“Hi, I’m Sara, and I love Korea so much.”

One day, Sara Holmes came across a music video of TVQX, fell in love with it, and started searching for Korean entertainment shows. It wasn’t long before she became a devoted fan of Korean dramas and taught her friends the Korean game “Let’s catch the mouse.” When she visited Korea to attend TVQX’s concert, she encountered what she considers the “real taste of food” for the first time in her life. I met Sara, who has her own YouTube channel about Korea, travel, and food, to listen to her story as an active Hallyu creator.

[Left] Sara Holmes, owner of the “Hojusara” channel on YouTube

[Right] Wearing Hanbok in a video about experiencing the Korean culture with fellow YouTubers

Q. Tell us a little about the first time you learned about Korean culture.

It was 2006, when I was a High School student. One day, my friend gave me a CD with music videos of Korean, Chinese, and Japanese musicians. This was how I saw TVQX’s “Rising Sun” music video from their 2nd album for the first time. I absolutely loved their music and dancing, especially because I’ve never seen such a group with that kind of music in Australia. Nowadays, you get to see all the HD-quality clips on YouTube, but back then, the video quality was so low that I could barely distinguish the members by their hair color. You know, due to the low internet speed, we used to share our favorite music and videos on CDs among friends.

First, I mainly searched for K-Pop. Then, I broadened my search to TV entertainment shows such as <Happy Together>, and found that they were so funny! I even taught fellow students in the school drama class the game “Let’s catch the mouse” that the guest stars played on the show. We had much fun playing it together.

Q. What led you from simply liking Hallyu content to learning the Korean language yourself?

Everything changed when I traveled for school after graduating from high school. In Australia, we have something called “Schoolies,” where fresh High School graduates go to the Gold Coast and do a lot of partying, clubbing, and drinking for a whole week. I had something else in mind instead of drinking and partying, so I asked my mother. My mother is a nurse, and being interested in Oriental medicine and Asian culture, she was already listening to K-Pop and watching Korean TV shows with me. She was curious about Korea herself, and suggested that we travel to Korea together to see TVQX’s concert.

So we booked our flight immediately and arrived in Seoul. It was freezing, ?7°C, but we went straight to the concert hall to buy tickets, just to find out they were already sold out. I was on the verge of breaking down into tears, but luckily we managed to see the concert when we tried again in the early morning the next day. While traveling around Seoul for 2 weeks with my mother, I realized Korea had more to offer than K-Pop, drama, and entertainment shows. There was something special beyond things on TV?it was Korean food.

Actually, I wasn’t very interested in food at first?I was the type of person who simply ate because I was hungry. I didn’t give any thought about “eating well,” not knowing about any other spice than salt until I was 14. It might sound a bit silly, but it’s true. But then, I fell in love with Korean food.

As I said, my mother is a nurse and has been always interested in Oriental medicine. For example, she knew about eating ginger before taking some Western medication when we caught a cold, or eating healthily to prevent diseases and strengthen our immune system.

I went on to college and studied Journalism, Korean, and Japanese. Learning Korean in Australia had its limits, so I studied for a semester intensively at Yonsei Korean Language Institute. Actually, Blair, who starred as the Australian representative in JTBC’s <Nonsummit>, went to college with me. He also went to Yonsei Korean Language Institute before I did, and he introduced me to many friends while I was in Korea. I was a very shy person before I went to Korea, but once I was there, I found myself loving traveling and interacting actively with new friends.

Q. After you went back to Australia, you started your own YouTube channel called “SeoulSarang.” What was the reason why you chose Korea as the focus for your channel?

I was always interested in producing videos since I majored in Journalism. When I first started on YouTube, there were already so many channels about a variety of subjects. Having come back from Korea recently, I thought that I didn’t want to lose my Korean language skill ?I figured that making videos in Korea would give me more motivation to study Korean further.

About 2 months after, I discovered the “Korean Englishman” channel from YouTube’s recommended videos. Their channel was about the same subject as mine, but I was surprised by how good their video quality was. Back then, there were only 3 - 4 channels by foreigners?including myself?dealing with Korean culture, and Korean Englishman’s channel was a big motivation for me.

And of course, there is the environmental factor as well. Here in Brisbane, almost all stores close at 5:30 p.m., so people have nothing special to do in the afternoon. I didn’t want to be bored all the time, so I started making videos in my room.

Q. Please tell us about the main keyword for your channel, “Hojusara.”

My main subjects are food and travel. I chose these two keywords in an effort to make honest, heartfelt contents. My channel is not only about Korea, but also about Australia as well. It contains videos about traveling in Seoul and in Australia?especially Brisbane?that introduce food, tourist attractions, and famous sights in these areas. There are still many Australians that don’t know much about Korea. I would like to bring them closer to this wonderful country.

Another subject is “Australian English.” I make videos about this subject in order to help Korean people who visit Australia on working holidays or for studying. In Korea, mostly American English is taught, but here in Australia, many people face difficulties due to the different accent. Growing up in Brisbane, I have a stronger Australian accent than people in Sydney.

Q. Although the name changed to “Hojusara,” initially your YouTube channel was called “SeoulSarang.” What do you find so attractive about Korea and Seoul?

Anyone who prefers everything done fast should definitely go to Korea. And by that, I don’t only mean being served quickly in restaurants. I was almost shocked when I was told at an optical store that it took only 20 minutes?not 20 days?to make a pair of glasses. In Australia, the same process would take at least 2 weeks. Simply receiving purchased contact lenses by mail would take a whole week. Plus, everything was so cheap, so I had to order 6 pairs on the spot.

In addition, I just love Korean dermatology clinics. I suffered severe acne and skin problems since I was a kid. Australian dermatologists always gave me prescription drugs, but they had side effects and didn’t work very effectively, so I pretty much gave up treatments. But in Korea, Blair introduced me to a dermatologist who offered various effective options such as ointments or laser treatments. When I moved back to Australia, everyone complimented me on how much my skin had improved?I felt so happy.

Q. We heard that the internet conditions in Australia are different than Korea. Do you feel any limitations due to these conditions in being active as an online content creator?

From planning and filming to editing, it takes about 3 days to make a video, plus an additional 2 days to work on subtitles. On a TV program for example, there is dedicated staff for each part, but on YouTube, one person is responsible for everything. That’s why it takes more time. In my case, a series consists of 5 video clips including 1,250 subtitles. My subscribers might not know in detail how long it takes to make subtitles, translate them in Korean, and English, as well as to add them to clips. Recently, I even missed <Goblin> and <Weight lifting fairy Geum Bok-joo>, using the scarce time I had to work on the “Korea vs Australia” series. Almost a month passed by while I sat in my room editing, hardly seeing the sun. Still, it’s all worth it seeing the completed clips and viewers’ feedback.

This is a somewhat older statistic from a year and half ago, but surprisingly, there are only 22 channels in Australia and New Zealand that have 1 million or more subscribers, and about 300 that have 100,000 or more subscribers. This is a very small number compared to other countries, but it’s understandable, considering the low internet speed in Australia. It takes 4 hours to upload a single video at my place, whereas the same thing would have been completed within 10 minutes in Korea. In order to upload clips on my planned date, all editing must be completed at least a day before.

Q. Can you name a few YouTube channels that are inspirational to you?

Among like-minded channels, I like the “Korean Englishman.” Joel, who appears frequently in their clips, also has his own channel, and it seems that his background as an experienced movie director with good technological knowledge enables him to make high quality videos. Also, the team on “My Korean Husband” often collaborates with me.

There are also various channels on traveling or culture. The channel “nigahiga” mostly uploads sketch videos, “honest trailer” and “screen junkies” produce clips on movies, and Casey Neistat’s videos are made using drones. They’re all good sources of inspiration when it comes to planning and editing.





Sara’s recommended best clips

- “Aussie Guys Fire Noodle Challenge,” the most popular clip on her channel

- The “Korea vs Australia” series, her most ambitious recent work

- “Food Spotting: Kimchi Burger?!,” video about a menu in a Brisbane restaurant made with the chef’s Kimchi

- “Experiencing dermatology clinic in Korea” with Blair

- Her personal best edited clip, “Room escape game video”

Q. Since you’ve just graduated from college, you must be thinking a lot about your future. Will you continue to dedicate yourself to creating content on YouTube?

Yes, after majoring in Journalism, I would like to continue pursuing my career as a content creator. When I was in college, I had a part-time job as a salesperson in a jewelry shop. I could earn enough money to spend for myself, but I didn’t want to be involved full time because it wasn’t something I would really like to pursue as my career.

I don’t earn much profit through YouTube yet, so currently I am preparing a proposal to submit to the Queensland state government for some funds. Even if I don’t make good money out of this, it’s something I really love, so I don’t have any regrets.

My dream is to produce great videos to get a certain, minimum amount of stable profit and ultimately to become a dedicated, professional YouTuber. In order to make that possible, I am working on a collaborative project about food with other YouTubers and photographers, which will be completed and presented to the viewers within the first half of 2017.

Q. Is there anything you’d like to say to the readers of <Hallyu Story>?

Personally, I love Australia and Korea so much that I’d like to bring these two countries closer together. As much, I’d love to positively influence both Australians that don’t know much about Korea and Koreans that don’t know much about Australia with my videos. Your love and support is always appreciated.