Helen and Jaehyuk PD explore how YouTube creators and fans built a global K-pop culture
Mar 20, 2026 [[read-time]] minute read
K-pop has fully moved from a niche subculture to a global powerhouse, and the numbers speak for themselves: BLACKPINK is currently the most subscribed-to artist on YouTube, with more than 100M subscribers on their Official Artist Channel.*
But behind every billion-view music video is a community of fans who don’t just watch the culture—they build it. To celebrate the creativity of this global fandom, we’ve launched our latest Yoodle (a K-pop-inspired YouTube logo animation) and sat down with two of the community's biggest voices to look back at how we got here.
In a new video, creators Helen and Jaehyuk PD flip through a digital "scrapbook" of K-pop history, tracing the evolution of the fans who turned a musical genre into a digital revolution.
Watch them break down:
- The evolution of the dance cover: See how fans moved from dancing in their bedrooms to producing full-scale music videos. (Plus, watch Jaehyuk PD attempt to master the "Kill This Love" choreography for the first time).
- The power of the Fan Cam: Discover how a single viral clip—like the legendary Hani fan cam—can take a lesser-known group and turn them into superstars overnight.
- Deep dives & folk art: Helen explains how video essays help international fans bridge the gap with Korean culture—from the history of "biases" to the symbolism of the Jakhodo tiger and magpie found in modern MVs.
- The reaction community: Learn why reaction videos became the "roots" of the community, helping fans around the world feel a little less alone in their obsession.
And, the celebration doesn't stop with the history lessons! Helen and Jaehyuk PD are joined by special guests EJAE, Rei Ami, and Audrey Nuna—the voices behind the K-pop Demon Hunters project—to debate the most iconic moments in K-pop history.
Watch the full video to see the scrapbook come to life!
*Source: YouTube data, Global, Lifetime