Toss' Content Producer Paek Soon-do, who creates Toss' spinoff YouTube channel "Moneygraphy," speaks during a one-on-one interview with The Korea Times at the headquarters of Toss (Viva Republica) in southern Seoul, May 14. Courtesy of Toss

"Moneygraphy" is one of two YouTube channels officially operated by Viva Republica, the Seoul-based fintech company behind Korea's financial super app Toss.

While Toss' first official YouTube channel launched in 2018 has garnered about 114,000 subscribers in the past six years, Moneygraphy — which was started as a spinoff channel of the fintech firm in late 2021 — has attracted more than 231,000 subscribers in just two and a half years.

The success of Moneygraphy can be attributed to Toss' horizontal corporate culture, as it generates the channel's creativity that yields videos covering a diverse array of topics, said Paek Soon-do, content producer of the YouTube channel.

During a one-on-one interview with The Korea Times earlier this month, Paek, who's been leading the entire production of Moneygraphy since the channel's opening in 2021, said that the spinoff channel's richness in topics spanning industry analysis, fashion, music, sports, dance and more, comes from Toss' unique corporate culture that emphasizes the autonomy of each employee.

"From the beginning, the Moneygraphy channel was created as a spinoff from Toss' official channel, allowing us to break free from the typical blue-colored designs associated with the Toss app and the conventional financial content that viewers expect from a financial YouTube channel," Paek said during the interview.

Toss' Content Producer Paek Soon-do holds a YouTube silver button at the headquarters of Toss (Viva Republica) in southern Seoul on May 14. Courtesy of Toss

This freedom has led Moneygraphy in the successful direction of creating a completely new platform, under which a total of seven content series have been released.

Out of the seven, "B-Economics," offering business and financial insights across various consumer industries, has become the key driving force behind the channel's exponential growth over the past year.

For the first season of "B-Economics," a total of 37 episodes were released. Coming out weekly, each episode focused on a specific topic, such as sneakers, denim, coffee, games or whisky.

Industry experts were invited to the weekly show, where panelist Lee Jae-yong, who's certified public accountant, examined the financial statements of major companies within each industry to further enhance viewer engagement.

"With gratitude for the love shown to season 1, Moneygraphy plans to cover even more diverse interests in season 2, including baseball, music festivals and convenience stores," Paek said, vowing to strengthen the content fandom to surpass the limitations typically associated with corporate channels.

Paek further elaborated on other factors behind the channel's increased viral impact. One of them was adhering to the principle of systemically releasing new videos at the same time regularly each week.

"There is a saying that for a YouTube channel to succeed, you need to post two videos a week consistently for one to two years. We intended to follow this rule when we first started the channel, but we couldn't manage it initially because we were still adapting," the producer explained, adding that although the response from viewers was positive, the lack of a consistent uploading system was a drawback to the channel's solid growth.

Promotional image of B-Economics' Season 2 that began on May 9 / Courtesy of Toss

Once realizing that the channel failed to adhere to the basic rule necessary for growth, the content producer and his team restarted the process of their work and renewed commitment for regular video releases.

"Early last year, we decided to go back to basics and commit ourselves to creating a system that would allow us to release videos regularly every week. This led to the success of B-Side Economics. When we started the series in March last year, we had about 20,000 subscribers, even after more than a year and a half of channel operation, but by the end of last year, the number had increased rapidly to more than 200,000," he said.

Paek also cites Toss' investment in creating an exclusive YouTube studio within the company headquarters as another key growth factor.

"I thought creating our own studio was crucial," he said. "In order to shoot videos regularly and release posts weekly, you need a consistent space for filming. Using external studios presents scheduling challenges, so having an internal space was ideal. Fortunately, we found a space within the company headquarters that was available, allowing us to set up our own studio."

In fact, hiring a YouTube producer as a full-time employee, rather than outsourcing, is already groundbreaking for a traditional financial company. Thus, creating this YouTube studio within the company headquarters further demonstrates Toss' dedication to creating a unique YouTube platform.

Guests of a show for Toss' spinoff YouTube channel Moneygraph speak in a studio set at the headquarters of Toss (Viva Republica) in southern Seoul. Courtesy of Toss

Besides, the content of Moneygraphy is decided entirely on by the content team internally, without any additional directives from higher-ups until release. Paek explained that while the content team seeks agreement within their members, there are no orders or directives from higher management, such as a director suddenly coming in and saying, "remove this guest."

"This is based on Toss' deep-rooted corporate concept of the directly responsible individual (DRI)," Paek noted, adding that this final decision-making authority over the YouTube content has allowed the channel to come up with entirely new styles of videos over a wider scope of topics.

"Money Code," a 13-episode show delving deeply into the Korean music industry by inviting highly successful musicians like Crush and The Quiet, was possible thanks to the fintech firm's autonomy granted to the content team.

"At the beginning of the series, some subscribers expressed discontent over 'Money Code,' asking why the channel focuses excessively on the music scene. However, I believed that delving deeply into music, in addition to covering diverse topics like B-Economics, held significance and value. Eventually, the music series succeeded in convincing viewers, as we received multitudes of positive feedback," the producer explained, saying newly incoming music fans into the channel got to explore other economic topics the channel covers.

Ultimately, he hopes to create a community that creates synergy from diverse viewer groups, as the channel plans to cover other industries as well.

"YouTube is a very honest platform. I've learned that videos that are well-made and crafted with care ultimately garner views. Regardless of the topic, if the content is well-made, it receives a positive response," Paek said.

"I often discuss this with the team; even though we're not sure how long the YouTube era will last, I feel like we're just at the beginning of a journey that could span over 100 years. I'm not sure where the endpoint is, but I'm just going to see how far we can go."