You know, South Koreans are huge fans of YouTube. It's one of the most popular social media platforms in the country, with a majority of the population using it. They love watching all kinds of content on there, like music videos, comedy clips, movie trailers and vlogs. It's also become a go-to spot for South Korean celebrities to interact with their fans. Naturally, the video streaming platform also gave rise to thousands of YouTube influencers whom the country loves.
The South Koreans' love for social media is backed up by the numbers. In 2023, over 44 million people in the country will be reached by ads on the platform. Just think about it, if you made a short YouTube commercial, it could be potentially viewed by more than 85% of the entire South Korea! It's no wonder this platform has become one of the most powerful tools for brands to use in their marketing campaigns.
Speaking of advertising and marketing, an efficient and effective strategy brands have been using is influencer marketing. Through influencer marketing, brands from different niches collaborate with social media stars through sponsored content, reviews and unboxings, promotional placements, and many others. This type of soft-sell strategy is seen as more authentic and relatable.
YouTube has content from all categories–gaming, fashion, fitness, travel, to luxury. In this article, we curated the top YouTube Influencers in Korea from various niches. Keep reading and hit play!
Top YouTube Influencers in Korea ⬇️
20. Zuyoni Tech
Subscribers: 680K
Topics: Tech Reviews, Gadgets
Zuyoni Tech was formerly an IT reporter for the Yonhap News. Due to her credibility in the tech industry, her YouTube channel easily gained recognition and audience. She now creates tech videos reviewing, unboxing, and assessing electronic devices on YouTube.
Zuyoni not only reviews gadgets such as phones and tablets, she also creates contents on accessories like earphones and watches, and on appliances such as rice cookers.
19. Wandering Hamzy
Subscribers: 1.02M
Topics: Travel, Food, Vlog
Wandering Hamzy is a travel and food vlogger from South Korea. She documents her adventures for her subscribers to see, as well as everything on the menu to satisfy her viewers’ appetite. She loves traveling around South Korea while tasting the best dishes in each locality and creating mukbang content.
18. Korea Grandma
Subscribers: 1.18M
Topics: Food, Cooking Tutorial
Park Mak-rye, more popularly known as Korea Grandma, is a 75-year old YouTuber from South Korea. This social media grandma first became popular for her makeup tutorials and vlogs full of wisdom for the younger generation. Now, she focuses more on teaching her viewers how to navigate the kitchen and produce Korean cuisines.
Brands like Samsung and Lotte have worked with her because of her humor and lightheartedness!
17. Kkang Stylist
Subscribers: 1.26M
Topics: Men’s Fashion, Styling, Grooming
Kkang Stylist is a South Korean fashion stylist who helps men look and feel their best. His videos are focused on men’s fashion and men’s grooming. From hairstyle tips and tricks to wardrobe essentials, Kkang is the go-to for South Korean men. Kkang’s popularity led brands into a collaboration with him, brands such as Musinsa, DrawFit, and PLAC.
16. Hip Top
Subscribers: 1.64M
Topics: Fitness, Health
Hip Top, a.k.a. Euddeum Shim, is a pilates instructor who became Korea’s #1 female fitness YouTuber. She gained massive popularity because of her healthy living tips, pilates instruction, and personal adventure vlogs. She also creates 10-minute and 20-minute workout routine videos which her followers can do at home. When it comes to health and fitness, especially for Korean women, Hip Top is the best account to check out.
15. DIY Edigna
Subscribers: 2.17M
Topics: Fashion, DIY
DIY Edigna, or Lee Young-kyung, is a woman who works magic and transforms old clothes into stylish new pieces. She repurposes old sweaters, pants, jackets, and other clothes, and upcycles them into more trendy and chic outfits. People love her videos because they can look better without spending much money. Her materials are also often found in regular homes.
14. Risabae
Subscribers: 2.24M
Topics: Beauty, Skincare, Vlog
Lee Sa Bae, better known as Risabae, is a South Korean beauty vlogger on YouTube. She’s also a known K-pop singer who started her career with the album Eyes, Nose, Chu (E.N.C). She’s not only a staple icon when it comes to beauty recommendations, she also creates lifestyle and fashion content for her followers.
Risabae creates makeup tutorials, fashion hauls, unboxings, makeup transformations, and life vlogs. She’s already worked with famous brands such as Chanel, Coca-Cola, Dior, Bulgari, and many more.
13. IT Sub
Subscribers: 2.52M
Topics: Tech Reviews, Gadgets
IT Sub is a tech content creator on YouTube. He says he can’t stand being curious so he tries everything out! He makes review videos on anything tech-related–from smartphones, laptops, game consoles, monitors, and even internal hardware for computers. He also makes comparison videos as well as top gadgets lists.
12. Hami Mommy
Subscribers: 2.57M
Topics: Home Decor, Home Organizing, Lifestyl
Hami Mommy is a housewife in her mid 30s who gave up her job in order to become a full-time mom. This influencer’s channel is purely aesthetic and pleasing to the eyes. She makes content on anything homemaking–cooking, organizing, decorating, cleaning, and making spaces pretty. Her videos are so relaxing and informative, especially for other at-home moms.
11. GAMST
Subscribers: 2.61M
Topics: Gaming, Vlog, Soccer
GAMST, or Kim Jin-ik, is a popular South Korean streamer on YouTube, and other streaming platforms like Afreeca. GAMST is known for his witty and funny expressions when gaming, and also for his skills and strategy. He usually plays games like League of Legends (LoL). He’s also very popular as a soccer commentator in South Korea, and he started his career being an online football game broadcasting jockey in 2012.
10. Gym Jong Kook
Subscribers: 2.98M
Topics: Fitness, Gym, Workout
Kim Jong-kook, a.k.a. Gym Jong Kook, is a popular fitness influencer who uploads tons of videos on gym workouts, routines, and exercises. He’s more focused on body-building, that’s why his videos are also more targeted to specific body parts. Aside from going to the gym, he also tries other physical activities like boxing and pilates. He also remembers to share about his “cheat” days eating dozens of hamburgers and other delicious food.
9. Solarsido
Subscribers: 3.33M
Topics: Music, Dance, Entertainment, Vlog
Solarsido is the official YouTube channel of Mamamoo member, Solar. Solar’s own YouTube channel lets her followers peek into her daily life, which is filled with rehearsals, good food, great friends, and fun activities. Solar creates varied content–from vlogs, mukbangs, workouts, to makeup routines. This YouTube channel made Mamamoo fans view Solar in a different light.
8. Waveya
Subscribers: 3.7M
Topics: Dance, Entertainment
Waveya is South Korea’s #1 dance team on YouTube. Waveya is composed of the duo Ari and Miu. They began creating dance videos in 2011, and have managed to maintain their popularity until today. They create dance covers to the most popular choreographies from all parts of the world. They also create slowed and mirrored dance tutorials for beginners to follow.
Subscribers: 3.77M
Topics: Pets, Cats
Who says YouTube is only for humans? The platform has cats too! Get ready for a day filled with furry cuteness as Claire creates videos about her seven cats. Claire loves sharing the mischief her cats are always up to. She creates content on everything pet-related, from pet grooming to pet exercise. Don’t be surprised to see her seven cats get more views than other influencers!
Subscribers: 5.12M
Topics: Entertainment, Vlog
Na Haeun started as a young YouTube influencer who wowed her audience with entertaining dancing and singing. Not only is she a great performer, she’s also a child model. Her YouTube is filled with performances, life updates, and behind-the-scenes as a child star. She recently joined SM Entertainment as a trainee in order to become the next K-pop sensation.
Subscribers: 5.94M
Topics: Beauty, Cosmetics
PONY Syndrome is a South Korean makeup artist and YouTuber famous globally. She is known for her vibrant and creative makeup looks, often incorporating bold colors and unique techniques. She is also very popular for her tutorials on how to achieve various makeup styles, and her reviews of various beauty products. Her makeup tutorials have garnered millions of views and she has gained millions of followers on her social media accounts.
4. Sungha Jung
Subscribers: 7.16M
Topics: Music, Guitar
Sungha Jung might be one of the most-famous music YouTubers from South Korea ever since the platform gained popularity. Sungha Jung’s talent amazed the entire world ever since he was a child. He plays the guitar through a style called “fingerstyling”. This style makes the strings sing the song–it’s like he’s one whole band by himself! Check out his video covers on both local and international songs.
3. Twin ROOZI
Subscribers: 10.7M
Topics: Entertainment, Food
This YouTube channel is managed by 13-year old identical twins from South Korea who love sharing fun and joy to their viewers. They post daily food content, and are more focused on snacks and delicacies which have bold colors and are fun to eat. They also love making mukbang content on sweet candies, chocolates, and other desserts. These twins’ showmanship is the reason why they gained over 10 million followers.
2. Boram Tube
Subscribers: 14.6M
Topics: Kids, Toys
Boram Tube is a channel which stars 9-year old Boram. This channel is all about living life as a cute and quirky child. Boram loves sharing her toy reviews for other kids to watch. She also loves playing with her friends and family, as well as sharing her latest adventures. Because her channel was such a big success, Boram was able to invest in her future and buy herself properties in South Korea.
1. Jane ASMR
Subscribers: 17.9M
Topics: Food, ASMR, Mukbang
On top of our list is another food influencer, Jane ASMR. Despite only showing the lower half of her face on all her videos, this influencer managed to gain more than 17 million subscribers from all over the world! Jane’s channel is full of ASMR videos where only the clean and crisp sounds of her eating can be heard. People love watching ASMR videos because they often find it relaxing.
Jane usually does themed content, like for the video above where she only ate cream nutella and other chocolates. In other videos, she’d only eat desserts and snacks of a specific color. If you’re a food brand looking to expand your name in South Korea, then Jane is the best influencer to collaborate with.
Conclusion
South Korea is full of social media platforms local to the country, but YouTube successfully infiltrated the population. It’s one of the most-used video streaming platforms in the country, with more than 85% of the South Korean population using it. In turn, the platform gave rise to many influencers from different industries.
The list above showed content creators from niches like gaming, tech, beauty, food, fashion, lifestyle, and others. We can see that these YouTubers all cater to the local audience by speaking Hangul and by creating content appealing to the present generation. These influencers have already made their way into the audiences’ heart, which makes them great partners for brands looking to be introduced to the population.
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