Who Is the Korean Behind the World's No. 1 YouTube Channel With 170 Billion Won in Annual Revenue? "77.5 Billion Views"

First Korean Channel to Surpass 100 Million Subscribers
World's No. 1 with 77.5 Billion Annual Views
Estimated Annual Revenue Reaches 170 Billion Won

The YouTube channel 'KimPro', run by a Korean man and woman, has ranked first in annual views among all YouTube channels worldwide. According to Playboard, a YouTube channel analysis site, KimPro recorded approximately 77.5 billion total annual views last year. This figure far surpasses the 61.5 billion views of the second-ranked channel, 'Double Date', and is more than double the annual view count of MrBeast, who holds the largest number of subscribers in the world with about 38.1 billion views per year.

Kim Dongjun and Yoo Baekhap, members of the YouTube channel 'KimPro'. Kim Dongjun Instagram

This is virtually the first time that an individual Korean creator has achieved the highest annual view count in the global YouTube market. In April of last year, KimPro became the first Korean channel to surpass 100 million subscribers, drawing significant attention. The channel currently has around 127 million subscribers, ranking ninth globally among all YouTube channels. This surpasses the official BLACKPINK channel, which has about 99.6 million subscribers, and the official BTS channel, with about 82 million subscribers, both of which are the second and third most-subscribed channels in Korea, respectively. It is considered highly unusual for an individual YouTube channel to reach the global top tier.

KimPro is a channel that Kim Dongjun, a former concert planner, began developing in earnest in August 2022, and he operates it together with his cousin and influencer Yoo Baekhap. Kim is directly responsible for the entire process of planning, directing, and editing the videos, and has rapidly expanded his fan base with experimental content that spans genres such as memes, challenges, skits, and short-form videos. In particular, the KimPro channel is known to have a higher proportion of overseas subscribers than domestic ones, and it is especially popular among English-speaking and Asian viewers. The channel's focus on short, easily understandable videos without dialogue, along with production styles that reflect global trends, are cited as key factors behind the explosive increase in viewership.

Playboard, a YouTube channel analysis site, has released the 2025 annual view count rankings. Playboard

The scale of revenue is also drawing attention from the industry. According to NoxInfluencer, a YouTube channel analysis site, KimPro's estimated daily revenue, based on Google ad income and recent average view counts, is about 470 million won, with projected annual earnings of around 170 billion won. However, these are estimates, and actual revenue can vary depending on ad types, viewer countries, and content length. On January 5, KimPro's team announced, "The KimPro channel has achieved the number one position in global annual views for the first time," and expressed, "Every moment of this achievement is entirely thanks to our viewers."

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