Bucheon's battle with clickbait

Can South Korean city tame live-stream chaos?

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Mr Lee, a 38-year-old YouTuber living in Daejeon, headed to Bucheon Station in Gyeonggi province early one Friday morning to see how the city's mecca for live-streamers has changed under an ongoing crackdown.

While in the middle of a live broadcast via the internet on a pavement near an outdoor carpark close to the station, a police patrol car approached with its siren blaring. One of the officers rolled down the window and told him to stop streaming on the street.

"I guess someone nearby, maybe one of the restaurant owners, called the cops on me. I used to stream around here before I moved to Daejeon, but the vibe's definitely changed," Mr Lee told The Korea Herald.

Over the past few years, the area around Bucheon Station has become a hot spot for clickbait content creators, including YouTubers and internet "broadcast jockeys", or BJs as they are locally known, across various platforms.

When The Korea Herald first spotted Mr Lee on the street, he was live-streaming and dancing to loud music. He repeatedly shouted "thank you" as viewers sent him cash donations through YouTube.

After the police warning, he left, but he soon reappeared on another street, this time joining a group of other live-streamers walking side by side, holding their cameras and engaging with viewers on their own streams.

CRACKDOWN

This has been a familiar sight for anyone who has passed through Bucheon Station lately: Benches in the plaza, outdoor tables at convenience stores and even roadside kerbs serve as makeshift stages for live-streamers.

From day to night, their loud, attention-grabbing broadcasts have become a constant nuisance for nearby residents and commuters.

But now, these live-streamers are facing tougher police crackdowns and new physical measures designed to deter their broadcasts.