Kim, 23, who works at a bar on the "theme street" near Bupyeong Station in Incheon, said BJs (internet broadcast hosts) and YouTubers active in the area are increasingly on the rise. She said at least three people turn on their streams in front of the store. She complained they are a headache because they blast music and dance loudly or abruptly approach passersby to strike up conversations.
BJs and YouTubers are flocking to nearby areas such as Bupyeong and Songnae. This is due to strong crackdowns by local governments and police around Bucheon Station, which had been plagued by so-called "trash YouTubers." Exploiting gaps in enforcement and regulation has led to a "balloon effect."
On the evening of the 6th, the plaza in front of Bucheon Station. There were only five YouTubers streaming. Around the station, banners reading "Bucheon City will definitely eradicate trash YouTubers" were hung every 100 meters. Police on patrol also stopped a YouTuber who was filming passersby without their consent.
As illegal, drunken, and obscene broadcasts continued around Bucheon Station, local residents complained of inconvenience. Bucheon City and the Bucheon Wonmi Police Station tightened enforcement, and even the residents' autonomous committee and the merchants' association joined in. The effect appeared quickly. Oh, 61, who runs a nearby barbecue restaurant, said, "Compared with the peak, the number of YouTubers has dropped to one-fiftieth."
The problem is that the YouTubers pushed out of Bucheon Station did not stop streaming but merely moved their base of activity to nearby areas.
On the 7th in front of Bupyeong Station, a YouTuber we met kept streaming for nearly two hours, dancing or looking for women via a dating app. Some citizens protested that it was "noisy," but the person paid no attention. The person said they had been active around Bucheon Station and moved to the Bupyeong Station side about four months ago.
The situation is similar at Songnae Station and Sinjung-dong Station in Bucheon. Staff at nearby businesses all said YouTubers have increased noticeably lately. Most do streams where they chat with viewers and, if viewers donate a certain amount, they fulfill requests. Sometimes it stops at going to a restaurant to eat food, but there are not a few cases where they do not hesitate to commit illegal acts to elicit viewer reactions.
Lee, 25, a cafe employee we met on the "movie street" at Songnae Station, said, "YouTubers who weren't around before started showing up, and in front of the street statue they set up cameras and dance regularly three to four times a week." Ahn, 60, a convenience store employee near Sinjung-dong Station, said, "Yesterday, too, I kicked out someone who was sitting at the convenience store table shouting."
This is largely because enforcement is being carried out with Bucheon Station at the center. From a YouTuber's perspective, it is enough to move their stage to an area 5 to 10 minutes away. To prevent the "balloon effect" from continuing, there is no choice but to expand enforcement.
However, considering jurisdictional issues and limited administrative manpower, Bucheon City says enforcement alone has its limits. A Bucheon City official said, "We are cracking down as complaints come in, but we do not have the capacity to blindly widen the enforcement zone," and added, "Broadcast platforms need to step up with fundamental measures, such as cutting off trash YouTubers' revenue streams."