▶ People④
Producer Choi Sung Woon, Host of SNU Catch Season 2 (Business School, Class of 2013)
Unlike channel hosts who flaunt their dazzling personas, Producer Choi Sung Woon positions himself as part of the “system.” The relentless survival instincts and objectivity that he cultivated through science high school and business school stem from the same mindset. This is why all eyes are on his approach in SNU Catch Season 2, the knowledge sharing series on Seoul National University’s official YouTube channel.
Producer Choi Sung Woon’s career path has been filled with unexpected turns. A graduate of a science high school, he chose to major in business school. During his studies, he immersed himself in theater club activities instead of his major coursework, while also publishing independent works. During his exchange program in the United States, he took film classes and painstakingly shot a short film—an experience that convinced him that, when it came to film, he “had no talent.” Although this journey might seem like an exercise in chasing rainbows, producer Choi never lost touch with reality.
“I enrolled in business school dreaming of starting my own company, but it wasn’t what I expected. So, I threw myself into double majoring in Information and Culture Studies and joining the business school’s theater club. Seeing my adapted play performed on stage sparked my desire to create films. But to give up the stable career path available to business students and pursue art, you need real talent, right? Unfortunately, when I challenged myself to prove my abilities, I ended up with something barely worthy of the label film.”
Instead of giving up in frustration, he shifted his question from “Do I have talent?” to “Even without talent, should I keep going?” Although he was determined to give it one more try, reality proved unforgiving. The COVID 19 pandemic drastically reduced opportunities for creative work and employment itself, and with no standout work experience, there were few doors left for him to knock on.
“While studying programming, which had the highest demand at the time, I came across a job posting for a YouTube channel producer. I had experience with Humans of SNU, an interview club, and believed that becoming a YouTube producer would allow an unspecified audience to judge my talent.”
YouTube gave Producer Choi an immense sense of efficacy. Seeing his first video rack up over 300,000 views in just one week and receive hundreds of comments quickly boosted his self esteem. His previous worries about talent also shifted. The endless tasks in front of him left him no time to ponder whether he had talent. Thus, he plunged into the “wild” and navigated the entire spectrum of video production—planning, guest outreach, hosting, editing—to establish Choi Sung Woon’s Thought Experiment. While the star studded cast played a significant role, the unknown producer’s relentless struggle was hidden behind the scenes. Accepting that rejection was inevitable for a low profile channel, he meticulously crafted outreach emails focused on how the experience would benefit interviewees. Recognizing that editing wields as much power in the final video as the actual filmed moment, after filming, he edited rigorously to ensure the finished interviews faithfully conveyed interviewees’ words, tone, and intent. In this regard, he remarked: “In video, a good question is almost an illusion.”
“The more the video contains what the interviewee genuinely wants to say, the better the video is. That’s why I deeply observe the interviewee’s usual attitude, philosophy, speech patterns, and posture beforehand, and tend to ask questions spontaneously on location. Moreover, there’s a high probability that the question felt good because the answer’s content was good, since video can be edited.”
Although Choi Sung Woon’s Thought Experiment is classified as knowledge content due to the interviewees’ backgrounds, producer Choi firmly states he does not aim to deliver grand knowledge or insights. He simply wants to share the thrilling intensity gained from connecting with people who have staked their lives on their fields.
The keen senses producer Choi honed in the wild led him to enroll law school, thinking it might help his career as a producer; however, after recognizing that he lacked the earnest commitment of his peers, he concluded that investing three years of his thirties was reckless, and decided to drop out just two months.
Having once again departed from what seemed like a stable trajectory, he returned to the field as the host of Seoul National University’s official YouTube channel, SNU Catch Season 2. Aspiring to become part of a system in which viewers extract the information they want most efficiently from the vast repository of knowledge called Seoul National University, he has also redefined his role.
“My role is to connect so the professors can answer well, and viewers get what they want. After all, they’re not seeking out this content just to hear me talk.”
Although he minimizes his contributions, claiming “authenticity is like a topping” compared to established trust and an effective system, he takes his performance as host very seriously. Constantly pushing himself to more effectively fulfill his role, the questions he asks himself (Why do people click? What answers will satisfy viewers? How can I edit to optimize content delivery?) keep him grounded and steadfast in his service to the student body.
Choi Sung Woon’s Thought Experiment secured 160,000 subscribers in less than a year.
Seoul National University’s official YouTube channel presents the knowledge sharing series SNU Catch Season 2, hosted by Producer Choi Sung Woon.
“I hope people don’t think of
questions as difficult.
What matters is achieving the goal
of learning what we do not know;
It doesn’t have to be phrased as
a question, and the content
doesn’t need to be impressive.
I want people to focus on the desire
to know, rather than the form.”
