Mixed martial artist and YouTuber Choo Sung-hoon was named the most popular creator in Korea on YouTube this year.

On Wednesday, YouTube announced its end-of-year roundup, which included rankings for its most popular creators, trending topics and songs in Korea in 2025.


Topping the list of most popular creators was Choo, whose candid personality and humorous videos about daily life resonated with audiences. Since launching his channel in November last year, he has amassed 1.98 million subscribers.

Choo’s very first official video drew immediate attention. Titled “Choo Sung-hoon, Rooming at Yano Shiho’s House” (translated), the video was uploaded on Nov. 21, 2024, and showed the interior of Choo and his wife Shiho Yano's home in a messy state — filmed without his wife’s consent. Yano is a top Japanese model.

The unfiltered footage was a shock to viewers, with some commenting, “I’ve never seen someone show their house like this,” and “Is this even okay?” Choo later shared that the video led to a fight with Yano, reinforcing the authenticity of his content. The video has been viewed 10.99 million times and received about 7,700 comments as of Thursday.

Another viral hit on his channel is a mukbang video featuring a steakhouse in Tokyo’s Meguro Ward. Titled “Introducing Japan’s Best Steakhouse” (translated), the video has garnered more than 11.19 million views. In the video, Choo devours three 225-gram (7.9-ounce) steaks with rice at a restaurant he has frequented for 19 years. His swollen belly after the meal drew laughs from viewers.

Following the video’s release, the restaurant became popular among Korean tourists. A special “Choo Sung-hoon Menu” was created, featuring a 250-gram steak and 160 grams of rice, in reference to his fight record of 25 matches and 16 wins. Korean restaurants later began offering their own version of the dish, using Choo as a promotional figure.

Comedian Lee Su-ji ranked second on the creators list for her performances that captured the spirit of the times. Others who made the top 10 included Michelin-star chef Anh Sung-jae in sixth place, and AI-generated hamster character “Kim Hamzzi the Emotionally Unstable Hamster” ranked seventh for its satire of modern office life.

On the music front, "Kpop Demon Hunters" dominated the year’s most-viewed songs on YouTube in Korea. Three songs from the original soundtracks — "Golden," “Soda Pop” and “Your Idol” — ranked first, third and 10th, respectively. “Soda Pop” and “Golden” also took the top two spots on the YouTube Shorts chart.

Other songs that made the list included Woodz’s “Drowning” (2023) in second place, Zo Zazz’s “Don’t You Know” in fourth and Maktub’s “Starting With You” in sixth.

In terms of trending topics, three K-content titles stood out among Korean users: "KPop Demon Hunters," “When Life Gives You Tangerines” and “Squid Game” (2021-). According to YouTube, "Kpop Demon Hunters" and “Squid Game” also ranked highly in most of the countries included in the survey.

In gaming, Roblox and Mabinogi Mobile drew the most attention on YouTube.


This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM JI-HYE [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]