Singer Lee Young-ji closes YouTube show with 4.44 million subscribers, donates W100m

Singer Lee Young-ji has said her final goodbye to her YouTube entertainment show, which she ran for about four years.

A video titled "Goodbye, My Old Friends" was posted Friday on the YouTube channel Charinjeon Jwipuldo Eopjiman — known by its shorthand "Chajwipul" — in which Lee announced the end of season 4 and expressed her gratitude to the show's roughly 4.44 million subscribers.

Over the course of its run, Chajwipul welcomed a long list of celebrity guests, including IVE's Ahn Yu-jin, a close friend of Lee's in the music industry, as well as Kiss of Life's Natty, Sunmi, ITZY's Ryujin, Le Sserafim's Kim Chae-won, NMIXX's Oh Hae-won, actor Shin Min-a, BLACKPINK's Lisa, Lee Soo-hyuk, EXO's Do Kyung-soo, aespa's Karina, Park Ji-hoon, Park Bo-young and Han So-hee.

Chajwipul debuted in 2022 as a web variety show in which Lee invited celebrity guests to share food and drinks and speak candidly — true to the show's concept of "drunk honesty." Its relaxed atmosphere, in which Lee and her guests opened up and showed their more personal sides, drove the program's popularity.

The video released Friday showed footage from a staff dinner held after the final broadcast on Saturday. Lee, who had declared she would abstain from alcohol in the second half of this year, drew attention by keeping her promise and refraining from drinking even at the gathering.

Lee received a framed photo collage from the production team capturing various moments from filming. "I'm so touched," she said, unable to take her eyes off the pictures for some time.

She then addressed viewers directly. "I'm truly grateful to everyone who has watched Chajwipul all this time," she said. "What I'm most thankful for is that I made so many friends through this show — the directors, the writers, the guests and all of you watching. Thank you so much."

She added that while Chajwipul had come to an end, the videos would remain on the channel for viewers to revisit, signing off with a characteristically lighthearted quip: "Goodbye! I'm done drinking now."

Fans flooded the comments with messages of disappointment. "Is this really the end? I thought you'd come back with another season — please?" wrote one viewer. Another said, "I looked forward to this every Friday." Others speculated that the repeated references to sobriety and health may have made it difficult to continue the show's concept, while some simply praised Lee's all-around talent. "One door closes, another opens," one commenter wrote.

Meanwhile, to mark the end of the season, Lee donated a total of 100 million won ($36,800) — 50 million won to each of two organizations, the Bapsang Community Briquette Bank and Hope Bridge.