How did ex-civil servant transition to YouTuber on car-related content?
Automotive YouTuber Heo Geum speaks during an interview with Hankook Ilbo in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, July 24. Korea Times photo by Kim Beom-su
YouTube channel gains popularity for sharing driving tips, car maintenance know-how
Cars serve as practical tools in everyday life as well as a popular hobby, particularly among men. New and used cars each have their own appeal, while driving tips and car-maintenance know-how can also attract considerable interest online.
Heo Geum, 43, began his YouTube channel Geuma by sharing driving tips. Today, he has gained popularity by posting road tests of vehicles brought to him by subscribers and clients, along with advice on their condition. He spoke with Hankook Ilbo on July 24 at a cafe in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, where he lives.
Q. What did you do before starting your YouTube channel?
A. I graduated from an automotive engineering department and started my career as an advisor at an imported-car dealership, where I worked until my late 20s. I dealt with customers and handled communications at a service center. I eventually left when the economy worsened. I had always loved driving and cars, so I decided to become a driving-duty civil servant. After preparing for the job, I joined a local government at age 29 and worked as a civil servant for about 14 years.
Q. Have you loved cars since you were young?
A. I grew up in the countryside, and I started driving a cultivator when I was in sixth grade while helping with persimmon farming. In middle school, I also drove a tractor to plow and level rice paddies. I found it fascinating to work with machines and drive them. That was why I insisted on attending an automotive engineering department in high school, even though people tried to talk me out of it.
Q. What made you interested in YouTube?
A. In the fall of 2018, I was driving a 5-ton roll-off truck on a national road when I narrowly avoided a trailer coming toward me at full speed. It was a near-death experience. After that, I thought it would be useful to share with others how to respond to various situations while driving.
I picked out topics such as how to use engine braking when going downhill on mountain roads and how to handle icy roads, and taught myself video editing. At around the same time, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety issued a notice allowing civil servants to operate YouTube channels with permission from their local government heads. I immediately applied and received permission. For the next two or three years, I squeezed video production into my time outside work, mainly making useful tips aimed at safer driving.
Q. So you eventually left the civil service?
A. When I had around 100,000 subscribers in 2022, I felt it would be difficult to continue doing both jobs. I actually loved my work as a civil servant, so the stress of making the decision was considerable.
My family encouraged me ... and I also felt that continuing to do both jobs wasn’t fair to the subscribers who had put their trust in me. I told myself, "If I become a full-time YouTuber and it doesn’t work out, I can always find another job." That helped me make the decision without putting too much pressure on myself.
Q. Have you ever competed as a racing driver?
A. A younger friend from my hometown appeared in the news one day as the season champion in professional racing. Since I was an automotive YouTuber, I contacted him and went to his house to see what he was doing.
He had a racing simulator, which allowed him to practice in an environment that was more than 90 percent similar to actual driving. I bought an entry-level setup and started practicing at home.
It happened to be during the COVID-19 pandemic, when offline racing events had come to a standstill and simulation competitions were being held instead. My friend suggested that I give it a try. I joined a three-person team consisting of an actual racing driver, a simulation racer and an influencer. As the influencer, I helped the team finish fourth overall in the Korean season. In 2022, I reached eighth in the overall Korean rankings. Last year, I went to Japan and competed in TCR (Touring Car Racing), a front-wheel-drive racing series based on production cars, at the Honda Mobility Resort Motegi circuit. I finished second overall.
A scene from a popular epidsode from the YouTube channel Geuma / Captured from YouTube
Q. What kind of content do you mainly feature on your channel?
A. At first, I made a variety of driving information videos, from parking tips to tire-pressure settings. But after a while, I ran out of topics. So I thought I should turn myself into a character. I started speaking in a country-bumpkin-style regional dialect, and many viewers found it entertaining.
I also began reviewing cars. Then I started testing used cars that subscribers or acquaintances had bought and giving them advice about the condition of the vehicles. They were very satisfied with that, so over the past two or three years, that has become the main focus of my content.
Q. Do you handle filming and editing by yourself?
A. I can’t afford to have two producers, and I also chose to work alone because I think viewers like the raw, unpolished feel of the videos.
Sometimes I mount cameras inside the car, and the person who requested the test helps by filming from the passenger seat with an action camera. The image quality may not be the best, but I think that also helps viewers feel a sense of connection. I do all the editing myself, too. I learned by watching YouTube videos. I usually film for one or two hours and edit that down to 20 or 30 minutes.
Q. What is the most difficult part of producing content?
A. One problem is when someone asks me not to upload a video after everything has already been filmed. Another is getting negative comments.
Once, someone asked me to accompany them to help buy a used car. I went along, inspected the vehicle and everything ended well, but afterward the person made various excuses and asked me not to upload the video.
As for comments, I initially tried to argue my case and determine who was right or wrong. These days, I simply say, "If that’s how you saw it, I’ll work harder. I’m sorry," and move on. Sometimes the other person then responds, "A 300,000-subscriber YouTuber really is different. I’ll subscribe."
Q. Was there a particular video that helped boost your views or subscriber numbers?
A. I had a driving information video called "How to Respond to Sudden Unintended Acceleration," which I made about three years ago. It surpassed 3 million views in a short period. At the time, I gained around 3,000 subscribers a day. There were already many videos about sudden unintended acceleration, but I think mine stood out because I actually demonstrated how to respond to it while driving.
A friend bought a small SUV and said it was shaking badly. I met him without even planning to make a video. I casually filmed it on my cellphone while we talked, and after we found and fixed the problem, I uploaded the footage. It surpassed 5 million views. I think the real-time process of figuring out the problem through a conversation with my friend caught viewers’ attention.
Q. Why are car reviews and test-drive videos now your main focus?
A. Content about tuning cars or buying expensive, high-performance vehicles naturally appeals to a limited audience. But used cars are something that most people consider buying at least once.
After producing content for several years, I’ve developed a sense of which kinds of concepts tend to generate how many views, and I take that into account when planning videos. Actually, informational videos tend to get more views, but there is a limit to how many topics you can come up with.
Q. How do you make money, and how much do you earn?
A. View-based revenue is the foundation. I upload about seven to nine videos a month. As a rough estimate, you can multiply the number of views by 1.5 to 2 won ($0.0011 to $0.0015) per view. For short-form videos, it’s around 1 won ($0.0007).
Since the number of views fluctuates, so does my income. If you add everything up, I make about the same as I did as a civil servant, or perhaps a little more. I also earn additional advertising revenue. Advertisements for automotive products or traffic-accident lawyers come in from time to time.
I get requests for advertisements four or five times a day, but it’s difficult to promote products without properly checking them, so I don’t do advertising very often.
Q. What advice would you give people who want to run a YouTube channel?
A. An acquaintance once asked me to advise his son, who was in his 20s and wanted to become a YouTuber. He hadn’t decided on a topic, so I asked him what he liked.
He was working in real estate and liked soccer, playing regularly, so he was debating whether to make a football channel or a real-estate channel. I asked him which he found more enjoyable, and he said football, so I told him to make a football channel. But you have to understand that even former national team football players have given up after reaching only 20,000 or 30,000 subscribers. The barriers are that high.
So I told him that if he wasn’t a former player, he shouldn’t make videos saying, "I’m good at football." Instead, he should approach it as if he were learning about football himself. He started seeking out skilled players and interviewing them about football tips. He also bought inexpensive soccer equipment from Daiso and reviewed whether it was actually worth using. After two years, he had 40,000 subscribers.
To succeed, you first have to do something you genuinely like. And you have to be crazy about that subject. You can’t beat someone who is that passionate.
Always approach content creation with the mindset that you’re learning. Keep practicing and keep working hard. That’s the best way.
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.