PD Isul Yena, Creator of Pengsoo, Says "'Character' Must Succeed for YouTube Popularity"

Producer Yesena Lee [Photo by Google Korea]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] "It is not easy to generate revenue solely from view counts while doing one-person media, but if a specific character becomes popular, many connection points for linkage emerge. While producing digital content, I realize that the power of characters is truly important."

Lee Seul-ye-na, EBS PD of 'Giant Peng TV,' which created the popular character 'Pengsoo,' gave this advice to those interested in YouTube creators at the 'Conversation with YouTube Creators' event held on the 31st at Google Startup Campus in Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. She emphasized, "On YouTube, many items that anyone can do appear, but the characteristics of the content differ depending on the character," adding, "It is necessary to have the judgment to design situations well as if making a game and to predict and plan that synergy will occur when the character enters this situation."

Regarding the motivation behind conceiving the Pengsoo character, she said, "EBS programs are watched a lot by toddlers, but it was regrettable that once these kids become elementary school students, they dismiss it as a 'channel for kids only,'" and added, "I wanted to create content that resonates not only with elementary students but also with adults, giving a feeling of communication." She further explained, "Most characters appearing in EBS programs are studio-centered and focus on ideals such as implementing justice," and said, "I wanted to create a character that is not idealistic and purely good but has a spontaneous yet honest charm and goes out into the field to communicate with people."

Lee PD also said, "Pengsoo is a character that does not move according to a scripted scenario but freely acts while maintaining the philosophy shared by the production team," and evaluated, "Many people seem to empathize with Pengsoo's horizontal way of speaking that does not yield to power or hierarchy." Due to Pengsoo's popularity, the 'Giant Peng TV' channel recently surpassed 2 million subscribers. This achievement was reached nine months after the channel's launch, with an increase of 1 million subscribers just two months after reaching 1 million in November last year. The channel's total cumulative views recorded 180 million as of the 26th.

Regarding future goals, Lee PD said, "If I were to dream big, I have thought about producing a movie through Pengsoo," and added, "The goal is to solidify the current popularity so that it does not become a bubble and to 'long-run' without losing the keywords of sincerity and communication."

Meanwhile, Go Dong-wan PD of the web entertainment 'Workman,' featuring broadcaster Jang Sung-kyu experiencing various jobs, also pointed out a horizontal and communicative system as the key to YouTube's success. He emphasized, "Traditional broadcasting creates programs and receives evaluations from higher-ups, but we first show the content we create to juniors or interns working with us," adding, "Since the content is mainly watched by young people, it is necessary to let go of the idea that the director is always right and have the courage to communicate with young people."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.