2022’s Top 10 Most Powerful Celebrity YouTubers By Revenue According to Forbes Korea

Forbes Korea has recently released its annual list of the most powerful Korean celebrities on Youtube, based on their annual estimated income.

Celebrities’ activities on Youtube have been so active that their Youtube channels have been established as another significant source of revenue. Whether it is the official channel of a top celebrity’s agency or a personal channel, these YouTube channels are generating soaring profits proportionate to the fandom size they have generated.

Take a look at who made it to the top ten most powerful YouTubers this year, as compiled by Forbes Korea.

10. Lee Mal Nyeon – ₩1.81 billion KRW (about $1.34 million USD)

Webtoon writer Lee Mal Nyeon is the only nonsinger in the top 10 celebrity YouTubers list.  His calm man channel features various content, including food reviews, live broadcasts, gaming, and other topics of interest. The channel has a total of 1.78 million subscribers.

9. Lim Young Woong – ₩1.81 billion KRW (about $1.34 million USD)

Lim Young Woong is a trot and ballad singer who achieved his first number-one song on the Gaon Digital Chart with the single “My Starry Love” last year. He started his YouTube channel  Im Young-woong in 2016, posting his debut song “Hate You.” He has since uploaded song covers, behind-the-scenes, live performances, highlight clips, comment reading, and vlogs to update his fans. His channel currently has 1.4 million subscribers.

8. (G)I-DLE – ₩2.09 billion KRW (about $1.55 million USD)

(G)I-DLE (Official YouTube Channel) mainly covers content promoting their music, activities, announcements, member logs, and vlogs. This year was incredibly hectic regarding YouTube content for (G)I-DLE with the release of their first studio album, “I Never Die,” Miyeon‘s first mini-album, and promotions for their first world tour, to name a few. The channel currently has 4.11 million subscribers.

7.  ITZY – ₩2.30 billion KRW (about $1.71 million USD)

ITZY started its YouTube channel in 2019 and has since grown its subscriber base to 7.66 million. The #SneakersChallenge contributed a big chunk to their content traffic this year. “Sneakers” is the lead single off their fifth EP, “Checkmate.” ITZY also has their first world tour this year.

6. aespa – ₩2.36 billion KRW (about $1.76 million USD)

The aespa YouTube channel started in October 2020 and has since gotten 4.05 million subscribers. Their vlog content and “DreamsComeTrue challenge ” enjoy high engagements.

5. Sunmi – ₩3.34 billion KRW (about $2.48 million USD)

Sunmi’s YouTube channel offers content that mirrors her vibrant personality. Her spontaneity and humor make her an exciting YouTuber, followed by her 1.46 million subscribers. Most of her content is for promotions of her concerts, album, endorsements, magazine shoots, and other updates for fans.

4. SEVENTEEN – ₩3.41 billion KRW (about $2.53 million USD)

SEVENTEEN’s videos consistently enjoy high traffic. Their GOING SEVENTEEN, INSIDE SEVENTEEN, and SSSS CAM content make up a big chunk of their posts for 2022 with the most views. The group recently released a repackage of their fourth studio album, “Sector 17,” with its lead single “_World.” The SEVENTEEN YouTube channel has 8.36 million subscribers.

3. PSY – ₩4.80 billion KRW (about $3.56 million USD)

PSY’s YouTube channel officialpsy has been around since 2010, moving towards twelve years of existence with only 118 videos. Still, his content traffic is consistently hectic. His recent momentous comeback with the single “That That” helped seal him as the third most powerful YouTuber, with a staggering 17.4 million subscribers.

2.  BLACKPINK – ₩10.9 billion KRW (about $8.11 million USD)

BLACKPINK’s YouTube channel is consistently one of the most powerful channels. Look through their 427 videos posted since 2016, and you will see that they have only a handful below one million views, while most of their content has eight or nine-digit views. The group’s following on YouTube is at an astounding 79.4 million. Their latest single, “Pink Venom,” is now close to 223 million views after only eleven days since its launch.

1. BTS – ₩13.6 billion KRW (about $10.1 million USD)

BTS’s YouTube Channel, BANGTANTV, had gone a long way since 2012, when their videos showed mostly humble beginnings of a group destined for international fame. Fast forward to almost ten years later, with now 1,799 videos and 70.4 million subscribers, BANGTANTV still enjoys lording it over the other channels in terms of revenue. The channel consistently provides engaging content for fans, ranging from behind-the-scenes, excerpts from their significant activities and updates on group and solo activities.

It is interesting to note that BLACKPINK and BTS revenues are more than double the annual income of Forbes Korea Power YouTuber 100, which is at ₩5.14 billion KRW (about $3.82 million USD), the number one pure creator this year.