Hosts of “21C Woman Shelter”

Photo: Mylove KBS (mylovekbs.kbs.co.kr)

For the past few years, it has been common to see young people eating alone while casually watching talk show videos. This trend—known as “Bapchingu” (mealtime companion in Korean)—is now extending to longer-form content, which offers a different appeal from short-form videos. How are these long-form talk shows reshaping the way young people consume media?

The Popularity of Long-form Talk Shows on YouTube

In the first half of 2025, shorter videos were still generally preferred. According to a survey conducted by Trend Monitor in April 2025, the proportion of respondents who preferred videos shorter than 10 minutes was the highest at 52.4%, while the proportion who preferred videos 40 minutes or longer was the lowest at 4.6%. Recently, however, the trend has begun to shift. Six podcast-style talk show episodes from “21C Woman Shelter,” produced and distributed by KBS’s entertainment YouTube channel Yeouido Yuktoe Club in 2026, each surpassed one million views after their release. Notably, all of these videos run about an hour long. In the same year, “The 100-minute Talk is Just an Excuse,” an episode of the talk show “Pinggyego” on the YouTube channel DdeunDdeun, has also gained significant popularity. Despite running nearly two hours, it reached over 10 million views within about 10 days of release.

In a YouTube landscape long dominated by short-form content, the rise of long-form talk shows is emerging as a new consumption trend. Young viewers are noticing this shift firsthand. Kwon Ha-kyoung, a student in the School of Global Communication at Kyung Hee University(KHU), said, “I have recently been enjoying watching ‘21C Woman Shelter’ while eating with my younger sibling.” She added, “Talking about talk shows with people my age seems to make it easier to find common ground.” Kang Su-hyeon, a student at a university in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, also noted the popularity of the long-form talk show genre, saying, “Long-form talk shows keep showing up in my YouTube algorithm, and I have often seen my roommate watching them too.”

Why Young Viewers Choose Long-form Talk Shows

So why are young people choosing long-form talk shows as their mealtime companions? Kwon said the appeal of these talk shows seems to lie in their candid conversations. She added, “Unlike traditional TV programs, which tend to center on celebrity stories, the talk shows popular these days dig deep into the real concerns of people in their 20s and 30s, and it draws me into the conversation itself.” Professor Choi Jung-ouk of the Dept. of Digital Media & Platforms in KHU’s Graduate School, said that parasocial interaction is fueling this phenomenon. Unlike legacy media, YouTube allows greater interaction through its comment sections, giving viewers the sense that they are right there with the hosts. This can make an hour-long video feel shorter than it is. Even when no direct relationship develops between the viewer and host, the experience itself can help ease viewers’ loneliness. Meanwhile, Kang expressed her fondness for the genre, saying, “I like the calm back-and-forth conversations, so I often just play long-form talk show videos like a radio in the background.” Prof. Choi called this “background media.” Unlike short-form videos, often described as “snack culture” because they provide quick stimulation, this genre does not require constant visual attention. As a result, it can be enjoyed while doing other tasks. Furthermore, unlike audio formats such as radio or podcasts, these videos are often recommended by the platform based on users’ individual interests. Through promotional Shorts and YouTube’s algorithm, viewers can easily encounter this genre and be drawn into talk show topics they are already interested in. Indeed, Kwon said, “Even without intentionally searching for the video, I often end up watching talk shows just from scrolling through Shorts,” describing how highlight clips led her to the full talk show videos.

How the Trend Is Changing Media Consumption

As this form of background media gains popularity on YouTube, the platform increasingly accommodates both short-form and long-form content side by side. Prof. Choi described this as a “barbell strategy.” According to Prof. Choi, the barbell strategy refers to a polarization in media consumption where viewers increasingly favor either very short or very long content. As a result, he argued that videos in the ambiguous 10–20 minute range, which do not serve as clear a consumption purpose, may gradually lose ground as the trend shifts toward either short-form or long-form contents. This trend, which is reshaping how the public consumes media, does not just offer emotional comfort; it also creates space for a wider range of perspectives. In particular, Prof. Choi noted that this genre can bring specialized knowledge or subcultures—topics that mainstream media has often struggled to cover—into public discourse. However, he also pointed out that “the video podcast genre currently sits in a regulatory blind spot,” warning that “content created and shared within this blind spot can encourage the spread of unverified information or deepen confirmation bias.” Because disinformation or misinformation can spread alongside genuine exchanges of opinion among diverse participants, viewers need to approach such content with a critical lens. Going forward, viewers should not just enjoy talk show content but also critically evaluate the information it presents.

The remaining question is whether this genre can sustain its popularity. The future of this trend will likely be determined by content quality. All the students interviewed pointed to a sense of shared understanding as the genre’s core appeal. This suggests that viewers are likely to choose content that genuinely reflects their own circumstances, rather than simply favoring longer videos. Prof. Choi likewise predicted that content quality will be the deciding factor in future competitiveness.

In this way, many college students today treat long-form talk shows like friends. The growing length of these Bapchingu videos shows that young people are seeking not just stimulating content, but comfortable, calming content to consume. Ultimately, the rise of long-form talk shows suggests that people are drawn not simply to a video’s length, but to conversations that explore personal stories, worries, and perspectives in depth and create room for genuine empathy.