — the price of beef in Korea, the Korean habit of soaking steamed rice in ramyeon noodle soup, and other not-so-important tidbits that foreigners would never know unless they lived in the country. She’s earned great popularity among her viewers for her ability to discuss Korea while demonstrating her understanding of Chinese culture.

Overseas consumers who purchase Korean beauty products online also use social media, where they can see detailed reviews on skincare and cosmetics and learn Korean makeup techniques. Creator Calary Girl is famous for her so-called “first-generation” beauty channel. She is widely known outside of Korea, offering content in English and Japanese. In addition to her Korean-language channel “Calary Girl A,” she also runs the Japanese-language channel “Calary Girl J,” actively communicating with her Japanese fans (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCN559lrbV9wt46NwlnPJtPw). Not only does she introduce Korean beauty products, she also exchanges cosmetics-related information with Japanese beauty YouTubers.

But Korean food is perhaps the subject that attracts the most enthusiastic response in the world of social media. Among the K-food YouTube channels, Maangchi (https://www.youtube.com/Maangchi) has the greatest number of subscribers, teaching Korean food culture and easy-to-make recipes in fluent English. Maangchi says her objective is to help people across the world find out for themselves just how delicious Korean food is. According to many of her fans, one of her strengths is her clear pronunciation of plain English. She may not sound completely like a native speaker, but people watching her videos agree that what counts in foreign language communication isn’t pronunciation, but rather the message and intentions of the speaker. This is an element that seems to be shared by all Korean creators who are widely loved by subscribers around the world. Their creative hearts shine as they share Korean content with international viewers, free from any superficial limitations.

Written by Kim Moonyoung

YouTubeKorean_CultureHansikKbeauty