"If I Hit the Jackpot, I'll Quit"...Office Workers Dreaming of Becoming YouTubers [Heo Midam's Youth Report]

83% of Citizens Watch YouTube 30 Hours Monthly on Average
1 in 4 Office Workers "Running Personal YouTube Channel"

Citizens are hurrying on their way to work. The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. [Image source=Yonhap News]

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[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] # Kim Mo (27), a second-year office worker, opened his own YouTube channel earlier this year to communicate with subscribers. Kim said, "There is no guarantee that I will work at one company for life, and I was tired of watching my boss's eyes while working, so I opened a YouTube channel while looking for another path." He added, "I originally liked taking photos and videos, so YouTube is also part of my hobby. However, if the number of YouTube subscribers increases, I might quit my job and switch entirely to being a YouTuber."

Recently, the number of office workers dreaming of becoming YouTubers has been increasing. As the concept of a 'lifetime job' fades and it becomes difficult to accumulate wealth by just saving a salary, the number of 'office worker YouTubers' who take YouTube as a side job is increasing. In particular, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the activation of remote work, many people have been using their spare time to shoot and edit videos. Experts predict that this 'two-job' craze will continue even after the COVID-19 situation.

It has been found that 8 out of 10 Koreans use the YouTube app, indicating a large number of domestic YouTube users. According to the results announced by the mobile big data platform company 'IGAWorks,' as of September last year, about 43.19 million people in Korea used the YouTube app, which is about 83% of the Korean population of 51.78 million.

The daily viewing time is also considerable. The average monthly usage time per person for the YouTube app was 29.5 hours, which was the highest compared to KakaoTalk at 12 hours, Facebook at 11.7 hours, and Naver at 10.2 hours.

As the YouTube craze continues, the number of office workers considering running YouTube channels is also increasing.

Office worker Song Mo (27) also opened a YouTube channel focused on vlogs after much consideration. Song said, "With the change to remote work, my work style became much more relaxed. I started YouTube thinking about whether I could do something in my spare time."

He added, "Even if you want to have a hobby, it is often financially burdensome. You cannot ignore the price of personal training when exercising, nor the price of a camera when taking photos. But YouTube requires no special equipment and can also be used as a portfolio later, so it's good."

It has been found that many office workers operate personal YouTube channels like Song. According to a survey conducted last October by the job portal Incruit together with AlbaCall targeting 725 adults (539 office workers), 32.3% of respondents said they operate a personal YouTube channel. Among them, 29.3% were office workers.

They cited reasons for running YouTube channels as ▲hobby and daily record (47.0%) ▲income generation, side job (36.7%) ▲career and portfolio building (10.2%) ▲main job and self-promotion (5.3%).

Recently, the number of office workers aspiring to become YouTubers is increasing. The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Among them, quite a few office workers are stepping into the YouTube world aiming for a so-called 'big hit.' Since famous YouTubers with hundreds of thousands of subscribers can earn tens of billions of won annually, many start YouTube hoping for such high earnings.

However, to generate income from a YouTube channel, one must meet conditions of having over 1,000 subscribers and more than 4,000 hours of annual watch time. Only after meeting these can ads be placed on video content to generate revenue.

Even if revenue is generated, there is a large income gap depending on the number of subscribers and views. According to data submitted by the National Tax Service to Yang Kyung-sook, a member of the National Assembly's Planning and Finance Committee from the Democratic Party, in 2019, the total income of 2,776 individual media content creators was 87.511 billion won. This means an average income of about 31.52 million won per person.

Among them, the top 10% (277 people) earned a total of 59.886 billion won, averaging 216 million won per person. On the other hand, the bottom 50% (1,388 people) earned a total of 1.5 billion won, averaging only 1.08 million won per person.

Many office workers give up on being YouTubers when the income from YouTube is not significant. Recently, on secondhand trading sites, it is not difficult to find posts selling broadcasting microphones and cameras under the title "selling YouTube equipment." Disappointed by the lack of significant income, they stop being YouTubers and focus on their main jobs.

Experts predict that the YouTuber craze among office workers will spread further. Professor Kim Taegi of Dankook University's Department of Economics said, "With the increase in remote work due to COVID-19, there is more free time. Ultimately, opportunities to try other things like side jobs have opened up." He analyzed, "The craze for side jobs or 'N jobs' will continue even after the COVID-19 situation."