How vlogs by South Korean women have turned home organisation into a pleasurable experience – World News , NewsGater

In a video titled Vlog that makes you want to clean, South Korean YouTube creator Kim Sang-mi shows viewers how to tackle window sill grime with a pair of toothpicks and a cleaning cloth, and how to disinfect the house with a mixture of soju and lemon slices.

But then within minutes of the video, Kim takes an unexpected turn, becoming sentimental about being a mother and being a woman. “Even if you are someone’s wife and mother, don’t give up your own happiness,” reads a caption for the video, which has more than 4.7 million views.

34-year-old Kim, whose name is Haegreendal – an alias she created to refer to her career as a freelance illustrator and her childhood nickname, ‘Moon’ – is one of many South Korean creators who have created a genre of ambitious YouTube videos that showcase the simple joys of keeping a home clean, organized and full of food. Danish hygiene arguably meets Marie Kondo’s mess; the videos prescribe minimalism and reveal the joy of a quiet home life.

With nearly 2 million subscribers, Kim’s channel is one of the most popular of its kind. Other channels follow a similar formula: cleverly composed scenes with relaxing background music, soft-focus filters, and sentimental captions featuring images of watered plants, cut vegetables, and neat folded pajamas. These videos began to appear online before the pandemic, but have become increasingly popular over the past year.

Many of the videos are shot with minimal dialogue, and most of the creators operate under aliases and hide their faces to protect their privacy. “I want to focus on showing my actions and my life instead of my face,” Lee Dah-yeon, 30, whose YouTube channel Ondo has more than 1 million subscribers, wrote in an email. “I don’t want to be famous. I want to share a normal everyday life. “

Bak Hae-ri, from the channel Sueddu, is popular with young, single women. She wrote a book on how to be a homebody 23, and now I live alone. In her videos, Bak, 27, shows viewers how to cook meals for one and enjoy alone time, through activities like painting, tidying up, or rearranging a dresser.

Bak’s content draws women into the call sampo generation, the growing number of young adults who are rejecting the three pillars of adult life in Korean society – dating, marriage, and children – in favor of independence and financial freedom.

The latest statistics in South Korea show that women in two-income households spent an average of 2 hours and 13 minutes of additional housework per day, compared to their male partners, according to data released by the South Korean government from 2019.

However, the appeal of these videos extends beyond South Korea. In Atlanta, Ebony Okeke discovered Haegreendal after getting married two years ago. He was inspired to post housework videos to his YouTube channel and “fill the void” of black creators who make those videos.

“I don’t believe in reversing gender roles or diminishing or encouraging one or the other,” said Okeke, 23. “I believe that no matter which career a woman chooses, be it a corporate career or a home life, that both career options should be appreciated, valued and respected.”

Amy Lee, who works in healthcare contracting in New York, found Bak’s channel during the pandemic due to a YouTube recommendation. She was drawn to the way mundane activities like cooking and cleaning received a cinematic treatment. “It made me appreciate the daily routine, cleanliness and productivity,” said Lee, 25.

Kyung Lim, a freelance technical fashion designer in Cambridge, England, said she could relate to Bak’s less is more philosophy. “I’m a fan of his minimalist lifestyle,” said Lim, 38. “It’s uncomplicated.”

Yoon Soo-yeon, an assistant professor of sociology at California Sonoma State University whose research focuses on family and gender equality in South Korea, said the content risks propping up a gender paradigm that turns women in the main cooks, housewives and caregivers in the home. .

“It reinforces traditional gender roles and man’s idealized view of woman as wife and mother in a patriarchal society,” she said.

But Yoon also pointed out that a huge gender pay gap in South Korea means that most of the time, the woman becomes the default homemaker given her lower salary.

“Gender equality in South Korea has increased for women since the 1970s and women may be in a better position today, but by international standards, they are still low,” Yoon said.

For their part, the creators said they simply enjoy the banalities of household chores, whether it’s making a good meal or keeping a clean house. “I want to break with the common assumption that cleaning and cooking at home is just a chore for passive women or housewives,” Park Hyo-ju, 25, of Nyangsoop channel, wrote in an email. On her channel, she posts videos about life from her quaint cottage-style home in the South Korean countryside, baking strawberry tarts, drawing with oil pastels, and playing with her cat, Taco.

“I do what I do because I love cooking, I love cleaning and organizing my house,” said Sue Yun, 34, of the YouTube channel Hamimommy. Yun is currently on a three-year sabbatical from Korean Air, where he managed the alliance and airline operations, to care for his daughter.

She shows viewers how to recycle used coffee grounds to remove grease from a frying pan and recycle old sweaters in a child’s bag. And while her husband doesn’t often appear on camera to help with housework, Yun said he is behind the scenes taking care of his daughter while she records and edits.

“It’s not something other people expect me to do because I’m a woman,” Yun said. “Its my choice.”

Vivian Song 2021 The New York Times Company