Travel YouTuber Ppanibottle: 'YouTube pays far more than TV'

Ppanibottle, a travel YouTuber with 2.61 million subscribers, has explained why he has been making more television appearances lately.

A video titled "Would I have made it this far if I had just played along?" was posted Tuesday on the YouTube channel Kang Ji-young's Circle.

In the video, Ppanibottle said he now finds it more exciting to take on new challenges than to travel, which is why he has been appearing on TV more frequently.

"A lot of people misunderstand and think I stopped traveling just to make money doing TV," Ppanibottle said. "But YouTube pays far more."

Ppanibottle went on to say that travel had lost some of its appeal after years on the road. "Honestly, I've traveled so much that it doesn't excite me the way it used to," he said. "TV, on the other hand, lets me experience things I've never done before and explore fields that have nothing to do with travel — that's why I keep showing up."

However, he also admitted that the shift toward broadcast work has cut into his income. "Because of that, I haven't been earning as much lately, so I need to get back to making YouTube content," he said.

Meanwhile, Ppanibottle has built up a television presence through variety programs including MBC's "Born to Travel the World" series and ENA's "Jigu Mabul World Travel." More recently, he has been branching out beyond travel content into a wider range of entertainment shows.