YouTube held a mentoring program that focused on the development of Korean game-related content creators this week.

Creator mentoring program YouTube NextUp was held for the first time in Korea in Seoul from Monday to Wednesday, inviting 12 game content creators, who shared videos of themselves playing mobile and PC games.
 

According to YouTube, game content creators with 1,000 to 100,000 subscribers were invited to apply for the program. More than 120 creators signed up, and YouTube employees well-versed in the gaming world and creator environment selected the 12 finalists, judging applications based on the creators’ stories, content diversity, possibility of improvement and passion, among others.

“We are really going to help NextUp finalists become influential creators on YouTube platform, and we are going to make them inspirational,” Marc Lefkowitz, head of YouTube creator and artist development for APAC, said at a press event Wednesday in southern Seoul.

“Half of the millennials say YouTube has changed their life. We are going to help the finalists work on creating healthy, robust content on YouTube,” Lefkowitz said.

During the three-day boot camp, the finalists were trained on technical skills, such as camera shooting and video editing. YouTube also mentored them on channel branding and business model strategies. A YouTuber nicknamed Left Arm, who has more than 700,000 subscribers, participated as a mentor.

Ines Cha, head of YouTube creator ecosystem and gaming partnerships for APAC, said, “YouTube has been evolving as a platform where gamers around the world can gather. More than 200 million users watch game-related content on YouTube per day.”

“Korea is one of the biggest gaming markets across the world. It has various gaming communities ranging from mobile to PC games. It has been leading the e-sport scene with professional gamers making big impressions in international gaming events. We think that this workshop can support the local gaming industry,” Cha said.

Copyright has been a controversial issue for game content creators, with some questioning whether it is right for the creators to make profits from game content they did not create.

“YouTube is concerned about copyright issues, whether the content is game-related or not,” Cha said.

“Game companies own game-related content’s copyright. What YouTube’s game team does is to cooperate with game publishers and developers to convince them how creators uploading game content can be beneficial for the game itself, introducing the game to a larger public and creating a community.”

After the press event, the creators went to Busan to participate in Korea’s biggest annual game convention G-Star. Each creator received a voucher worth 2 million won ($1,711), allowing the finalists to purchase cameras and accessories, editing tools and other devices.

YouTube NextUp was launched earlier this year to support creators and create a healthy environment on YouTube. The program has been conducted around the world with a different focus each time, ranging from music artists to female creators.

In September, the company hosted a workshop in India to support Indian women who are breaking gender stereotypes on YouTube.

By Im Eun-byel (silverstar@heraldcorp.com)