“Don’t spend money” After Bukang-i comes the ‘Namdaemun Scarf Guy’… the hidden meaning of the ‘SNS hit formula’ that has taken over my algorithm - 경향신문

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Namdaemun scarf guy. SNS screengrab

“It won’t look nice once you open it, and it looks even worse around your neck.” “Don’t buy itjust rub it and move on.” “Don’t spend money. Just take the vibe and go.” “You didn’t come to enjoy hardship. You’re here because life is dull.”

At Seoul’s Namdaemun Market, the patter of a scarf seller is taking over social networking services (SNS) algorithms. At a time when you’d think he should be grabbing customers to sell even one more item, he openly talks people out of buying. Holding up a scarf, he’ll even snap, “Looks like crap,” or “Use it as bedding in the dog kennel.” Yet people don’t hesitate to travel far just to hear his banter. This is the story of Hanyangsa, a Namdaemun Market shop whose proprietor has become famous on SNS as the ‘scarf guy’.

Kim Mi-yeon (39), who lives in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi Province, deliberately sought out Namdaemun Market last weekbecause her SNS feeds were flooded with videos of the scarf guy. Ms. Park said, “In person he was even more handsome than in the videos, and he had a tsundere-like charm,” adding, “When too many people gathered he’d worry about safety and drop fact bombs, yet then flash a sweet smilethat really stood out.” She said, “The product he said ‘looked like crap’ and told me to lay in a doghouse turned out to be very pretty when I got home,” and added, “I laughed my head off at the market, snagged a pretty scarf at a low price, and made a great memory.”

Like Ms. Kim, what people want when they come here isn’t just a scarf. The purpose of the visit is to meet the merchant they saw in videos, and to experience his way of speaking, expressions, and the jokes he trades with customers. Related videos have recorded up to 4.12 million views, and Hanyangsa’s SNS account surpassed 32,000 followers in a week. As customers poured in, the storefront bustled day after day, to the point of disrupting neighboring vendors’ business. There were even requests for people to refrain from visiting due to safety concerns.

Notice of business closure posted on Hanyangsa’s SNS.

This isn’t the first case of an ordinary market vendor becoming a celebrity overnight. A bungeo-ppang seller nicknamed ‘Bungeun-woo,’ known for resembling Cha Eun-woo, became a hot topic on SNS and drew foot traffic. An employee at a hot pot place in Daegu was dubbed ‘Myeon-eun-woo.’ Their names are fused with those of famous entertainers, and similar cases are consumed like a series. Pakko, a souvenir seller in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris who shows off fluent Korean and quick-witted banter to Korean tourists, has likewise gained popularity on SNS. There are even reviews from visitors saying they went to see him rather than the Eiffel Tower.

Even if they’re not famous entertainers or professional influencers, ordinary people’s way of speaking and behaviortheir looks and characterbecome content now. In the past, celebrities drew public attention; today, the merchants and restaurant staff you encounter in daily life become stars people want to go meet in person. Someone who watched a video online visits the scene; they film that experience and upload it to SNS, bringing in new visitors. Online attention leads to offline visits, and offline experiences become online content again.

It’s hard to explain this phenomenon solely by the influence of short videos and algorithms. KAIST Professor Lee Won-jae said we need to pay attention to generational shifts in market experiences and face-to-face communication culture when looking at the scarf guy boom. In particular, for the middle-aged and older generations, markets carry meaning beyond a place to buy and sell.

Professor Lee explained, “Those in their 50s and older are people who, as kids, saw merchants draw in customers with words and sell goods with jokes and patter in markets,” adding, “Merchants jokingly telling customers something ‘looks like crap’ or tossing off blunt remarks wasn’t an unfamiliar scene in markets of the past.” Younger generations, by contrast, are accustomed to non-face-to-face purchases such as online shopping and dawn delivery. The merchant’s unfiltered tone and the spontaneous exchanges with customers can be a fresh spectacle for them.

He pointed out, “It’s especially inaccurate to view this boom as a phenomenon unique to younger generations.” Middle-aged and older people also actively use YouTube and SNS; in fact, they’ve adapted quickly to new online platforms. They rediscover the face-to-face communication they experienced in markets through online videos, which can lead to going and seeing the scene for themselves.

Mr. Kim Yeon-su (alias, 52), who lives in Daegu, also stopped by Namdaemun Market last week while he had plans in Seoul. He said, “At some point SNS kept showing me videos of the scarf guy and I got curious, and since I happened to be going to Seoul I went to see for myself,” adding, “I was surprised by the sheer number of people, but listening to his distinctively cheerful banter brought back memories of going to the market as a child holding my mother’s hand.” The merchant’s oratory first encountered through online video thus evoked memories of the face-to-face communication he experienced at markets as a kid.

What draws attention through SNS isn’t limited to merchants. In Busan, the shark character ‘Bukang-i’ went viral on SNS and drew crowds, and the wolf ‘Neukgu’ likewise became a hot topic online and a focus of attention. Food is no exception: following the Dubai Jjondeuk Cookie (Dujjonku) craze, even fruit mochi has recently spread via SNS. From market merchants to animals and characters to desserts, there’s a common thread behind the fervor for different targets: SNS serves as a channel that extends personal interest and affection beyond close relationships like family or acquaintances.

So why don’t people stop at watching videos and instea flock to a specific place all at once around the same time? Professor Park Hye-kyung of Pukyong National University cited the uniquely competitive atmosphere of Korean society and a sense of anxiety as one factor. The fear of falling behind when you’re the only one not doing what others are doing fuels interest in new trends.

Professor Park said, “Korean society is sensitive to falling behind in competition and tends to be very interested in what people around them are doing,” adding, “In a society with high enthusiasm for education and fierce competition over admission to elite universities, anxiety about being the only one not doing what everyone else is doing is learned.” As the scarf guy goes viral on SNS, you start thinking, “Should I go to Namdaemun too?” and when Dujjonku trends, a psychology kicks in that you should at least try it once.

This pattern is also visible in the Dujjonku craze. It starts with curiosity about a particular food, but when proof-of-purchase posts and queue photos flood SNS, the interest of those who haven’t yet experienced it grows. It’s not so much that everyone likes it as that the fact everyone is experiencing it itself spurs consumption. Professor Park explained, “Not everyone who’s tried Dujjonku likes it, right? People do follow trends, but there’s consumption that moves separately from actual preference.”

On September 29 at Busan’s North Port waterside park, citizens cheer for Bukang-i. Kyunghyang Shinmun file photo

From a marketing perspective, scarcity also plays a role in these trends. The more something can only be experienced at a specific time and place, or the more uncertain it is when you’ll be able to encounter it again, the more people’s interest grows. In Bukang-i’s case, it’s unclear how long it will remain at Busan’s North Port, and you can’t see the same thing elsewherefactors that spurred visits. The perception that there’s no promise of another chance stimulated the psychology of “I need to see it now, in person.” Professor Park said, “The fact that it can only be experienced at limited times and places aligns with the scarcity strategy used in marketing. The mindset that it’s my loss if I miss out can drive people’s behavior.”

Professor Park added that while ordinary people have attracted public attention in the past, the speed at which fame is formed and spreads has changed dramatically. In the past, a handful of media such as television or newspapers chose who would be presented to the public; now, anyone can produce and share videos and create new stars. “Even before, there were cases of ordinary people becoming famous, but now content spreads instantaneously through SNS and many more people can encounter it,” she said. “As the speed at which interest concentrates and leads to actual visits increases, similar crazes repeat at much shorter intervals than before.”