↑1 million in 1 year ‘Underworld’ Song Ha-bin’s reason for becoming ‘Gopalnam’ [DA : Interview②]

Comedian Song Ha-bin(31)expressed his gratitude to subscribers of his YouTube channel ‘Underworld’.

In a recent interview held at the Donga.com building in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, Song Ha-bin expressed surprise at surpassing 1 million subscribers on his YouTube channel in just 10 months of operation last year, saying, “I didn’t expect it when I first created the channel.I reached 100,000 subscribers in 3 months, and it quickly surpassed 300,000.” He said, “I was scared, thinking, ‘We’re not ready, so why do people like it so much? ’ I also thought it would be nice to have a function to stop the increase in subscribers.I felt like I had nothing more to show, so I was worried about what I could show.”

Song Ha-bin, the father of Chun-bongi and Cheom-ji, a comedian by profession, a YouTuber by profession, and a ‘star’ in real life, is a cat.He gained attention through the YouTube channel ‘Underworld’ that he started with his wife Park Ji-yeon before getting married.The combination of cute and innocent cats and a large man in a hospital gown was shocking yet refreshing, and Park’s laughter reminiscent of the sound of a boiling kettle and his editing sense made it penetrate the netizens ‘algorithms and even burrow into them.

Song Ha-bin said, “January 1st of this year was exactly one year since I started YouTube.I gained confidence and conviction that I could do more.I made many plans with the thought that if I had been able to do it for a year, I should work even harder.”


Chunbongi and Cheomji are’ Bok ‘who came together like fate when they met their wife, Ms.Park.This is because they are pet cats that Ms.Park raised.’ Underworld ‘was planned as a couple YouTube concept that was popular at one time, but by chance, they ended up walking the path of’ Gopalnam(a man who makes money by selling cats)’.

Song Ha-bin explained, “My wife is more talented and better than me.At first, we were going to do content like’ Ta-jjang ‘together.I thought I should upload something, so I uploaded a video of me playing with cats by shaking a toy with my foot, and it became a huge hit.I didn’ t even have any subscribers, so I thought, what’s going on? I uploaded one or two more videos, and after seeing the response, I decided to go with a cat channel.”

Unlike Song Ha-bin, who was concerned about the realistic limitations of the ‘Cat Channel’, his wife was confident.Under Park’s leadership, ‘Underworld’ grew to 1.22 million subscribers.

The reason why subscribers are crazy about ‘Underworld’ is because it makes them laugh without forcing anything on the cats.It is a way of expressing the cats ‘everyday behaviors with gag codes in a natural atmosphere without stress.The extremely indifferent personality of Chunbongi and the amazing timing of the’ Myriad Carry’s ‘cry are simply amazing.

Song Ha-bin said, “It’s all luck.I try not to stress the cats.People seem to like that too.Since I create them while I’m still, it takes a lot of time.When the cat is sitting somewhere, I try to find out what’s going on and then take a picture.I can’t do it the way it’s supposed to be done, so I can’t film commercials,” he said with a laugh, but emphasized, “I try to never stress the cats.” Instead, he said that people are the ones who get stressed.Song Ha-bin said, “My relationship with my wife is really happy, but we have a lot of intense idea meetings at work,” and “My wife does the planning and editing.I just have to follow her instincts,” expressing his trust and respect.

Since cats cannot be controlled as humans wish, it is impossible to predict where and what kind of video will be created.The parody of the drama ‘Jeongnyeoni’, ‘Chonnyeoni’, was uploaded with a ‘thump’, but it did not get as many views as expected.However, the video of Chunbong lying down and putting various things on his stomach got so much response that it spread to the ‘Chunbongi Challenge’.

Song Ha-bin said, “We don’t know which videos are permeating the algorithm.The ones I recorded were weak, so I was having a meeting with my wife when Chun-bong was lying down, so I just uploaded some stuff and he was still.I filmed it and uploaded it that day, and the response was huge.I think it exploded in an unintended way.”

The video featuring Girls ‘Generation’s Yuri was said to have been done with pure ‘fandom’.Yuri, a ‘big fan’ of Chunbong-Cheomji, was the first to actively request a home visit, she revealed.The video of Hwang Chi-yeol’s passionate singing was also made possible by Hwang Chi-yeol’s side first suggesting it.

Song Ha-bin also shared his grand plan, saying, “I can’t take the cats outside, so I’m trying to do it indoors.My wife doesn’t seem to like being in the media, but if it doesn’t work out, I’ll make it into a family sitcom with her in it.”

He is working hard as ‘Gopalnam’, but this year he plans to be active as a comedian, his main occupation.He will be holding his first solo stand-up comedy nationwide tour, ‘Fighting’, in his own name in 7 years since his debut.He will be holding the nationwide tour at Daejeon Seogu Cultural Center(May 10), Gwangju Seobitmaru Cultural Center(May 11), Busan Kyungsung University Concert Hall(May 17), Daegu Cultural Center Biseul Hall(May 18), and Seoul YES24 Wonderlock Hall(May 24).

Song Ha-bin expressed his determination, saying, “I want to have a busy year by successfully completing the national tour and working hard on broadcasting.I’m also planning on having a second child, so I’ll work hard(?).”

Reporter Jeong com -yeon, Donga.com shine2562@donga

This article is automatically translated using Google AI. If you notice any inaccuracies, please let us know at allkstar@donga.com.