[On Site, This Person] Kim Hyunwoo, the '460,000-Subscriber YouTuber' Walking Country Roads

Introducing Rural Villages and Vacant Houses Across Gwangju, Jeonnam, and the Nation
477 Videos Uploaded, 154 Million Total Views
"Planning a Program to Connect with Local Youth"
"Aiming to Discover Vacant Houses Worldwide, Beyond Korea"

YouTuber Hyunwoo Kim. Photo by Bohyun Song

"With a light heart, I started walking along a country road with my hometown friend. We filmed ourselves and uploaded the video."

On the 23rd, at a cafe in Yangnim-dong, Nam-gu, Gwangju, Kim Hyunwoo (33) shared how he started his YouTube journey. Through his channel 'Ojineun Ojin-da', Kim has introduced a variety of rural spaces, gaining over 460,000 subscribers. He has uploaded 477 videos so far, with a cumulative view count of 154.8 million.

He decided to run the channel in his second year as a freelancer, after quitting his job at a regional broadcasting station. "At first, I got a fair number of freelance projects, but it was inconsistent. In winter, I was basically unemployed. As the idle time grew, my mind became increasingly worn out. Eventually, I even fell into depression."

Kim needed a new breakthrough. As someone who occasionally walked country roads alone, he proposed to his colleagues in broadcasting that they start a YouTube channel with this concept. "Of course, most of them said, 'You go ahead and do it yourself' (laughs)."

Kim Hyunwoo filming an empty rural house in Jeonnam. Photo by Kim Hyunwoo

Amid repeated rejections, the one who took Kim's hand was none other than his hometown friend from Naju, Jeong Taejun (33). "I mentioned it casually, but that night Taejun drove all the way from Naju to Mokpo, where I lived. That night, the two of us put our heads together and created our first filming plan."

After this process, on February 18, 2020, their first video was uploaded: 'An abandoned tunnel in Gujinpo, famous for eel. It's pitch dark inside even though it's midday. What's in there?' It was snowing heavily during filming. The number of views was dismal, barely surpassing 50. He recalled, "When I worked at the broadcasting station, low ratings left me feeling empty and exhausted, but this was the opposite. I was excited, thinking, 'I'm actually doing something' and 'I'm alive.'"

At the time, his friend Jeong was an office worker at an agricultural corporation. Kim also continued his freelance work. On weekdays, they were office workers; on weekends, YouTubers.

As they explored the field, their perspective broadened. While walking country roads, they would sometimes check out empty houses, and eventually, they started looking into the lives of people putting up these vacant homes. Kim said, "We started by chasing rural houses, but then focused on the stories of the people living there, and each had a special story." He added, "Within two months of starting the channel, we hit 100,000 views, and the next video reached 1 million. That's when we were convinced, 'Our idea wasn't wrong after all.'"

Kim Hyunwoo (right) and Jung Taejun, who run the YouTube channel "Ojineun Ojinda." Photo by Kim Hyunwoo

Regarding this achievement, Kim said, "There is no special secret." However, he added, "I always keep a question mark in my heart, wondering what viewers are curious about and what dreams they have, as I observe everyday life."

He also explained, "These days, most people live in urban areas (more precisely, in apartments) and don't really have a 'hometown.' Even those who settle in the countryside and the subscribers who watch them both have a desire somewhere in their hearts to find 'my hometown.'"

Recently, Kim won a bid for a rural house in Gangjin, Jeollanam-do. He said, "Once the renovations are finished, I'm planning a program where I invite local young people who are struggling, like I once did with depression, to have conversations."

Kim revealed that his ultimate goal is the 'world.' "At first, I traveled around rural areas in Gwangju and Jeollanam-do, and for the past few years, I've been visiting most regions in Korea. My goal is to keep growing the channel and capture the stories hidden in vacant houses around the world on video."

For the final question, I asked him: If you considered yourself a program and had to name it, what would it be? After speaking fluently throughout the interview, he fell into a long silence. In a small voice, he finally said, "As the most successful YouTuber in Jeolla-do..." trailing off at the end.