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Cookies and romance?: What Indonesians watch on YouTube
As the country weathers the pandemic, Indonesians are taking comfort in some unlikely corners of YouTube.
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According to a report by ComScore VMX, about 93 million unique viewers in Indonesia above the age of 18 watched YouTube videos each month in the past year – with two standout topics. (Shutterstock/Ink Drop)
A
s the country endures the pandemic, many Indonesians are taking comfort in YouTube – specifically Korean dramas and baking videos.
According to a report by ComScore VMX, about 93 million unique viewers in Indonesia above the age of 18 watched YouTube videos each month in the past year – with two standout topics.
Search queries for “drama Korea”, “Korea drama” and “drakor” (Indonesian portmanteau for Korean drama) on the platform were up 130 percent in the 12 months until June of this year compared to the same period last year. Many also searched for “baking”, “kue” (cake) and “cookies”, with a 100 percent increase during the month of April alone.
Time spent watching videos related to science, humanities, business and law in the 12 months until June of this year rose by more than 80 percent from the same period last year.
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The positive viewership trend has affected YouTube channels operated by Indonesians; 600 such channels have been awarded the "Gold Play Button" for obtaining more than 1 million subscribers.
“This explosion wouldn’t have happened without rich and diverse content from creators that came from all over the country, not only from big cities,” Google Indonesia managing director Randy Jusuf said in a statement. (gis/kes)
