25.1k subscribers.

Six million views.

More than three years of commitment.

It began when junior Stephanie Chung was in 7th grade living in London. Born in Korea, she uploaded her first video to YouTube in 2017. A school assignment educating others about Korea and Korean culture, the views soon came pouring in.

“So, I prepared a PowerPoint presentation about Korea as an assignment during one of my classes for my friends to know more about who we are, our history, culture, and uploaded this material on YouTube,” Chung said. “After a couple of days, unexpectedly the views were hitting the roof with a lot of interesting comments from all over the globe.”

She took advantage of the number of views she got and created her YouTube channel around her worldly experiences.

“I thought that YouTube can be a very effective platform for me to let people know about my heritage yet at the same time sharing my experiences and my point of view on living in foreign countries as a newcomer,” Chung said.

Throughout her life, Chung has moved to many places in the world across multiple countries and continents and noticed that people’s views on the world changed depending on many factors from culture to education.

“When I went to an international school in Frankfurt, Germany, there were students from over 50 different countries with various ethnical backgrounds, traditions, and cultures. I must say it was like a big melting pot,” Chung said. “However, once I moved to a private school in London, it was a whole different story. Most of my friends have been raised in London, having nearly no opportunities to engage with different nationalities and cultures living in a small world of their own. The funny thing was that all they knew about Korea was about the Northside related to notorious leader Kim Jung Eun asking me how I came over to London. So, I had to shift their perception about us, Koreans, our culture, our heritage, language, food, and Kpop!” 

She expresses these ideas and experiences through her videos and many subscribers are also going through the same life events and can relate and learn more.

“I have been attending a British international school for  6 months in a foreign country, and I was struggling to find practical information to help me,” subscriber ID LilyM said.

On her channel, she spreads information about culture, her own, or ones she witnesses around her. She also occasionally talks about Kpop groups such as BTS. 

“I cover a variety of contents which includes a series of videos that deal with culture shocks from different countries, differences in education systems, and share useful information for those who wish to study abroad. In addition, I often upload travel videos taken during my visits to various countries in Europe and also create content to unfold my views regarding BTS and KPOP phenomenon,” Chung said. “YouTube is a gateway to meet other people, share cultures, and freely share my views on various subjects whether it is about food, education, and my personal life.”

With the cultural and educational content, many viewers find this to differentiate her from other creators.

“I am interested in learning about foreign cultures and studying abroad, and her channel has provided me with useful information that was not accessible via any other online platforms,” subscriber ID Audrey123 said.

In Chung’s videos, she usually includes English or Korean captions, or sometimes both to appeal to her vast audience around the world.

“My subscribers vary in age and ethnicity from various countries including the UK, Germany, Netherlands, Poland, Indonesia, and many more,” Chung said. “However, the majority of my loyal fans are from Korea.”

These fans and subscribers from Korea enjoy her channel because of her personal experience and outlook on different cultures and lifestyles.

“It is very interesting to learn about a variety of cultures and what it is like to live in them,” subscriber ID Charlie Brown said. “I am proud as a fellow Korean that you are being an ambassador introducing Korean culture to others.”

Creating Youtube videos and maintaining a YouTube channel has its obvious benefits: gaining a following, video editing skills, and sometimes some cash. But, Chung has earned many other skills and advantages from this channel that will last her a lifetime.

“Running my own YouTube channel also helped me in great ways to sharpen my research skills by providing accurate information to my subscribers, not to mention, further solidifying my presentation skills illuminating my fear of speaking in front of a big crowd,” Chung said. “Most importantly, youtube enabled me to communicate with people from all over the world, share different opinions, and made me realize how everyone can have their own perspective on identical subjects. Finally, when I was struggling to adjust to new environments in different countries, a lot of people gave me hope and encouraged me to overcome the challenges successfully.”