Farming couple becomes YouTube stars
A young married couple, who had run a private education institute in Seoul, decided to become farmers in 2018 in a bid to seek greater pleasure and excitement in life.
Park Woo-joo and Yoo Ji-hyun, both 30 years old, moved to Cheongyang in South Chungcheong Province in that year, and began growing chili peppers and goji berries, among others.
The couple has become especially popular among those who are thinking about leaving the city to go back to farming, after starting a YouTube channel called “Chamdong TV” in May last year.
For the past year, the couple has posted more than 90 video clips on YouTube, with the hits having surpassed 2.8 million. The number of subscribers has reached 20,000.
Their video clips showed content such as how to grow food crops, how to operate agricultural machinery and how to look for a house in the countryside.
The couple also delivered other useful information such as policies implemented by Cheongyang County for those who move to the region to become farmers.
On the back of the popularity of their YouTube channel, the couple sold all the chili peppers and goji berries they harvested last year mostly through direct dealing with viewers.
“We have been frequently filming videos while applying fertilizer to the field or spraying plants with agrichemicals,” Yoo said. “We have posted videos almost every day as if we were keeping a diary. And then, we became popular before we even knew it.”
Yoo said she and her husband faced a lot of difficulties in the beginning as they did not know much about farming, noting that they want to become great influencers who deliver a variety of useful information for those considering becoming farmers.
The couple’s YouTube activities have been supported by Cheongyang County Office since earlier this year, as “the idea of becoming a farmer YouTuber was expected to contribute to informing the general public of Cheongyang’s agricultural policies and regional festivals,” according to the office.
A county office official said the office will continue to nurture relevant media creators by, for example, offering education.