On October 17, Kim Sun-tae uploaded a video titled 'Our Neighborhood Promotion' on his YouTube channel. In the video, he visited Munhwa-dong in Chungju, Chungcheongbuk-do, to introduce the area and share updates about his life.
Kim stated, "I receive so many emails that I haven't even read some of them. I spent two hours reading and replying to 50 emails, but after refreshing, there were 80 new ones. It's a constant influx of emails," he explained.
He continued, "It's challenging, but work must be done. While emails are important, the most crucial thing is content. I want to do promotional content, but I can't just focus on ads," he added.
In the video, Kim also conducted interviews with passing citizens. One citizen complained, "The streets are dark. There are no security lights or streetlights." Kim responded, "We need to provide balanced information. From the city's perspective, streetlights might be absent due to nearby residents' sleep issues. However, it is indeed dark," he acknowledged.
Regarding his popularity, Kim mentioned, "People in Chungju seem to like me a lot. Usually, people feel uncomfortable when I carry a camera, but they recognize me and seem to understand." While walking with his camera, an elderly person asked, "Didn't you quit the city hall? You said you were going to the Blue House, so why are you here?" Kim laughed, "I didn't expect to be recognized by the elderly," he said.
Previously, Kim Sun-tae worked as an officer at Chungju City Hall and managed the official YouTube channel 'Chungju City'. The channel gained attention for reaching nearly 1 million subscribers, a rare feat for a public institution channel.
However, on September 13, Kim submitted his resignation and left public service. He then launched his personal YouTube channel, which surpassed 1.4 million subscribers in just two days. According to online community reports, the advertising rate for Kim's channel is estimated to be between 50 million and 100 million KRW.
Reporter: Jung Se-yoon, Ten Asia yoon@tenasia.co.kr