"YouTuber Behind Fake News in Japan: '37 Lower-Body Corpses Found, Korea Is Dangerous'"

Korean YouTuber with 960,000 Subscribers
Spreads False Claims Such as "37 Lower-Body Corpses Found in Korea"
Anxiety Grows in Japan... "Let's Not Go to Korea" Movement Spreads

Korean YouTuber A, who has 960,000 subscribers, posted a video on his channel on the 22nd of last month claiming that "the issue of murder and organ trafficking by Chinese criminals who recently entered Korea without visas is severe." A's YouTube channel

"This is an emergency. Japanese people living in Korea, escape to Japan now."

Recently, fake news claiming that "public safety in Korea has collapsed" has been rapidly spreading on Japanese online platforms. The problem is that the person who first spread this rumor is none other than a Korean YouTuber. These baseless rumors have garnered tens of millions of views and are causing reactions in Japan such as, "I'm too scared to go to Korea." Concerns are being raised that "anti-Korean content" created for profit, beyond simply chasing views, could damage Korea's image and have a negative impact on the tourism industry.

"37 bodies found"... The only evidence is a comment from a self-proclaimed 'prosecutor'?

Korean YouTuber A, who has 960,000 subscribers, posted a video on his channel on the 22nd of last month claiming that "the issue of murder and organ trafficking by Chinese criminals who recently entered Korea without visas is severe."

A asserted, "There have been 37 cases where only the lower body was found in Korea, and 150 cases are under confidential investigation, making a total of 187 cases." He further claimed, "Since visa-free entry became possible, millions of Chinese people have entered Korea, leading to a collapse in public safety." The only "evidence" A presented was a single anonymous online comment. The entire basis was a post by a user who introduced themselves as a "current prosecutor," with no verification of identity or facts whatsoever.

YouTuber A is reading baseless comments posted on their channel. A's YouTube channel

Anxiety Spreads on Japanese Social Media: "I'm Afraid to Go to Korea"

This YouTuber, in another video, warned, "Japanese people living in Korea must return home immediately. Never go out alone at night," and claimed, "Kidnapping cases are rapidly increasing." Japanese netizens expressed their anxiety in comments such as, "Why isn't this being reported in Japan? It's so scary," "Korea is already finished. It's truly sad," "Thank you for warning Japanese people who don't know about public safety in Korea," "Let's never go to Korea," and "I need to cancel my trip to Korea."

On X (formerly Twitter), fake news based on A's claims was also posted and viewed more than 23 million times. The posts included "travel safety guidelines" for Korea, such as "Do not go out alone," "Avoid places with few people," and "Immediately run away if a suspicious vehicle approaches."

All Claims Proven False

All of Mr. A's claims have been confirmed to be false. Photo by Getty Images Bank

However, all these claims have been confirmed to be false. In reality, last month in North Chungcheong Province, a body with only the lower half remaining was found, but the upper half was soon discovered as well, and the figure of 37 cases is completely unfounded. The number of 80,000 missing persons is also believed to be a misunderstanding of the number of missing person reports. Of the 71,854 missing persons reported in Korea last year, 71,703 cases were resolved. The annual number of missing person reports received by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department is also around 80,000 to 90,000, similar to Korea.

Anti-Korean Content for "View Count Profiteering"... "Instilling a Negative Image of Korea"

Some point out that this is "anti-Korean profiteering," attempting to increase subscribers and views by disparaging Korea. In fact, on A's channel, videos with provocative titles such as "Korea Emergency Situation" have far higher view counts than other content.

The problem is that this is fueling exaggerated fear about Korea and spreading anti-Korean sentiment. One netizen expressed concern, saying, "It's become extremely popular for a few Korean YouTubers to attract Japanese viewers by selling out Korea," and "This could implant misinformation and anti-Korean sentiment in Japanese people who don't know much about Korea."