Famous YouTuber Park We and former SECRET member Song Jieun are embroiled in controversy relating to the couple’s YouTube channel.
On the 16th, the YouTube channel Weracle released a video titled “Please Become Part of Our Weracle Family.’
In the video, Park We said, “It’s already been seven years since we started the channel. There have been many changes over time, but the biggest was meeting Jieun and getting married.” He added, “We opened the membership because we wanted to communicate more closely with our subscribers. After thorough internal discussions, we decided that this would be a new channel for interaction.”
Song Jieun also said, “We took on this challenge because we wanted to share deeper stories.” She introduced the membership content as including videos that honestly show daily life and their life as a married couple, which couldn’t be shown in previous vlogs, as well as live broadcasts for real-time communication. Song Jieun added, “I usually like talking, so I am looking forward to the live content.”
Park We and Song Jieun explained that the membership fee is ₩2,990 KRW (about $2.04 USD) per month, saying, “We wanted to set it at ₩2,900 KRW (about $1.98 USD), but due to YouTube’s system, the fixed price was ₩2,990 KRW (about $2.04 USD), so an extra ₩90 KRW (about $0.06 USD) was added.” Song Jieun added, “Since it is a paid service, we will offer higher quality content.”
Reactions to the paid membership on the Weracle channel are mixed. Some subscribers have expressed interest in joining the membership to enjoy deeper communication and content, but others have expressed disappointment, especially since Weracle was known for its positive influence. They commented, “Paid membership for communication?”, “I’m unsubscribing,” “It feels like the essence of the channel that worked on disability awareness is disappearing,” and “Everyone wants to earn money, but it’s still disappointing.”
Amid ongoing support and criticism, with heated debate, Song Jieun and Park We spoke out directly. In response to a comment saying, “It’s regrettable as it doesn’t seem to be in line with the essence of Weracle. People aren’t upset because they lack the ₩2,990 KRW (about $2.04 USD). The Weracle channel felt like a disability awareness program that resonated more than any other channel with non-disabled people, but it has seemed to lose its color since your marriage,” they replied, “We sincerely thank you for your heartfelt concerns. We will listen carefully and strive to reflect these in channel operations.”
Park We, who runs the Weracle channel, was diagnosed with total paralysis after a fall accident in 2014 but regained upper body movement through rehabilitation. He married Song Jieun, formerly of SECRET, last year.