There are plenty of YouTubing couples, but not many are as successful as the comedic couple that run the hugely popular ‘Enjoy Couple’ channel that has 1.7 million subscribers. The channel, created by Son Min-su and Lim Ji-hyeon, upload content that revolves around mukbang, vlongs, and prank videos.
Lim Ji-hyeon, who also goes by the name Imlala, is an alumna graduate from Department of Physical Education. From an early age it was Lim’s dream to work in the broadcasting industry, but her family pressure pushed her to become a civil servant, and she was planning to become a physical educat ion instructor. Things changed, however, when Lim lived in Canada briefly during university where she had a chance to explore the other side of life.
“When I took part as a host in Ewha’s chapel session and entrance ceremony, ‘Welcome to Ewha,’ I realized that I really enjoy public speaking. This began my preparation on becoming a comedian. I thought that becoming a comedian would be the easiest way to become a TV host,” Lim said.
During university, she went to acting institutes after class and double majored in communication skills to learn about broadcasting skills and prepare for the comedian open recruitment. As Lim grew in confidence, she slowly invested more time and effort to chase her dream, and she began her career in comedy on SBS in 2015.
As ‘Uzza,’ the comedy program she appeared on was discontinued, she began the YouTube channel with her boyfriend. On their channel, Lim worked with the people she cared about and uploaded original videos.
The videos came from her own ideas and she could take out her camera and film videos for YouTube wherever and whenever she wanted to. This was a new journey where she no longer had to adhere to the broadcasters’ demands.
The distance between one’s major and one’s dream job is a common issue for university students. According to Lim, students facing these questions should figure out if they are talented in the area they wish to work in. This can be done by doing some work that is relevant with the area of interest either as a part-time job or an internship.
“Someone who wants to design commercials can upload a selfmade commercial on YouTube to gain feedback from viewers on their creation,” Lim said as an example.
For students who want to begin their own YouTube channels, Lim suggested to start by watching and referring to videos of other known YouTubers. This will give an idea on how to attract viewers.
“All successful YouTube videos have something to refer. It is important to bring know-hows and tips from other videos and reflect them into your own videos,” Lim said.
Besides making videos, Lim also highlighted the idea that experiences we may see as unimportant can become useful in time.
“Exercising regularly for my major was helpful for me as a comedian,” Lim said. “I had to use my body a lot for dancing and slapstick comedy. Furthermore, my participation in the school club gave me a chance to learn about Adobe programs, which is very useful in editing videos for my YouTube channel.”
These days, Lim basks in success, but it hasn’t been a quick or easy journey and encourages younger people to keep chasing their dreams.
“I was twenty-nine when I became a YouTuber. For young readers, I hope that they do not feel time-pressured on reaching their goals. There are long paths that lead to the goal, which might take time.”