Nowadays, people enjoy watching Memedia. They watch videos through YouTube and Kakao TV, which have made rapid strides. Elementary school students often write ¡®YouTube Creator¡¯ in the future hope section. Creators who create channels on platforms like YouTube post their own video clips, and they share it with the public. Indeed, it is currently a heyday for the creators. There is a person who is one of the biggest star creators. The CBT met Deeva Jessica, the leader of the Creator Business and a broadcaster of Memedia(Memedia refers to media which is run by a single person).
1. Where does your motivation come from to always try new content and different projects?
I have been broadcasting for five years, but in the first one or two years, I only broadcast educational content, but I felt that it was difficult to gain much attention and public recognition just by running educational content, so I started to tell some stories about English culture and mysteries. I did various activities to see what drew people¡¯s attention. My broadcast is a live broadcast and in Korean. How boring it would be if I released five new content items in a week and they were all in English. As I developed daily contents, I think I have gained the ability and experience to make diverse contents quickly over the past few years.
2. What was your motivation for setting up a company to nurture creators?
At first, I made contents and videos by myself. However, I felt it would be better if I could be helped by an editor, so I formed a team around me. When I worked with people who had better ideas and better plots than I did, I felt the channel became more powerful. When I started, not many people were doing it my way, so I wanted my close friends to develop their talents through platforms like mine. By teaching these people my experience and skills, I thought they would be better off developing their own channels and making it a career like I am doing. Founding the company was a natural result of this process.
3. You are a one-man media but also the head of the company. You seem to be very good at managing human resources from the business aspect. In JBS E&M (JBS E&M is a broadcasting station run by Deeva Jessica), Lee Sa-bae, the director of Beauty Youtuber, is a member. How did you recruit, develop and maintain them?
I think a person¡¯s ability is more important than anything. When flowers grow in a pot, if the seeds are strong and have the ability to flourish, they can be moved to a good flowerpot and given manure, water, and sunlight. People are the same. I came across people with good abilities and hired them. Let me tell you about the development and the maintenance aspects. No matter how good the seeds are, those who don¡¯t have the will to grow will eventually fall behind. Therefore, I think my role is to push them back so that they don¡¯t get tired and so that they can persevere. Even in short-track relay competitions, pushing hard may force them to move forward by giving them the power to push back as if they were moving forward. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s my role to make people live in boxes I made; my role is to nurture their power a little more.
4. Visitors can see the splendor, self-confidence, and energy overflowing in the video clips. I wonder if there is any way or effort to help develop these elements.
Basically, I am a passionate person. I am not that kind of person who thinks, ¡®Does it work or not?¡¯ I push myself to a limitation with passion. Perhaps such enthusiasm has also appeared on the air. Also, I like myself very much, so I can be natural in my dignity. I spend the day just like everyone else and then broadcast even though I am tired. However, people come to see me, and I think I can cheer them up by talking happily rather than being weak. We are not depressed by watching ¡®Infinite Challenge¡¯, are we? It gives us strength. It is my personal motto to make such a powerful announcement.
5. Among the recent videos uploaded, there was a story of the time in which the movie ¡®1987¡¯ was set. Due to the enthusiastic response, you saw some political conflicts in your comments and were also criticized. I wonder if you will deal with these events that could cause political conflicts in the future.
First, I don¡¯t want to become a politician, so I think I can freely express my thoughts. Not everyone walks in just conservative or progressive directions. Of course, there are some areas where I must be refined as a broadcaster, but I think my idea of free speech is one of the driving forces behind my career. As YouTube has grown in size, the demand for teenagers and those in their 20s is increasing. I think I can solve more serious matters in a fun way for teenagers and those in their 20s by using the platform. Since I am influential, I must be cautious. I intend to make efforts to air as quickly as possible from a neutral perspective.
6. Do you have any goals and plans for 2018?
I hope I don¡¯t hesitate to make new attempts in 2018. I am currently prepared with some contents, and I am in a stable state. I want to show my artistic side to the people through my broadcast. I will show some of the more trendy, challenging and mundane issues on YouTube. I also want to learn the styles of broadcasting, which can help reveal my guests rather than myself. As a broadcaster, I would like to try contents with a little more variety and growth. In addition, my new dream is to become a movie director. I am writing a short movie scenario and gathering team members. Who can make a film perfectly on their first try? In 2018, I want to make three to four short movies that take 5 to 10 minutes.
7. What kind of broadcasting would you like to run in the future, and what kind of creator would you like the public to remember you as?
I have told interesting stories. I have covered the dark sides of society so far. From now on, I would like to tell stories that are warm and touching to society. I would like to make a program where people who watch my videos send a message saying, ¡°Ah, I should live like this.¡± I would like to air a broadcast that makes me move forward. I also would like to pass along the stories that teenagers may not be able to easily approach, in a comfortable and informative way, as an older sister. Rather than presenting my opinion, I would like to be a conduit to throw such topics into viewers¡¯ heads. Even if the number of people visiting my channel is low, it would be highly rewarding for me if a few people could see the video and obtain useful information and educational help. In short, I would like to be a fun person and a big sister while communicating useful information.