Yangdding: Korea’s MineQueen
A gaming star
Editor’s Note: Here’s a look at one of Korea’s brightest gaming stars.
Korea’s YouTube charts are topped by music channels. Devout fans of the major bands and studios flock to the channels of their idols, subscribing and replaying their videos countless times. However, just underneath the layer of K-pop lies a rich vein of gaming channels showing remarkable success. One of the leaders of the Korean gaming YouTube scene is 양지영 (Yang Ji-Yeong), more well-known by her screen name 양띵(Yangdding). Yangdding has remained within the top YouTube channels in Korea for several years, starting with dedicated Minecraft videos before branching out into other games and even a separate channel for videos allowing fans glimpses into her personal life. It is easy to enjoy her energetic, bubbly style, and no surprise that her perseverance has paid off in the form of multiple popular YouTube channels.
Yangdding started her first channel, 양띵 유튜브 (Yangdding YouTube) at the beginning of 2013, and has been releasing regular content on it ever since. Yangdding laid her foundations in Minecraft videos, exploring new mods to the game and weaving tales of fictional characters for her viewers to enjoy. Her primary form of gaming content is footage of her playing Minecraft (or later, other games as well) with her own commentary overlaid on the action. Her videos are also typically annotated in a similar style to Korean comedic television, with pop-up text to accentuate the action and provide jokes or insight into the game.
Yangdding quickly expanded her channel network to include 양띵의 사생활 (Yangdding Real Life) where she shares tidbits from her day-to-day life. Yangdding also established individual channels for other members of her streaming team, to allow them to gain their own fame. Yangdding has branched out into other games, including Hearthstone, Sims 4, and even Overwatch, but her most popular content remains her Minecraft work.
Her main gaming channel reached its peak popularity (at time of writing) in early 2015, where she was averaging 49 million views and almost 70,000 subscriptions per month on the site. Her Real Life channel shows similar trends, with its growth peaking in early 2015 as well. To contrast this, Yangdding’s main competitor in the Korean Minecraft channel market, 도티 (Dotty), continues to show viewer and subscriber growth to this day. Yangdding’s channels may be shrinking, but they still receive strong viewership for the niche market that she caters to. Her videos are still viewed more than 15 million times per month, with each new video receiving between 60 and 120 thousand views within the first few weeks. She also has more than 167 thousand followers on her Instagram account. This shows that she has transitioned her appeal into a strong presence on social media and a more diverse viewership.
Yangdding started as a young woman trying to make it in the largely male-dominated field of YouTube gaming channels. Through her unique charm and filling a unique gap in the market, she was able to quickly rack up a dedicated following and diversify her content. Her channel may not be soaring at the heights that it saw in 2015, but Yangdding remains a strong force on the Korean YouTube scene and a highly entertaining content creator for anyone with an interest in Korean gaming culture.
