In the past, broadcasting on TV and showing movies in theaters was a big part of the video industry. However, in recent years, there are many ways to watch movies. People are watching videos on demand. Through these videos, it is possible to experience various subjects such as beauty, games, kidneys, and dance. Also, people can get useful information about real life. The most representative examples are YouTube and Netflix. Through these two platforms, people are free to watch videos that they want to see, and the number of people who watch these videos is increasing rapidly.
  YouTube is a video sharing site. People who use YouTube can watch various videos and share their videos. In the past, there were not many ways for people to upload videos online or to share them with others. YouTube allows anyone with a computer to upload a video and helps many people around the world. Individuals share videos on a variety of topics that can be enjoyed by a huge audience, and these videos have become an essential part of Internet culture. In particular, more and more people are taking pleasure in watching videos about eating food they want to eat. As a result, the number of Mukbang YouTubers, subscribers who usually provide cooking shows, has increased. Mukbang is one of the typical live online broadcasts in which a host eats delicious foods. They go to restaurants that people often visit and other expensive restaurants that people usually don't. They also leave reviews of the restaurants and give information about their experiences to the viewers. In this way, people are satisfied by choosing videos which they want to see.
   Yoo Min-ho (‘14 Dept. of Sociology) said, “I usually like to go on a world journey, but I don't have much chance to travel because I only have time for studying. I used to feel vicarious satisfaction through watching a YouTuber introduce places around the country. Unlike TV shows, I watch videos on YouTube often because I can watch videos that are interesting on my cell phone anytime, anywhere.” In this way, people are choosing and enjoying videos according to their tastes. However, YouTube also generates a lot of lewd videos due to its profit system, which earns revenue through viewer ratings. Although the lewd videos are prohibited, many videos are uploaded, so it is hard to monitor all of the uploaded videos.
  Netflix, which is a combination of ‘net’ and ‘flicks’, allows users to enjoy a variety of movies and TV shows conveniently without advertising or agreements. Netflix has 104 million users from more than 190 countries, and it entered South Korea on January 7, 2016. Since then, the number of users has been rising explosively. According to a Wise App survey, Netflix users on smartphones increased 274 percent in a year. The main reason for the explosive popularity is that users can enjoy a variety of genres. In the past, when a television station or a movie theater refused to screen something, a producer was at a disadvantage in negotiations because there was no other way to distribute a show or a movie. However, the new alternative, Netflix, has allowed more freedom for the producers than in the past. Also, there is a membership that can be shared and used by several people, so many viewers are looking for people to share a membership with at a lower price.
  Song Su-min (‘16 Dept. of Social Studies Education) said, “When I use Netflix, I don't have to pay for each movie. I just pay for the subscription, so it’s convenient. Also, Netflix has been producing its own content in a variety of new and different genres, so I'm happy to choose a movie genre that I'm interested in.” Lee Jung-ho (‘16 Dept. of International Business) said, “I think the biggest advantage of Netflix is that I can watch a movie anywhere with a cell phone. In the case of TV, I need to watch the movie in a limited place, but Netflix makes it easy to watch them anywhere.”
  The media market is changing so that people can choose the videos they want to see and enjoy. Kim Jo-han, who is an IT columnist, said, “The important thing in the media market is that the times are changing. A slow operator will not keep up with the trends. There will be a lot of changes in the future as none of the companies that led the media ten years ago are currently leading the media.” Currently, many videos are being created, and more and more people are watching them to get the information they need in their daily lives instead of just watching them for fun.

By Jung Jun-hoe l jh38@cbnu.ac.kr