{
  "id": 19071425,
  "title": "Samyang's employee-led YouTube channel tops 2 mil. views in 3 months",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/09/samyangs-employee-led-youtube-channel-tops-2-mil-views-in-3-months-19071425",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-11-09T02:47:02.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times-koreatimes",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/business/companies/20261109/samyangs-employee-led-youtube-channel-tops-2-mil-views-in-3-months"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Samyang Foods, the maker of the popular Buldak spicy instant noodles, announced on Monday that its employee-led YouTube channel, samyangman, has surpassed 2 million views in just three months of launch in August. The channel features an original series called \"Fire or Fired,\" produced by BURNT, the company's spicy food content brand. The show follows a Samyang employee named Tony, who is known for his low tolerance to spicy food, colloquially referred to as a \"maepjjiri\" in Korea. Unlike hiring celebrities or influencers, Samyang chose to cast its own employee to interact with locals while exploring fiery local dishes in different parts of the United States. So far, the channel has released seven episodes, which have collectively garnered over 2.18 million views as of Sunday. The most-watched episode, which features a visit to Samyang America, the company's U.S. subsidiary, received 770,000 views. Episodes filmed in Nashville, Tennessee, and New Mexico also performed well, with significant viewer engagement. Approximately 45 percent of total views came from viewers in the United States.",
  "summary": "Samyang Roundsquare, the parent company behind the Buldak spicy instant noodle maker Samyang Foods, said Monday its YouTube channel samyangman has surpassed 2 million cumulative views about three months after its launch in August. The channel airs “Fire or Fired,” an original series from BURNT, the company’s spicy food content brand. The show follows Tony, a Samyang employee who struggles with…",
  "key_points": [
    "Samyang Foods' YouTube channel 'samyangman' surpassed 2 million views in 3 months.",
    "'Fire or Fired' series features employee Tony's spicy food exploration in US.",
    "45% of views came from US viewers, with Nashville and New Mexico episodes performing well."
  ],
  "editors_take": "Prioritizing internal staff over traditional influencers allows Samyang to build authentic brand engagement and tap directly into the massive American appetite for spicy food content.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "SoraNews24",
        "title": "Kenshi Yonezu’s Lemon hits 1 billion views on YouTube and he’s still not quite sure why",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/09/kenshi-yonezus-lemon-hits-1-billion-views-on-youtube-and-hes-still",
        "published": "2026-11-09T03:00:35.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}