Korea's 'teacher YouTuber' trend grows as parents look for ways to boost children's education
Published: 21 Mar. 2026, 10:46
Updated: 21 Mar. 2026, 11:01
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For a growing number of parents, answers about school life no longer come from newsletters or meetings, but from a familiar place: a teacher’s YouTube channel.
“I trust it much more because it’s content created by a teacher who has actually experienced the classroom, rather than by an ordinary YouTuber,” Park Hye-jin, the parent of an elementary school student, told the JoongAng Ilbo. “Whenever I have questions about my child’s school life, I naturally look for channels run directly by teachers.”
With the start of a new school year, videos titled “Elementary school preparation tips from a current teacher” and “Parent-teacher conference hacks” are flooding social media platforms like YouTube and Instagram. They are created by growing group known as “teacher YouTubers," or licensed educators who share real-time insights into school life.
There are some 870 teacher-run YouTube channels, according to the Korea Teacher Creators Association, a local organization focused on supporting teachers who create educational content online. Its member count has grown more than fourfold in five years, from 121 members in 2021 to 540 as of last January.
“We established the association as more teachers became interested in producing content for online classes. We plan to enhance collaboration among members and improve the quality of information through training programs, including AI education, to deliver high-quality educational content to more students," Lee Jun-kwon, the association’s president, told the JoongAng Ilbo.
The number of schoolteachers approved for secondary employment has also increased significantly, from 5,651 in 2021 to 21,545 in 2024 — nearly fourfold in three years, as per the Ministry of Education's data.
Among them, 1,523 teachers received approval for personal media activities such as YouTube and blogging. The permission, however, is granted only when a channel surpasses 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 annual watch hours, and thus, experts estimate that the actual number of teachers independently operating social media accounts is likely much higher.
The spread of teacher YouTubers has been significantly influenced by the normalization of online classes and digital platforms following Covid-19.
Many parents, like Kim, view teacher YouTubers favorably. A survey conducted by Lee Seung-ho, a research fellow at the Korea Educational Development Institute, found that 95 percent of respondents considered content created by teacher-creators to be “trustworthy.”
“Teacher influencers can be seen as a new form of teacher leadership emerging in the digital age," said Lee. "If they demonstrate familiarity and authenticity online, they could help enhance trust in the teaching profession.”
Some parents, however, voiced concerns.
“At the entrance ceremony, seeing a famous teacher YouTuber felt like seeing a celebrity, but at the same time, I was relieved they weren’t my child’s homeroom teacher,” said a 40-year-old parent surnamed Kim from Songpa District, southern Seoul.
Kim and others who share similar views worry that such activities could lead to reduced focus on teaching, as well as potential privacy violations involving students. There have been cases where students’ faces or voices appeared in videos uploaded by teacher YouTubers, raising concerns among parents that students — who should be at the center of education — are being used as content material.
Concerns over the blurring of public duty and private gain are also growing. As some teachers expand their activities into sponsorships and paid lectures, critics warn that educational content could be shaped more by profit motives than by pedagogical value.
“One of the biggest reasons teachers consider side jobs is financial. If they create content that attracts parents’ attention and leverage it for external lectures, they may be able to earn additional income," said an elementary school teacher in Seoul, who wished to stay anonymous.
The most pressing issue is that the current system has not kept pace with changes in the education field. While the Ministry of Education introduced guidelines on teachers’ YouTube activities in 2019, no significant updates have been made since. As a result, while the number and influence of teacher-creators continues to grow, management systems and detailed guidelines remain insufficient.
There is also a significant gap between existing regulations and reality. Some channels have sparked controversy over student exposure, inappropriate content or political remarks, but due to the lack of clear standards, authorities often rely on reactive measures.
“Education offices actively use teacher-creators for promotion, but when problems arise, they shift responsibility onto individuals," said a middle school teacher said, who also wished to remain anonymous. "Without clear standards, the situation fluctuates between permission and regulation, causing confusion in the field.”
Teachers themselves feel uneasy and frustrated. “It’s also problematic that approval for secondary employment depends on the discretion of the school principal. Because there are no clear rules, many teachers either hide their social media activities or operate without permission," said teacher YouTuber surnamed Kim who has been creating content online for three years.
Experts agree that it is time to move beyond viewing teacher YouTubers simply as a target for regulation and instead consider how to manage them to minimize side effects. “There is a risk that the authority over educational value shifts from experts to the general public," Jung Hyun-sun, a professor at Gyeongin National University of Education, said. "For teacher-creators to become a meaningful channel for future education, social consensus must first be reached on issues such as student protection, commercial activities and balancing these with their primary duties.”
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
HUR JUNG-YEON [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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