These days, if you turn on YouTube, there are just so many Korean channels that it's overwhelming. It's not just a lot; it's saturated.

Among them, the channels run by Koreans living in the U.S. stand out.

Vlogs, business stories, immigrant life, learning English, U.S. retirement laws, real estate,....

Even though they claim to have diverse content, if you dig deeper, they are all the same. And to be honest, most of them are just low-quality.

Everyone knows what low-quality means. Channels with only a few viewers. Originally a term from the Korean War, it now simply means "broadcasts with no presence."

When they go live, there are 10 viewers. At most, 20. If they're lucky, around 100.

At this level, they are still in the phase of believing they have started their own channel.

The funny thing is that everyone has the same thought when they start. "Should I give it a try too?"

If you peel back just one layer, the real thoughts come out. "What if I go viral?" That's it.

But this is no different from the lottery. The winners are the ones the YouTube algorithm keeps showing, so it seems like there are many.

In reality, very few people win. Statistically, the lottery might even be fairer.

At least with the lottery, you get numbers just for paying.

Korean community channels are even harder. The reason is simple. Their target audience is ambiguous.

If they aim for Korean viewers, there are already hundreds of YouTubers in Korea who do it better.

Information, editing skills, appearance, speaking ability. It's hard to compete with any of these. But if they shift their focus to American viewers, the language becomes a barrier.

Culture becomes a barrier. Ultimately, they end up in a position that is neither Korean nor American.

In that state, they hold the camera and say, "Hello everyone~"

So what do the results look like? Surprisingly similar. "I just came back from Costco." They talk about U.S. prices.

"I'm revealing my house. I moved. I just came back from the Korean market. I just came back from Target. I just came back from Costco again."

Videos about immigrant life in the U.S., immigration laws, investments... these types of videos keep piling up.

The problem is that from the viewer's perspective, this is already the twentieth time seeing this format.

"Is this again?" is a natural reaction. They feel fresh only themselves.

So is there no breakthrough? Not at all.

The first is character. It's not about the content; the person has to be interesting.

Whether it's their tone, perspective, or personality, there should be a feeling of "This person is a bit unusual?"

Without this, no matter how good the information is, people won't watch until the end. But most Korean community YouTubers go the opposite way.

They try to be as neutral as possible, as likable as possible, and avoid criticism as much as possible. As a result, they become someone who leaves no memory.

They don't realize that being likable = being bland.

The second is extreme positioning. If it's ambiguous, it's over. This is almost a formula.

"I only talk about my three failed businesses in the U.S." "I only talk about living alone as a Korean in rural America."

"I only talk about my experiences at American workplaces." It needs to be narrowed down sharply like this for people to stick around.

But most go the opposite way. "A channel that covers all aspects of life in America." If they do that, no one will come.

Covering everything means covering nothing.

And strangely, stories of failure resonate much more than stories of success.

People find much greater comfort in others' failures than in their successes. It's human nature. We have to acknowledge that.

The third is consistency. This is the easiest to say but the hardest to do.

Low-quality channels get no response at first. 20 views, 1 comment, and that comment is from a friend.

If this state continues for 3 months or 6 months, their mental state breaks down. Most quit here.

After quitting, they rationalize it by saying, "YouTube is a red ocean, so it won't work." In reality, they just didn't have the stamina to endure.

And lastly, there's the most ironic point. If you try too hard to succeed, it actually backfires.

If you start to make money, it shows. It shows in the thumbnails, in the titles, and in the tone.

On the other hand, those who start with the mindset of "Should I just share my story?" tend to last longer.

The algorithm is designed that way. Desperation doesn't sell.

Even the ability to hide desperation doesn't sell. Only those who are not desperate sell. This is the most unfair aspect.

There is a breakthrough. But it's not some secret formula or algorithm hack.

It's about doing things differently from others, maintaining your own color, and continuing even without responses.

There are thousands of YouTube videos discussing the formula for YouTube success. So why do so many remain low-quality? Haha

In my view, the low-quality YouTube channels of the Korean community will not disappear.

They are just reborn anew every day.