From Public Relations to Men's Magazine Cover... 'Chungju Man' Becomes First Civil Servant Cover Model

Maxim March Issue C-Type Special Cover Model Appearance
Popular on Chungju City's YouTube 'ChungTV'... 600,000 Subscribers

Kim Seon-tae (37), a public official at Chungju City Hall famous for the city's official YouTube channel ‘ChungTV,’ became the first public servant to be featured as a cover model for the men's magazine MAXIM.

On the 23rd, Maxim Korea announced that Kim would appear as a special cover model in the March issue of MAXIM, which will be published on the 24th.

Kim Seon-tae, the officer in charge of managing Chungju City's official YouTube channel 'ChungTV'
[Image source=Screenshot from 'ChungTV' YouTube video]

The magazine featuring Kim as the cover model is the March issue Type C. Female models appear on Type A, Type B, and Type S, which is distributed to subscribers. Buyers of Type C, featuring Kim, will also receive a ‘Chungju City PR Man Special Bromide.’

Kim joined as a Grade 9 public official in October 2016 and has been managing the city’s official YouTube channel ‘ChungTV’ under the Public Relations Team of the Chungju City Public Relations Office since 2018.

ChungTV, which Kim planned, filmed, and edited entirely by himself, gained explosive popularity with its so-called ‘B-grade sensibility’ content that parodies trending content to promote city administration or honestly depicts public servant life.

Kim Seontae, the administrative officer, appeared as the cover model for the March issue of the men's magazine Maxim.
[Image source=Provided by Maxim Korea]

As of this month, ‘ChungTV’ has about 620,000 subscribers. This is the undisputed number one among local government YouTube channels and exceeds three times the city’s population (approximately 207,700), surpassing 600,000 subscribers.

As a result, Kim became a ‘star public official,’ appearing on broadcasts and publishing books. In January, he was specially promoted from Grade 9 to Grade 6, a team leader position. Considering that it usually takes an average of 15 years for a public official to be promoted from administrative Grade 9 to Grade 6, this is an unprecedented rapid promotion.

Meanwhile, at last month’s Cabinet meeting, President Yoon Seok-yeol mentioned ‘ChungTV’ and Kim, stating, “No matter how good a policy is, if the people do not know about it and cannot benefit from it, that policy is no different from not existing,” and added, “We must thoroughly consider how to deliver it so that the people can clearly understand it, from the people’s perspective.”