Comedian Yoo Jae-suk playing a K-pop producer in the variety show “Hangout with Yoo” / Courtesy of MBC  

Bu-kae (secondary-characters) have become a new Korean show biz trend, with celebrities taking on an alias and new persona.

Top comedian Yoo Jae-suk initiated the trend when he began playing different characters in his show, “Hangout With Yoo,” starting with the drummer Yoogo Starr. Under the alias, the show’s host took a stab at becoming a drummer and ended up putting on a solo performance.

Since then, Yoo has played multiple personas, ranging from a trot singer to a harpist to a K-pop producer – in the process garnering popularity for the actual K-pop groups featured.

Comedian and singer Kim Shin-young stepped out of her role as a member of the comedic K-pop foursome Celeb Five to become trot singer Second Aunt Kim DaVi.

Comedians Kwak Bum and Lee Chang-ho formed a K-pop duo named Mad Monster last year and actually had a video go viral in Korea. They used an extreme beauty filter app to alter their faces while filming the video for their catchy song “Mine Rudolph.” It went on to become a sensational meme.

Singer IU, left, with actor Gong Yoo on the set of her YouTube channel’s program “IU’s Palette” / Courtesy of CJ ENM  

Some celebrities have turned to YouTube to share a part of their personas by opening up their own channels.

Singer/actor Lee Ji-eun, better known as IU, has turned into a chat show host, career woman and chef on her YouTube channel that has about 7.67 million subscribers.

“IU’s Palette” is one of her channel’s most popular programs. It features such celebrities as actors Gong Yoo and Song Kang-ho as well as K-pop artists like rapper Jay Park and boy groups SHINee and Seventeen. Along with the videos that show her different personas, she also shares vlogs that give fans a glimpse of her personal life and behind-the-scene looks at her K-pop act.

K-pop girl group MAMAMOO member Sola appears in vlogs and as a meokbang YouTuber on her channel Solarsido. In her program “SolarEats,” the singer shares videos of herself eating massive quantities of food – from bread and donuts to tteokbokki. She also shares tips for weight loss and workouts, all while covering different songs and dance choreographies.

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