What Crush Said During COVID That Made Tanaka a YouTube Star

In the world of Korean entertainment, breakthroughs rarely happen overnight. But even by that standard, the story of Kim Gyeong-uk and his alter ego "Tanaka" is remarkable — not just for how long it took, but for the single, unexpected moment that changed everything. On the latest episode of the YouTube talk show Zzan Older Brother Shin Dong-yup (짠한형 신동엽), Kim revealed the full story: during the darkest stretch of the COVID-19 pandemic, R&B superstar Crush said something that turned a niche character project into one of South Korea's most-followed YouTube personalities.

The episode, uploaded on March 30, 2026, brought Kim Gyeong-uk and Japanese-Korean TV personality Sayuri together as guests for an unusually candid conversation with host Shin Dong-yup — a veteran comedian known for coaxing unusually honest stories out of his guests. What Kim shared that day had been years in the making.

Five Years in the Shadows: The Slow Build of Tanaka

Kim Gyeong-uk first conceived of the Tanaka Yukio (다나카 유키오) character in 2017 and officially launched it in 2018. The concept was specific, arguably niche: a fictional Japanese host bar worker, complete with a retro wolf-cut hairstyle, loud printed shirts, and a love of old Japanese songs delivered with exaggerated earnestness. It was the kind of character that could go one of two ways — either it would find an audience that appreciated its strange specificity, or it would vanish without trace.

For nearly five years, it looked like the latter. Kim put in the work — uploading consistently, refining the character, slowly building out a universe of content around Tanaka. But mainstream recognition remained elusive. "It took four or five years for Tanaka to actually take off," he told Shin Dong-yup. The admission was matter-of-fact, but the weight behind it was unmistakable. Five years is a long time to keep believing in something the world has not yet noticed.

Then Crush noticed.

The Shout-Out That Rewrote the Story

Crush — real name Shin Hyo-seob (신효섭) — is one of South Korea's most respected R&B artists. His discography includes "Beautiful," the sweeping ballad from the hit drama Goblin that became one of the most-streamed Korean songs of its era, and "Rush Hour," the 2022 single featuring BTS's J-Hope that reached number one on iTunes in 41 countries and topped the Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart. When Crush speaks about music and entertainment, people listen.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, while under self-quarantine, Crush made an offhand comment that would change Kim Gyeong-uk's life. He said, publicly, that Tanaka's content was "the only content that helped ease my loneliness during self-quarantine." A genuine, unsolicited endorsement from one of K-pop's most credible voices — and it landed like a bomb.

Kim's response was immediate. "I sent him a DM right away, asking: 'Do you really like Tanaka?'" he recalled on the show. Crush responded without hesitation, and the two arranged to meet and collaborate. That first collaboration became the seed of what is now Tanaka's signature format: a relaxed, intimate talk show-style video where Tanaka sits across from a celebrity guest and draws out surprisingly real conversation.

"From that point, the format of having a celebrity sit next to Tanaka became a thing," Kim explained. The celebrities who followed — Taeyang of BIGBANG, comedian duo Bbadroners, and others — each brought new audiences and new dimensions to the character. The machine, once Crush had started it, did not stop.

From Niche to Nationwide: Tanaka's Explosive Rise

Today, Tanaka's YouTube channel has nearly 800,000 subscribers. Kim has held a national concert tour that drew more than 20,000 fans across South Korea — with tickets selling out in minutes. He has gone from a comedian no one had heard of to one of the most talked-about content creators in the country, all while maintaining a character that was always considered a long shot.

The numbers are extraordinary, but the more interesting story is about persistence and peer recognition. The entertainment industry — in Korea and everywhere else — runs on visibility. A single endorsement from the right person at the right moment can unlock years of effort that were otherwise invisible. Crush's shout-out did not create Tanaka's quality. It made that quality visible.

Kim acknowledged this dynamic with complete clarity on the show. "Among all the people I could call benefactors, Crush is my benefactor," he said. And he has done more than say it. When Crush's manager got married, Kim served as the MC at the wedding — a personal, meaningful gesture that went well beyond a simple thank-you.

Shin Dong-yup, rarely at a loss for words, was moved. "That is something you must never forget for the rest of your life," he told Kim. It was one of those moments that make the show worth watching — unscripted, human, and genuinely affecting.

Good News Keeps Coming: Copyright Victory and What's Next

The episode also brought another piece of good news for Kim. He revealed that he had successfully recovered the copyright to his song "Good Night Baby" (잘자요 아가씨) from a Chinese music platform that had attempted to claim ownership of it. The song, originally released under the Tanaka persona, had been registered without authorization on a Chinese platform — a battle Kim had been fighting quietly for some time.

The recovery of the copyright, combined with Tanaka's continued growth and the warm reception of the Zzan Older Brother Shin Dong-yup appearance, paints a picture of a creator who has finally arrived at the moment his work deserved. It took five years of grinding in relative obscurity. It took one sentence from Crush during a pandemic lockdown. And it took the kind of relentless, unglamorous commitment to a strange, specific vision that most people would have abandoned long before the breakthrough came.

For fans of Korean entertainment, Kim Gyeong-uk's story is a reminder that the YouTube landscape rewards persistence — and that sometimes, the turning point comes from exactly where you least expect it. As for Crush, his role in the story is now a permanent part of Korean entertainment history: the R&B artist who noticed something brilliant when no one else had, and said so at exactly the right moment.

The episode is available on the Zzan Older Brother Shin Dong-yup YouTube channel. New episodes air every Monday at 7 PM KST.