What if you could meet your favorite YouTubers in real life?

That became a reality over the weekend at the YouTube Fanfest Korea 2025 in Seoul, where a three-day pop-up experience in Seongsu-dong and a live concert event at KBS Arena brought fans face-to-face with their favorite digital creators.

Running from Friday through Sunday, the Seongsu pop-up drew massive crowds despite the scorching early summer heat. Packed with installations, interactive booths and surprise in-person appearances, the pop-up celebrated Korea’s most beloved YouTubers.

Fashion influencers zzang9daddy and Kkangstylist displayed their selected signature looks in personal wardrobe exhibitions, while makeup mogul Risabae — who rose to global recognition as the runner-up on Netflix’s "The Influencer" (2024) — invited visitors into her beauty space, featuring hands-on makeup stations. Risabae, who commands a following of 2.58 million subscribers, also delighted fans with an on-site appearance, fielding questions and signing autographs in a meet-and-greet.

Popular mukbang personality Heebab was celebrated with a unique installation showcasing her portion sizes, while widely beloved travel YouTuber Kwaktube's zone featured a display of his real-life travel gear. Popular animation channel Bbangbbang’s Diary created a behind-the-scenes zone, demonstrating how its beloved characters are brought to life through 3D modeling.

The experience didn’t stop at exhibitions — fans could film YouTube Shorts in creator booths or leave letters for their favorite YouTubers in dedicated lockers.

“I heard Risabae might be showing up, so I decided to come,” said 18-year-old fan Lee Ji-hye. “I learned how to do makeup from her, and I heard she might have a space here featuring her own makeup products, so I came to check it out."

“I’m a fan of Kwaktube,” said Kim Hyun-jae, a 25-year-old student. “I always watch YouTube in my spare time, so getting to experience it in person like this is a fun change of pace.”

The weekend wrapped with a live concert at KBS Arena on Sunday, though not without a few bumps. Delays in entry pushed the start time back roughly 30 minutes, leaving fans waiting outside in long lines.

Once inside, however, the show included a diverse, high-quality roster of performances, including beatbox sessions by world-renowned Beatpella House and illusionist Magic Faker Nicky, who showcased a characteristically YouTube-themed sleight-of-hand tricks. A Shorts-themed dance challenge also brought fans to their feet as they participated together.

Adding to the spectacle were guest appearances by K-pop acts NCT Wish and KiiKii, who performed their title tracks “Poppop” and “I Do Me,” respectively.

Singapore held the first-ever YouTube Fanfest in 2014, and Korea's own YouTube Fanfest was launched in 2014. Since then, the event has grown into a global celebration, each event tailored to the country's creator culture. According to YouTube, this year’s Seoul event drew over 7,000 attendees. Last year marked its offline return in Korea for the first time in six years, with a large-scale event in Incheon.

“We’ll continue to support creators in expressing their individuality and creativity, while strengthening the connection between creators and fans to deliver exciting, one-of-a-kind experiences," a YouTube spokesperson said in a statement.