One of the most active media today used by millions of people is video. Most of them are distributed by YouTube online. YouTube has been a great success throughout the decade, and has shown outstanding growth in accessibility. The development also has brought new kinds of industrialization, and making videos on YouTube is now a profession that people can do for a living. In fact, many successful people today are those who make enjoyable videos online or so-called ‘YouTubers.’ YouTube emerged early 2005 in the United States, and its development in video industry increased simultaneously ever since.

 

The procedure of broadcasting online involves minimal people and in fact, most starts with one person responsible for the entire broadcast. Hence, this kind of broadcasting is called ‘one-person broadcast’ in Korea. Though it may sound unprofessional than traditional broadcasting, YouTubers have been developing their production qualities over time, and now the audience sees almost no difference with talk shows or variety shows on television.

 

<Sandbox Network>

 

This phenomenon has been brought to South Korea; though many differences are highlighted with Korea’s video industry compared to the rest of the world. Sandbox Network is an active MCN (Multi-Channel Network) in South Korea. Founded by Lee Pil-Sung and Na Heui-Sun (also known by his Creator username ‘Ddotty’), the network aids, promotes, and provides a better business environment for Creators (technical terminology for ‘YouTubers’ in Korean). Sandbox Network’s Creator Partnership Lead, Changi Kim was willing to share the general situation of video culture and industrialization in Korea, and also specifically within their agency. 
 

 

According to Changi Kim, the major difference between broadcasting on YouTube and traditional broadcasting is the way the contents are distributed. As technology is developing at an exponential rate, the accessibility to online content has never been so easy. This resulted in a vast increase in the quantity of audiences, not just within the country but also worldwide. It also allows much active audience engagement as YouTube media itself is more approachable.

    

YouTube Worldwide has a huge range of different contents from sketch, slapstick comedy, beauty tutorials, “vlogs” (a portmanteau of ‘video’ and ‘blog’), parodies, and gaming videos, producing bigger audiences from various age ranges. Meanwhile, most contents produced from Creators within Sandbox Network appeal to pre-teens and teenagers, most of them being gaming videos. “We’ve resulted with a potential for influencing young audiences and a huge number of students wanting to be a Creator in the future. As being part of a group who influence the youth, we feel some sort of responsibility too,” says Changi Kim.

    

Though it seems that accessibility to uploading videos on YouTube is easy, being a Creator seems to be complicated. Changi Kim expressed that being a ‘Creator’ is a “lonely” job. Creators must stay in front of cameras and computers all day and night to film and edit each footage and to produce a video every single day. Specifically for Korean Creators, they cannot produce as much profit as YouTubers worldwide due to the language barrier limiting the number of audiences, which is disappointingly an inevitable factor. 

 

 <A typical setup of a Creator’s studio>

Despite all these difficulties, we can see how YouTube has been appreciated throughout the years. Annually multiple festivals and conventions are held for Creators and YouTubers. ‘Vidcon 2016’ was held in Anaheim Convention Centre in California last summer with more than 19,500 attendees. This convention is planned to be extended throughout the globe, and will be held in Amsterdam and Melbourne for ‘Vidcon Europe’ and ‘Vidcon Australia' respectively in 2017.
 

Korea also has an annual event called ‘YouTube Fanfest’ where Creators and fans can meet offline and participate in different activities. Sandbox Network has also put much effort for Creators and their subscribers to engage better offline. They have participated in 2016’s ‘YouTube Fanfest,’ and have held multiple autograph events for Creators like ‘Ddotty' and ‘Sleepground’. A few months ago, they also held Ddotty’s ‘One Million Ddotty Concert’ to celebrate Ddotty’s channel surpassing one million subscribers. His Golden Play Button was awarded during ‘YouTube Fanfest’ mainstage performance. Like so, we can expect much growth in appreciation of the future for Korea’s YouTube and Video culture as it is exponentially growing, especially with the help of MCNs like Sandbox Network.
 

 

Grace Jiyoung Lim
Grade 11
Branksome Hall Asia