Trends & Traditions

The New Trend:
Sharing Our Individual Stories

Rising Trend in Korea, One-Person Media

One-person media allowing individual creators to produce and upload content is changing
the dynamic of digital content industry. The new way of communication has developed to
the point where it is now grabbing attention from not only public but major media with fast
growing popularity and influence. Let’s take a deeper look at the one-person media trend
with the first Korean MCN (multi-channel network) company Media Zamong.

Written by Kim Wenis Kun-woo, President of Media Zamong

From Celebrity to Influencer

Who would the public choose between influencer and celebrity in terms of trust? Of course people are more familiar with celebrities. However, there has been an increasing number of people who trust influencers more than celebrities. It is believed that the connection between viewers and one-person broadcasters is more intimate. TV, which served dominantly as a platform for famous celebrities, started bringing influencers whose videos are as popular as hundreds of thousands of subscriptions.

What does this increased presence of one-person creators on major media platforms imply? It reflects the need for customized content, which also involves transparency of who created it. Major media in the past represented the world of “pre-made” experts. Conventional media outlets usually bring on famous people who were already exposed to other media and were also well known for their books or lectures. They were accepted by the public with no verification as someone to trust simply because being on TV was enough qualification for most viewers. This also means that once they were introduced on any TV program, they didn’t need to try hard to gain trust from audiences. This system makes it more impressive to see successful creators through alternative media channels such as YouTube. They earned their reputation by making their own path and developing unique content for a long time, which makes them true experts in their field.

“Worth It” by May J Lee
This video ranks number one on YouTube channel “One Million” that has more than one hundred million views.

Blurring the Line Between Major and Minor Media

One-person creators are expected to expand their appearances on major media. There isn’t any creator who would turn down the golden opportunity to advertise themselves on TV when it is the ultimate source to attract more people to their channels. This is a win-win situation for both rising creators and major media producers, for creators’ presence contributes to more viewers which are the source of their commercial profits. Even from the audience’s perspective, seeing YouTube stars they feel closer to on TV is quite entertaining and refreshing.

Those who often refer to B level or bottom level platforms as Africa TV are now turning their eyes to this sensational media trend, even holding a secret desire to make one for themselves. It was a common practice for celebrities to be given roles or desirable public images by others (mostly their management companies). They initially had to be chosen and selected by producers of some sort to make it to the TV stage to begin with. On the other hand, the barrier has crumbled, enabling anyone to create personal content on an online media platform that welcomes everyone. This has opened up a whole new world to many people. This also led celebrities to launch their own channels or podcasts without having to go through approval.

A dance group is performing on a screen. © 1Million Dance Studio

One-Person Media Never Stops Growing

MCN stands for Multi-Channel Network that refers to entities that affiliate with multiple YouTube channels that provide various digital content. It’s easy to understand when we think about well-known YouTubers. Going further, the second phase of MCN includes generating profits by producing and selling original content, characters, or goods with structured management. From this point in 2018, what is going to happen will be categorized into the third phase of MCN that travels further as entertainment and increased affiliation with major media.

K-pop group GOD’s Park Jun-Hyung started a YouTube channel in collaboration with JTBC Lululala. It’s also aired on a major cable TV channel JTBC4. Just like this, a new trend was born and spread by early adopters and pioneers led by small-sized companies. What usually happens later is major conglomerates jump on to this trend, trying to seize the market by using experts and merging or absorbing small companies whose position is already solidified in the field. They systemize the structure and provide overwhelming quantity and quality. In this sense, the digital content market is anticipated to be so competitive that it will possibly force us to make a tough choice between our favorite celebrities and our friends’ videos.

“Wassupman” explores ramen restaurants in Hongdae area. His hilarious storytelling is the secret to his popularity.

It’s All About Authenticity and Relevance

Major media firms and producers find YouTube profitable since anyone, whether it’s a large conglomerate or an individual, can monetize their videos. This gives good enough reason to major media and highly experienced media elites to continue pumping one-person based content backed by large budgets. This doesn’t necessarily mean, however, that the platform will be dominated by large-sized firms. Some companies show poor performance on their YouTube even compared to an individual creator. As we sometimes witness blockbuster Hollywood movies underperform, without catching what audiences actually want to get from it, the conglomerates won’t be able to spread their wings.

The essence of one-person creators lies in their authentic approach of one to one communication. Comments from viewers are read and they are even responded to by creators. Regardless of how much money or technique a video requires, authenticity is what gives one-person media life. Another aspect of one-person media is content relevance between videos. Video after video is a unique feature of a new platform that allows creators to coexist and even collaborate with each other instead of compete with each other. Different approaches and reactions to similar topics make viewers stop and linger on their channels.

Ed Sheeran - Shape of You (cover by J.Fla)
The video has reached more than two hundred million views on YouTube with the singer’s unique voice and talent.

Sharing Ordinary Life Story

Unique and high quality Korean content creators capture global audience’s attention. Based on the number of subscribers in December of 2018, ToyPudding TV is the number one Korean YouTube channel. Ranked 60th on YouTube worldwide, it counts 20,600,000 subscribers. With sound effects and no background voice, the videos of playing with toys now have more than 12.7 billion views in total.

With 12,700,000 subscribers, 1MLLION Dance Studio ranks 194th worldwide for dance section, while J.Fla Music ranks 315th with 10,210,000 subscribers in the music category. In return for the solid quality of the content they provide, their dance and music is supported by international fans. In the beauty category, PONY Syndrome has nearly 4,650,000 subscribers, ranked 1088th globally.

Besides these super YouTubers, videos made to share daily life or small ideas, called vlogs, are also gaining huge popularity. Apart from having a large number of subscribers, being able to communicate with audiences in their own way gives meaning to many vloggers. If you are steadfast in doing what you love and sharing it with others who enjoy it, you will find yourself reaching another level of communication and creation. It might be your unique story and idea as an ordinary person that people actually want to hear and see.