Earned 5 Billion Won Monthly with 'Byeolpoongseon'... BJ and AfreecaTV Double Barrel

Record High Platform Revenue in Q2
Estimated 62.7 Billion KRW in Star Balloon Sales Alone

AfreecaTV has recorded record-breaking sales in the second quarter, thanks to BJ's 'Star Balloon' income. It is estimated that the sales from Star Balloons alone accounted for 62.7 billion KRW of the quarterly revenue.

Cash-equivalent item 'Star Balloon', distributed differentially at 60~80% depending on BJ grade

BJ Kim Siwon, who won the 'AfricaTV BJ Award with NH Kok Bank' for two consecutive years, earns a monthly income of 700 million KRW from star balloons.
[Photo by BJ Kim Siwon Instagram]

The 'Star Balloon' used on AfreecaTV is a cash-equivalent item gifted by fans to BJs, and it is known that the distribution rate varies between 60% and 80% depending on the BJ's grade.

Popular BJs earn tens of billions of KRW from Star Balloons. BJ CommanderJiko achieved 26,089,552 Star Balloons last month alone, ranking first in income. The price of one Star Balloon is 110 KRW, and his earnings for July before taxes and AfreecaTV fees were approximately 2,869,857,200 KRW. In June, BJ CommanderJiko earned 4,922,923,610 KRW.

'Star Balloons' are cash-equivalent items that fans gift to BJs, with a distribution rate of 60 to 80% depending on the BJ's grade.
[Photo by AfreecaTV]

Following him, BJ ParkFunny earned 16,856,465 Star Balloons (about 1,854,210,000 KRW), and DanDongDanJangTaeWoo received 14,523,902 Star Balloons (about 1,597,620,000 KRW).

BJ Kim Siwon, who won the 'AfreecaTV BJ Awards with NH Kok Bank' for two consecutive years, earns up to 700 million KRW per month from Star Balloons. Previously, in November 2019, BJ HighElin (Elin), a former member of the K-pop girl group 'Crayon Pop,' received 800 million KRW worth of Star Balloons from a male fan over a period of one year and two months.

In the same year, in July, BJ HaekJji also received 1.32 billion KRW worth of Star Balloons, totaling 1.2 million Star Balloons, from a single viewer in one day.

The BJ market continues to grow despite controversies

Last month, BJ Haduring caused controversy over racial discrimination. He later apologized for his racially discriminatory remarks.
[Photo by AfreecaTV]

Despite AfreecaTV's growth, BJs active on the platform have continuously sparked controversies.

Last month, a BJ drew criticism for making racially discriminatory remarks by imitating the broken speech of a foreign employee. Earlier in May, a BJ caused public outrage by drunkenly making prank calls to the 119 emergency call center. Last year, Bucheon City restricted AfreecaTV BJs from broadcasting in the square near Bucheon Station due to complaints from nearby residents about noise and privacy violations.

However, despite these controversies, both AfreecaTV and BJ incomes continue to grow. In fact, the average annual income per creator in the top 1% of one-person media creators, including YouTubers and BJs, reached 713 million KRW in 2021. This is a 6.3% increase compared to the top 1% (27 people) average annual income of 671 million KRW in 2019.

According to data received by Rep. Yang Kyung-sook of the Democratic Party from the National Tax Service in May, 34,219 individuals reported income as one-person media content creators in 2021. This is a 12.3-fold increase compared to 2,776 in 2019, two years earlier.

The number of one-person media creators who reported income in 2021 exceeded that of lawyers (6,292), tax accountants (9,611), architects (8,122), and judicial scriveners (6,783).

Meanwhile, on the 1st, AfreecaTV announced that its consolidated operating profit for the second quarter was preliminarily estimated at 23.6 billion KRW, up 1.9% from the same period last year. The operating profit exceeded market expectations by 12.4%. During the same period, sales increased by 11.2% to 86.7 billion KRW. Net profit was preliminarily estimated at 22.7 billion KRW, up 15% from the same period last year.

By business segment, both platform and advertising sales increased year-on-year, driving performance growth. Platform sales reached 65.2 billion KRW, up 11.7% from the previous year. The donation economy sector, known as 'Star Balloon,' accounts for an overwhelming share of this.