YouTuber Faces Backlash Over Employee Work Conditions, Loses Thousands of Subscribers

Popular travel YouTuber Wonji is facing a steep decline in subscribers amid controversy over employee work conditions. In just one day, 4,000 subscribers have unsubscribed from her channel.

As of 11 a.m. on the 4th, Wonji's YouTube channel, 'Wonji's Day,' has seen its subscriber count drop to 992,000. This marks a decrease from 996,000 subscribers the previous day at 4 p.m.

The controversy began on September 20th when Wonji introduced her office space in a YouTube video. The office, located on the second basement level, is a cramped 6-pyeong (approximately 213 square feet) space where three employees work. Viewers criticized the conditions, commenting, "It looks suffocating," "Is this a chicken coop?" and "The environment is too poor."

In response, Wonji apologized, stating, "As this is my first office, there seem to be many areas where I lack experience. I will take your feedback into account and strive to improve." She issued a second apology on the same day.

Despite her apologies, the subscriber count, which was at 1.02 million before the controversy, had fallen to 996,000 by 4 p.m. on the 3rd, less than two weeks later. The pace of subscriber loss accelerated as news of the controversy spread.

Wonji has often expressed her dislike for confined spaces and emphasized the importance of ventilation on her channel. She previously left her job due to a lack of work-life balance and poor benefits, stating that she became a travel YouTuber because she disliked feeling confined. The criticism centers on the irony that she has her employees working in a windowless basement.

Netizens have criticized Wonji, saying, "You're really mean," "As someone who studied architecture and worked in an office, you should know better than to have employees in a basement," "Editing first-class airline meals in a basement... the employees must feel terrible," and "You claim air quality is important, yet you keep your employees in a basement like a tyrant."

By Dayeon Jung, TenAsia Reporter light@tenasia.co.kr