South Korea is a YouTube republic. It is said that Koreans spent over a billion hours on YouTube in August. When divided by the population, each person watched YouTube for 73 minutes daily. This is much more than KakaoTalk or Naver, which are called national messengers. Now, people watch the news on YouTube. The global craze of K-pop and K-dramas was possible because of YouTube. People also listen to music and radio on YouTube.
YouTube, in particular, has a great influence on the younger generation. In an era where smartphones are everywhere, YouTube is a playground for children. Children make ‘short-form’ videos of about 30 seconds and upload them to YouTube or SNS to share with their friends. ‘Creators’ like YouTubers are the jobs that elementary school students dream of.
Religious life is also on YouTube. People listen to priests’ sermons on YouTube. They watch and listen to Pope Francis’ sermons from their living rooms. They shed tears while listening to hymns sung by various singers. If you have questions about doctrine or Bible knowledge, search YouTube to study. Father Hwang Chang-yeon's YouTube channel has 450,000 subscribers, and Buddhist Monk Beopryun has 1.47 million subscribers.
Pilgrimages are also done on YouTube. I am open to the Holy Land of Jesus in Israel. You can visit Our Lady of Lourdes in France 24 hours a day through YouTube. You can study the Holy Land, which you will see on YouTube before going on a pilgrimage. YouTube is full of videos of famous overseas holy sites.
So, how do Catholics use YouTube? There is no survey on Catholicism or Buddhism, but here is what we can estimate based on a study of Protestants. (Korean Church Trend 2025 Survey), 60.7% of Protestants answered that they use YouTube for more than an hour daily. And 64.8% of Protestants who use YouTube answered that they use religious content. 39.7% of Buddhists and 31.4% of Catholics said they use religious content. Interestingly, the main viewers of religious content on YouTube are the elderly over 60. The age group of YouTube viewers confirms the aging phenomenon of religion.
The Pastoral Data Research Institute conducted the survey and named the phenomenon of accessing the gospel through YouTube ‘You-evangelism’. In the mid-20th century in the United States, there was a term called ‘Televangelism,’ a derivative word combining television and evangelism, referring to activities of spreading the gospel through television. Now that YouTube is in the world, a new era called ‘You-evangelism’ has begun. In the past, with the establishment of religious broadcasting stations, evangelism through TV was considered a new innovation. Still, in the era of ‘You-evangelism', TV is the domain of the elderly over 60 and is no longer an innovation in evangelization. The innovation in missionary work lies in YouTube on smartphones.
In the media ecosystem that changes at the speed of light, CPBC’s concerns are also deepening as it approaches All Saints’ Day. There is a famous saying, “The Bible in one hand, the newspaper in the other.” However, I wonder if we should now say: “The Bible on one hand, YouTube on the other.” Now, the connection between the church and the world is not made by traditional media like newspapers but by new media like YouTube.
However, no matter how much of a YouTube world it is, the ‘gospel’ of Jesus Christ does not change. CPBC’s goal of spreading the gospel to the world does not change. Rather, a new chapter has opened where the gospel can be spread to anyone, anywhere, anytime through new media like YouTube. Catholic Peace Broadcasting Corporation (CPBC) will be at the forefront of this new era.
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