"On TikTok, even with many followers, content has to be consistently fun to perform well. So I get nervous every time I upload a video, but it's also a healthy ecosystem that offers fair opportunities. I was able to grow by leveraging this differentiation of TikTok, and I will continue to create my own 'unfamiliar newness' and focus on promoting K-food."
In the short-form ecosystem, where the speed of communication is everything, a Korean creator has captivated global viewers. With original Korean food content, food creator "Cookim (Kim Jeong-ho)" has 3 million followers on TikTok. Cookim drew attention by personally cooking Korean dishes that were not well known overseas and introducing K-food in a familiar way to foreign viewers. Recognized for this influence, Cookim won the "Lifestyle Creator of the Year" award at the TikTok Awards in 2024.
When we met Kim on the 18th of last month at TikTok Korea's headquarters in Gangnam District, Seoul, Kim was a creator who not only aimed to make entertaining videos, but also thought about how to deliver Korean cuisine to the world. Kim said, "I want to study more about Korean food," and added, "I want to seek out master artisans in Korea, reveal in depth what and how they make things, and unpack the hidden stories and philosophies behind their cooking."
Before becoming a full-time creator, Kim's job had little to do with cooking. Kim was an elite handball player as a child, but after quitting sports, took the college entrance exam multiple times, entered a teachers' college, and began cooking personally to save on food costs. Years of cooking built skills, and experience working as a video editor and content planner at a Korean-language education company while in college laid the decisive foundation for growth as a creator.
The first video Kim made was spreading cream cheese on a bagel. Posted in Aug. 2022, it drew little reaction, and the same was true of other videos uploaded for months. Kim was preparing for the teacher certification exam in 2023 and had set a deadline: if there were no results within a set period, stop producing content and focus on studying for the exam.
But just 2–3 days before that point, a video about "Myeongrang Hot Dog" went viral. Each morning, followers increased by 10,000, then 20,000. After that, by request in the comments, Kim made various foods such as hotteok and tacos, and began focusing in earnest on content production.
Recently, Kim has gone beyond popular menus like tteokbokki or kimchi to spotlight traditional jang (fermented sauces) culture, focusing on the deeper materials and supplies and philosophies of Korean cuisine. Kim has introduced mugwort steamed buns and gim bugak, as well as making kimchi, pressing sesame oil, and making gochujang. The video of making kimchi surpassed 50 million views on TikTok alone, and the pork taco video exceeded 70 million views. Kim said, "I want to become a Korean food teacher to foreign viewers." The following is a Q&A.
—Among various platforms, you have the most followers on TikTok. Did you focus on TikTok from the start?
"I uploaded videos to multiple platforms at the same time. Since the vertical format is the same, posting everywhere while making them is the most efficient approach for a creator. But each channel has a different tone, and viewers want different things. Other platforms couldn't tolerate gaps in the middle of a video or were geared toward emotional visuals. TikTok, by contrast, felt a bit more extreme. Either you meticulously plan to overwhelm viewers within the first three seconds, or unprocessed, natural content gets a response. I thought TikTok fit best for telling the stories I wanted to tell."
—What prompted you to switch to being a full-time creator?
"At first, I started as a hobby to relieve stress. I would turn on the camera while preparing meals and edit in spare moments, so it wasn't a burden. Even when there was no reaction early on, I could keep going because it was a hobby. When the hot dog video took off, a lot of comments came in, and people asked me to 'make this too.' Then I studied those dishes and made videos. TikTok has a feature to reply to comments with a video, and using that got a good response. People requested more, I made videos, and the requests continued. Then ads started coming in and TikTok launched a creator reward system. That system gave me the strength to keep making videos."
—Why did you decide to go deep into Korean food content?
"I'm Korean and I like Korean food, so I made a lot of Korean food videos. Naturally, that shaped a character of 'a person who cooks Korean food.' After that, many creators began using me as a reference. Then I started thinking about what sets me apart from others. Style of video or way of speaking are differentiators, but I thought I needed something more. I believed I had to be different. Even if I stopped being a creator later, I thought about what I truly wanted to learn. That led me to want to learn traditional jang (fermented sauces). Isn't the base of Korean cuisine said to be the taste of jang? Following what I wanted to learn also created points of differentiation."
—For foreign viewers, subjects like jang or sesame oil may feel unfamiliar. As you deal more with the deeper materials and supplies of Korean cuisine, doesn't that hurt mass appeal?
"In reality, the traffic gap widens depending on how familiar the subject is to people. Viewers watch familiar tteokbokki videos straight through without dropping off, but tend to skip when unfamiliar jang appears. But jang is both the foundation and the flower of Korean cuisine. Moreover, as overseas viewers started to think of me not as a simple mukbang creator but as a 'Korean food teacher,' I felt a sense of responsibility. I want to broaden the scope of Korean food beyond tteokbokki, kimchi, and bulgogi. In places like South America or Europe, where it's hard to find red pepper flakes or napa cabbage, local viewers watched my videos and made kimchi themselves, and I felt that passion was truly remarkable."
—Do you have criteria for planning content and choosing subjects?
"First, I try to convey the message I want to get across as much as possible. In the case of jang, it's really important in Korean cuisine, so I make it with the idea of spreading it widely. Another criterion is to use a specific subject as a reference but not copy it. For example, mugwort steamed buns took matcha as a reference. Overseas, when people think of green ingredients from East Asia, they may think of matcha first. When something familiar comes to mind and then they see something new, they feel an unfamiliar newness. That's when reactions like 'It's fresh,' 'It's striking,' and 'I need to keep watching' arise."
—We hear you refine video planning based on data.
"I reflect two major indicators. The first is the 'early drop-off rate.' It's the most critical indicator that determines the initial quality of a video and whether viewers keep watching. I accumulate data on directing techniques, such as how to start so that people don't leave. The second is data on viewing countries and cities. Other platforms provide country data, but TikTok is the only one that also provides city-level data.
For example, when I posted a video making tacos with spicy pork stir-fry, it was watched more in the United States than in Mexico. Specifically, traffic concentrated in cities in the Southwest border region, such as New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona. When I post dishes using rice, views rise in Southeast Asian rice-consuming countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia. I'm building data on which countries become targets with which subjects, and I reflect that from the planning stage."
—Why do you say TikTok's algorithmic system is healthy?
"TikTok's recommendation feed system is not heavily influenced by existing follower counts. No matter how big the account is, if the content's engagement is weak, exposure drops. For individual creators, it creates tension like receiving a report card at every moment, but it gives newcomers the chance to compete on the same footing as large creators. Thanks to this structure, creators don't become complacent and constantly devise trendy, creative videos. The reward system that sustains creation is also clear. Since April this year, motivation has grown with the introduction of the 'Creator Reward Program 2X,' which doubles rewards for Korean-language content for adult creators residing in Korea."
—What advice would you emphasize for junior food creators who are just starting out?
"Use references but don't copy. Early on, referring to others' videos is essential to set your direction, but if you replicate them exactly, you can't beat the original. Originality—fully reinterpreting others' strengths in your own style—is essential. I also recommend starting strictly as a hobby. Creators receive immediate report cards in the form of comment counts, likes, and views, and it's natural for the numbers to be low at first. My own experience of enjoying it as a hobby while making content early on is truly invaluable.
Also, I don't think everyone needs to follow trends. For those not comfortable using trends, there are stories to tell based on experience. If you express those stories in an original way, you can unfold a variety of stories on TikTok as well."
—What are your future goals?
"I want to study more about Korean food. To elevate the professionalism and credibility of my content, I plan to enroll in a culinary school. If I gain on-site experience, it will help me promote Korean food. I will continue to upload videos related to Korean food.
In particular, I want to talk more about materials and supplies. For example, I want to show how gim or jang is made, what traditional master artisans in Korea make, and what stories are embedded in them. I want to capture not only cooking, but also the philosophy behind it."