Maangchi


Emily Kim, commonly known as Maangchi, is a Korean-American YouTuber and author. She is notable for producing cooking videos centered around Korean cuisine. She was described by The New York Times as "YouTube's Korean Julia Child.".

Career

Kim was born in Yeosu, South Korea. Her family was involved in the seafood industry, and Kim learned how to cook from her female relatives. In 1992 she and her husband moved to Columbia, Missouri, where Kim worked as a teacher. In Missouri, she found the quality, variety, and availability of Korean food to be lacking, and so she often cooked for other members of the local Korean-American community. In 2003, she and her husband divorced, and with her two fully-grown children out of the house, Kim started playing MMO City of Heroes using the character name Maangchi, meaning "Hammer" in Korean.
Kim was introduced to YouTube's online cooking scene in 2007, inspiring her to begin making videos about Korean food, using the channel name Maangchi. Her channel quickly grew in popularity, attributed to her upbeat attitude and her strict adherence to traditional Korean recipes. Prompted by her YouTube channel's success, Kim published her first cookbook in 2015. In March 2018, the Korean Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced it would be collaborating with Kim and her brand to better showcase Korean foods to American consumers. As of February 2020, Kim's YouTube channel has accrued over 4 million subscribers.