The Crazy World Of Live Streaming Broadcasts In Korea

Have you heard of what the word 'BJ' refers to in Korea?

It stands for "Broadcasting Jockey". Otherwise known as the live streamers on broadcasting platforms such as AfreecaTV.

The influence that these broadcasters hold in Korea is huge.

In the case of really popular BJ's, they attract a wider fanbase and viewers than some Korean celebrities.

These streamers have a lot of creative freedom which allows for a variety of content to be created.

However, this kind of freedom can also be harmful in some cases.

Today, we will learn about the crazy world of Korea's Internet broadcasting culture.

Internet broadcasting refers to creators who film themselves in front of a camera and go live.

This kind of content is not new to the rest of the world besides Korea.

In Korea, platforms for live streaming were created in the early 2000s.

In the beginning, there were many individuals who filmed themselves as a hobby, but as the market grew, it became their full-time job.

As of 2018, AfreecaTV, the most popular Internet broadcasting platform used in Korea, had about 1,258,000 net users per month, with a total of 560 million views per month.

In the case of Twitch, the next most used platform, there were about 908,000 viewers per month.

Since then, huge Korean corporations such as Naver and Kakao entered into the Internet broadcasting market and the market has continued to grow.

Internet Broadcasting Platforms

Let's first take a look at what types of Internet broadcasting platforms are available in Korea.

AfreecaTV

AfreecaTV is Korea's first Internet broadcasting platform.

The name AfreecaTV stands for "Anybody can Freely Broadcast TV".

There were live broadcasting platforms available before, but they were closer to porn sites.

Previously, the culture of Internet broadcasting had not been properly established yet not only in Korea but the rest of the world as well.

So when AfreecaTV first made its appearance in 2006, it went viral.

The concept of being able to go live anytime, anywhere, no matter who you were, was very new at the time.

The word BJ, short for Broadcast Jockey, is used to refer to streamers that go live on AfreecaTV.

'Star balloons' (별풍선) were implemented in 2007.

It was the first sponsorship system created for content creators on AfreecaTV.

One star balloon costs 110 won.

BJs can trade their star balloons for real cash once they earned a certain amount.

When this system of a steady income was made, live streamers were firmly established in Korea.

The content creators on AfreecaTV usually have strong personalities.

Since the platform was created as an alternative to TV, there are many controversial topics and usage of foul language that are otherwise banned on TV.

AfreecaTV allows for two-way communication between its creators and the viewers by using the chat room or giving star balloons.

So live streamers of AfreecaTV try hard to entertain their viewers and get reactions.

Twitch

Twitch is a huge streaming platform owned by Amazon that's used all around the world.

In the beginning, it was mainly used for live-broadcasts gamers, but now there are various content available.

In 2015, Twitch began to enter the Korean live-broadcasting market by adding Korean servers and signing contracts with popular Korean BJs.

Then, a big controversy broke out about AfreecaTV in 2016.

It turns out that AfreecaTV was treating their BJs poorly and making unfair demands of money.

They were also known to restrict their BJs from using other platforms besides their own, which limited their growth opportunities.

Since then, popular BJs on AfreecaTV have moved to Twitch.

Twitch allows for sponsorships through Twip, Tooonation, and more.

This type of sponsorship in Twitch is called 'donation'.

The biggest trait of Twitch donations is that when viewers send a donation, they can attach a message, voice, or video.

You can make the streamer laugh by sending a message, voice, or video with a donation.

So viewers of Twitch streams also try hard to entertain the streamer and leave an impression!

Currently, there are many popular slang words in Korea that originated from Twitch.

YouTube Live

YouTube Live, a real-time streaming service provided by YouTube, is also used by many creators.

YouTube is a video-sharing platform that's used by the majority of the public these days, making it super accessible.

When a creator goes live on YouTube, the video will automatically save on the platform, so it's very convenient.

YouTube Live is mostly used by YouTubers or BJs that already have a decent amount of followers on their channels.

YouTube Live is only accessible for creators with more than 1,000 subscribers.

Other Platforms

The three platforms above are the largest streaming platforms in Korea currently, but there are many other platforms that are available.

Some representative Korean platforms are Kakao, Kakao TV, and Naver TV.

Recently, Spoon Radio, a radio-type app is rising in popularity.

There is also a platform for adult content broadcasters such as Popcorn TV.

Types Of Content

There are so many types of content available on live streaming platforms, but below I will be introducing the most popular content in Korea.

Bang (방) is shortened for bang-song (방송), which translates to 'show'.

Talk-bang

Talk-bang, as its name suggests, is the type of content where its streamers just talk to its viewers, like a talk show.

BJs who communicate well with their viewers and those who tell stories in an entertaining way dominate this content.

Muk-bang

Muk-bang is where you can watch your favorite streamers eat crazy amounts of food.

Since it became very popular in Korea, a lot of creators overseas have also created their own 'mukbang' content.

The streamers can have friendly conversations with their viewers while eating food or even approach it as ASMR content by focusing on the noises of eating the food.

Cook-bang

Cook-bang is a cooking show.

People who are good at cooking can teach their viewers recipes, or they can simply cook while having a conversation with their viewers.

Game-bang

Source: 풍월량 on Twitch

Game-bang refers to a game show.

You can find many videos of creators playing a variety of games from video games to mobile games.

Usually, they will stream their screen while playing the game and also stream their faces in the corner or their voices.

Study-bang

Source: 노잼봇 on YouTube

Study-bang refers to study shows.

People who are preparing for an important exam long-term will stream themselves studying.

BJs will stream themselves studying on their desks for hours on end.

Viewers can tune into their live and study together!

Girlcam or Boycam

The above image is not related to the content below.

This type of content is different from the ones that I introduced above.

Girlcam, (Girl + Cam), refers to female BJs who turn on the cameras and talk to their viewers.

Boycam, (Boy + Cam), refers to male BJs who turn on the cameras and talk to their viewers.

The above image is not related to the content below.

However, it's not just because they are men/women who live stream.

Their content is based on showing off their good-looking appearances or figures.

Since the content revolves around their beautiful appearances, their viewers can make inappropriate requests.

So streamers in this field discuss sensitive topics and wear revealing clothes.

BJ Salary

Source: hankyung

An income of a BJ varies greatly.

For less popular BJs, they sometimes earn less than 50,000 won a month, but they can earn 100 million won (approx. 85k USD) a day if they receive 1 million star balloons in one stream.

It's also hard to estimate because popular YouTubers earn most of their income through different sponsorships.

In 2018, popular BJs that have been in the business for a long time Great Library, and Yumdaeng appeared in the Korean variety show, Lan life.

Yumdaeng revealed that she earned an average of 400 million to 500 million won a year (approx. 339K USD) while the Great Library revealed that he earned 1.7 billion won a year (approx. 1.4 million USD), not counting the months of January and February.

Their income is way beyond what we imagined, right?

Limitations Of Internet Broadcasting

Internet broadcasting has opened up an era of content diversity and freedom for individual content creators, but there are many limitations.

First, from the perspective of the creator, Internet broadcasting is a career with a very unstable source of income.

You can make a lot of money if you're successful, but the costs and efforts that you need to put in at the beginning are a lot.

In other words, if you jump into the world of Internet broadcasting without looking at its costs, you can be disappointed.

Source: Insight

Secondly, BJs show their faces and share personal information about their lives with their viewers often, but their viewers are all anonymous.

This is why a lot of streamers sometimes develop severe depression or panic disorders.

Source: newstown

Finally, Internet broadcasting is highly vulnerable to the logic of capitalism.

In other words, they want their content to be provocative so it draws in viewers which makes them money.

The provocative, violent, sensitive content, as well as broadcasts of women and men showing off their bodies I described above, are pouring out continuously.

The issue is that it directly affects teenagers who grow up watching these broadcasts and are highly influenced.

Today we learned about the world of live broadcasts in Korea.

What do you think of the content found on streaming platforms? Let us know down in the comments below!