It has been reported that 150 million people in China are active as hosts of live commerce broadcasts, also known as ‘Labang’, but the majority of them have a monthly income of less than 1 million won.
Hongseong Newspaper reported on the 10th (local time) that the number of people working as live commerce broadcast hosts is rapidly increasing in China, especially among young people.
According to the ‘Online Live Broadcast and Short Video Industry Development Report’ jointly published by the China Performance Industry Association and others, the number of online broadcast accounts in China exceeded 150 million as of the end of last year. This is a 7.1% increase compared to the previous year.
The report analyzed, “As the number of young, highly educated people becoming online broadcasting hosts increases, they are becoming more specialized. Online broadcasting and short video hosting has emerged as a career preferred by young people.”
However, 95.2% of online broadcast hosts who make a living from live commerce had a monthly income of less than 5,000 yuan (about 930,000 won). It was found that only 0.4% earn more than 100,000 yuan (about 19 million won) every month.
Nevertheless, the reason why the number of live commerce hosts is rapidly increasing is because the economic downturn continues even after the quarantine is eased, making it difficult to find a job. In fact, last June, China’s youth unemployment rate (ages 16 to 24) reached an all-time high of 21.3%.
Meanwhile, it is said that a kindergarten teacher is emerging as a role model for them.
“Kindergarten teacher who made 96 million won in profit from one Labang”
‘Teacher Hwang’, who has emerged as a role model, is a female안전놀이터 kindergarten teacher in China who earned 10 years’ worth of salary through one Internet broadcast.
On China’s video platform ‘Douyin’, she posted a video teaching children’s songs along with simple hand movement choreography, and her innocent appearance became a hot topic, leading to her having over 5 million subscribers.
In particular, her video of Teacher Hwang singing a Chinese nursery rhyme garnered more than 100 million views.
She earned 500,000 yuan (96 million won) for her first Internet live broadcast appearance to communicate with her children. She earned more than 10 times her annual salary. She said his monthly salary was 3,000 yuan (600,000 won).
Since then, he has gone on live sales five times, attracting an average of 5.82 million viewers per episode, and each time, he has made a large sales of 1 million to 2.5 million yuan (about 180 million to 460 million won).
After finishing the live broadcast, Teacher Hwang shed tears, saying, “I am so happy that I received more than 10 years’ worth of salary for one day of broadcasting.”
Afterwards, Hwang quit her job as a kindergarten teacher. Mr. Hwang joined the MCN (Multiple Channel Network) agency that manages one-person broadcast creators and became a full-time Internet broadcaster.
However, some point out that the reality of the live commerce industry is not as easy as you think, and that you should be cautious about making it your full-time job.
The Hongseong Newspaper said, “It is a place where it is not as easy to become rich as you think,” and pointed out, “The income gap between the top class and the bottom class is large, and only a very small number of people can succeed.”