YouTuber Cari curates a quieter life
Cari Cakes / Courtesy of Emily Serby
Online creator shifts from vlogging to BookTube
If you’ve ever fallen down a Seoul vlog rabbit hole, chances are you’ve come across Cari. Cari, the face behind both the cari cakes and cari can read channels on YouTube, is best known for travel vlogs, but she doesn’t shy away from processing personal ups and downs with her channel’s 415,000 subscribers. She weaves themes of solitude and nostalgia through her videos, all delivered with a quiet vulnerability that makes her feel more like a friend than an internet personality.
A California native, Cari originally came to Seoul as a student in 2012, fell in love with the city and decided to come back for work. Her expertise on working a non-teaching job in Seoul helped her become one of the earliest premier content creators in Korea, where fans eagerly tuned in for Q&A sessions and Korean office tours.
“There wasn’t actually a lot of tourism information available at the time,” Cari recalled of her early days in Seoul. “There was no TikTok. I had just gotten Instagram, so I just had to discover everything organically.”
What began as a quiet documentation of life in the big city quickly evolved into one of the most recognizable English-language YouTube lifestyle channels in Korea. A decade later, and Cari has traded in office life to become a full-time content creator.
A creator on her own terms
Although she found early success in lifestyle vlogging, Cari has continued developing her own style as a creator. The algorithm favors content centered on K-beauty and fashion, but she rarely discusses these topics on her channel, and admits she is cautious about accepting sponsorships.
Instead, her channel stands out due to its willingness to step off the beaten path and her dedication to showing her viewers a more authentic side of Korea.
“I don’t love making the same content as everyone else. If I see a lot of people going to a certain cafe, I think, ‘oh, everyone already knows about it… what’s the value of me showing it?’” she said. “I like the quieter, more neighborhood-feeling places. It just feels more charming to me, and you tend to have better experiences there.”
Those quiet, contemplative moments in lesser-known locales, both in and out of the city, can be seen throughout Cari’s lifestyle vlogs, which draw deep inspiration from film and music. Her dream job was to be a music supervisor — the person in charge of curating soundtracks for films, commercials and TV, though she says it’s a dream of the past.
“I find that to be the most fun part of vlogging, matching the music to the footage that I have,” she said. “I have pretty eclectic music taste, but for my vlogs, I try to use music that feels a bit nostalgic and bright. TV Girl has been great for that, and you'll hear them constantly in my videos.”
Cari Cakes / Courtesy of Cari Cakes
Hitting the books
It’s no surprise that Cari loves to read, considering her bio on Bookstagram reads “i was raised in a library.” When asked how she decided to start her book channel, Cari pointed to the lack of book discourse among her peers during the pandemic.
“The pandemic came, I was indoors, and I had just read a book that reminded me of my childhood,” she said. “I needed to talk to people about it, but we couldn’t really go anywhere.”
She noticed there wasn’t much of a book community in Seoul, so she decided to start a BookTube channel. Although reading is generally a solitary act, Cari found that discussing what she reads created a new kind of shared joy with her subscribers.
The shift from vlogging to BookTube — referring to the reading community on YouTube — came naturally to Cari, but running her book channel takes extra effort. “Because my vlogging channel is just my life, I have to think about it a little less because it’s just me living. I definitely spend a lot more time planning and working on my book channel, where I actually have to sit down and read,” she said.
Cari credits her childhood love of reading “orphan stories” and tales of children being whisked away for countryside adventures. She cited the Green Knowe series by Lucy M. Boston, published from 1954 to 1976, as a favorite.
“It’s one of those series I don’t want to reread in case it loses some of its magic,” she said. “Obviously, I loved ‘The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe,’ too. I have always loved adventure, mystery, magic.”
These days, Cari reads extensively and takes an intentional focus on her audience’s preferences. She explains that she often reads trending books and books she has less interest in as a favor to her subscribers.
“A lot of people who watch me are students or parents. They don’t have as much time as I do, so I try to read as many books as I can to let people know which ones are worth their limited time and money,” she said.
As such, the quality of the books she reads varies.
“I read some trash and some treasures. I also push myself to finish certain books that I might not enjoy and want to put down but I feel I should give them a fair review,” she said.
“Reading is very precious to me, and I try to focus on keeping it precious, not making it into too much of a job.”
Cari on the road
As a full-time content creator, traveling has become a welcome perk of the job, but Cari prefers to design her own travel plans. “I love it when I have more of a say, because I’ve had to do some jobs where I’ve had a very strict itinerary,” Cari said.
She has worked with the Incheon, Daegu and Jeju tourism boards and has become an expert on solo travel in Korea, as well as leading sponsored group trips to Europe.
“Travel videos are my favorite type of videos to make,” she said. “I just go by myself because I love to travel and want to share it.”
Cari has spoken openly about putting down roots outside of Korea someday. “My husband and I are thinking eventually about moving to the U.S. When that will happen is totally unknown, but I would definitely still like to continue my book channel.”
When asked if she plans to continue vlogging in the States, Cari says she’s far from done.
“I would love to show travel in the U.S.,” she said. “It was something that I did a lot as a kid, because my parents were from different coasts. The U.S. is really big, and there’s a lot of value in people getting to know their own country.”
Cari Cakes / Courtesy of Cari Cakes
Building community abroad
Any event or meetup Cari hosts draws large numbers of subscribers from all around the world. Some come bearing gifts or letters, while others tearfully express gratitude. When asked how she handles such strong emotional responses, Cari reflects on the illusion of intimacy in the age of social media and constant public scrutiny.
“It’s kind of hard because I grew up without the internet, so I never really had parasocial relationships. It’s kind of interesting to experience people knowing you without really knowing you,” she said.
She’s quick to credit her viewers, though. “Luckily, because we share so many of the same interests, everyone I have met has always been very respectful and kind, and usually much cooler than I am, as well,” she said. “I usually leave feeling inspired.”
Although living abroad can be a solitary experience, just like reading, Cari believes it doesn’t have to be.
“One thing I’ve been really thankful for in the recent years after the pandemic is the rise in people — especially foreigners — trying to find community,” she said.
Cari especially treasures Seoul's expanding book community. “Things like book swaps, book meetups, Seoul Silent Book Club, these have all been great,” she said. “It’s one thing I’m thankful for, the culture of foreigners in Korea. Because we are so far from home, we are all trying to find community.”
There’s no doubt Cari will continue to help nurture that community by creating, curating and sharing more vulnerable moments with all of her viewers.
Emily Serby is the host of Seoul Silent Book Club and a literary designer/marketing consultant working with dbBOOKS. She’s committed to building a more engaging literary community in Seoul.