Baek Jong-won "Using YouTube to Catch Fake Recipes... Foolish to Lower Earnings" (Summary)

[Asia Economy Reporter Buaeri] "I want to become a channel that makes foreigners visit Korea, eat food, and be amazed."

This is the next goal of Baek Jong-won, CEO of The Born Korea, who recently reinvented himself as a YouTube creator. Baek's channel, "Baek Jong-won's Cooking Secrets," has 3.36 million subscribers.

On the 31st, at the "Conversation with YouTube Creators" event held at Google Startup Campus in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Baek said, "I started when I saw recipes that were not mine circulating as 'Baek Jong-won recipes' on blogs," adding, "My wife advised me not to do it clumsily, so I gathered producers and prepared."

◆YouTube is a 'free bookstore'= Baek described YouTube as "like entering a free bookstore," explaining, "If you open an encyclopedia, the level of interpretation is the same, but in a bookstore, sometimes you open a children's picture book for 2-3-year-olds and learn something. Also, just having heard medical books can make you feel proud. It's similar to that feeling."

He continued, "YouTube targets younger people or those with beginner knowledge, and there are also very difficult topics that are hard to understand, so it has endless fun."

Regarding future content development, Baek said, "While searching, I realized that foreigners also come to our YouTube channel as if traveling abroad," adding, "Food is an essential element in tourism resources."

He added, "If 'Baek Jong-won's Cooking Secrets' becomes established, I want to visit and introduce ordinary restaurants. I believe that if people watch that show and come to Korea to properly explore Korea, the number of people friendly to our country will increase, and more tourists will come."

Baek said there are 12 people producing YouTube videos, adding, "Actually, we are currently running at a loss, but we wanted to try these things, and we agree with the purpose of promoting our food culture and good things through the mouths of locals."

◆A stern warning to money-making YouTubers= Baek sharply criticized those who jump into YouTube expecting profits. He said, "Many elementary school students want to become YouTubers as a future dream, but I think this is very wrong."

Baek said, "I hope many people use YouTube to share their characteristics or strengths, but becoming a YouTuber with profit in mind is very foolish."

According to the "Status Survey on Career Education in Elementary and Secondary Schools" announced by the Ministry of Education and the Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education & Training on the 10th of last month, creators such as YouTubers ranked third among elementary school students' desired occupations. YouTubers first entered the top 10 in the 2018 survey, ranking fifth, and rose two places in just one year. Baek criticized the reality where YouTube is only recognized as a means of making money.

Using gaming as an example, Baek said, "Those who succeed as gamers are happy because they do what they enjoy and make money, but if you have to play games to make money, how hellish would that be?" He urged, "I hope people enjoy YouTube like a game."

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