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Lifestyle
Jin Lee, Research Fellow, Curtin University

The popularity of the Korean _oegugin_ (foreign) influencer is on the rise. But there is a dark side to this pop-nationalism

The YouTube channel Korean Englishman has over five million subscribers. YouTube/Screenshot

If you’ve been scrolling through YouTube, TikTok or Instagram it would be no surprise to chance upon calming minimalist aesthetics of Korean cafe decor; pilgrimages to the locations of popular K-dramas; and even the polite decorum of Korean public transport commuters.

In South Korea, oegugin (foreign-national) influencers often produce social media content focused on the global interest in K-pop, K-drama and K-film for audiences inside and out of Korea.

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