"Make an Effort and Complain" - 340 Billion Won Annual Income Show Host's Remarks Infuriate Chinese Youths

"Your Problem Is Not Earning" Live Argument with Viewers
Worst Youth Unemployment Ever... Strong Backlash from Jung Netizens

China's famous show host Li Jiaqi (李佳琦) faced public backlash for making remarks that seemed to mock viewers during a live broadcast.

"It's your problem if you can't make money" Criticism sparks public outrage... China's top show host eventually apologizes

Famous Chinese show host Li Zhi broadcasting about apples.
[Photo by Beijing Daily]

According to local media including China Central Television (CCTV) on the 12th, Li Jiaqi, who succeeded in live commerce selling women's cosmetics and is known as the 'Lipstick Brother,' had an argument with a viewer during a live commerce session on the 9th.

When a viewer commented on the eyebrow pencil from the Chinese local cosmetics brand 'Huaxizi (花西子),' priced at 79 yuan (about 14,000 KRW), saying that "(the price) keeps going up" and "it seems too expensive," Li Jiaqi raised his voice.

He snapped, "It has been sold at this price continuously, so what's expensive? Don't speak recklessly."

He then added, "Sometimes you have to find the cause of the problem within yourself," and pointed out, "Reflect on whether your salary has increased over the years or not, and whether you have worked hard."

After these remarks, hashtags related to Li Jiaqi ranked high on local portal search lists for consecutive days, and his Weibo follower count dropped by over one million in a single day.

Chinese netizens criticized, saying, "The reality is that even if you work hard, you can't make much money, and it's not easy to get a job no matter how hard you try," and "Have you forgotten the difficult times when you earned money from the bottom?" They also pointed out, "A person who makes money thanks to customers arrogantly raised his voice."

As public opinion worsened, Li Jiaqi apologized during a live broadcast on the 11th, saying, "I sincerely apologize for causing concern with inappropriate remarks," and bowed his head, saying, "I have come this far with the support of fans, and I am sorry for disappointing you."

Previously, during China's largest shopping festival, the 11.11 festival in 2020, he sold 10 million items in one day, generating sales of 3.91 billion yuan (about 710 billion KRW). In 2021, his net income reached 1.8553 billion yuan (about 340 billion KRW), ranking first among Chinese show hosts.

China's worst youth unemployment ever... 'Death graduation photos' and 'Tree hugging' trends

Chinese university students who took 'death graduation photos'.
[Photo by Xiaohongshu capture]

Li Jiaqi's remarks added fuel to the fire of public sentiment amid the worst youth unemployment crisis in history.

As of June, China's youth unemployment rate reached a record high of 21.3%. According to a research team led by Zhang Dandan from the National Development Research Institute of Peking University on July 20, the actual youth unemployment rate in China as of March was found to be as high as 46.5%.

In response, Chinese authorities suddenly announced in August that "the youth unemployment rate for July will not be disclosed."

Amid this worst youth unemployment rate, trends such as 'death graduation photos' and 'tree hugging' have emerged in China.

'Death graduation photos' refer to graduation photos taken by university graduates in bizarre poses, such as wearing graduation gowns with their faces drooping to the ground or hanging from stair railings like corpses. These photos are accompanied by explanations stating, "Graduates pretending to be dead suffered from 'zero COVID' throughout their studies and are now facing the reality of 'zero jobs.'"

China implemented a strict 'zero COVID' policy for over three years, causing this year's graduates to attend university classes remotely with limited face-to-face interaction. As companies hesitate to hire the 'COVID class,' the already high employment threshold has risen sharply, leading university graduates facing 'zero jobs' to express their frustration.

Chinese youth obsessed with 'tree hugging'.
[Photo source=Douyin and other Chinese SNS]

'Tree hugging' literally means the act of hugging trees. Chinese youth claim that this act helps relieve stress. They alleviate the stress caused by harsh competition to secure limited jobs by hugging trees. As a result, photos of young people hugging trees have been actively shared on Chinese social networking services (SNS), and related communities have been created where enthusiastic discussions about the mental healing effects of trees take place.

In this situation, the Chinese government has proposed 'returning to rural areas, joining the military, and street vending' as measures to tackle youth unemployment.

Chinese President Xi Jinping encouraged young people to move to rural areas in a 'letter to university students.' He also emphasized at a meeting with the new leadership of the Communist Youth League of China (CYLC) that "young people must endure hardships well and be ready to engage in the work of the Party and the country," and that "(Chinese youth) must strictly comply with the Party's requirements."

Additionally, the People's Liberation Army of China announced it would increase recruitment of new university graduates and high school students by 10% compared to previous years to alleviate job shortages.

Local governments in China are promoting a 'street stall economy' by relaxing regulations on street vendors, which were previously completely banned due to the COVID-19 pandemic and concerns about urban aesthetics.

However, these measures are widely seen as insufficient to resolve the dissatisfaction among Chinese youth. Consequently, the Chinese government is closely monitoring the situation to prevent youth discontent from erupting.

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