KB News Desk
The South Korean cafe owner, whose message of support for victims of Venezuela’s devastating earthquakes resonated with thousands of people online, said he hopes the unexpected attention will translate into real help for those affected.
After Korean news outlets picked up his story, Yum Ji-hong, who runs a dessert cafe on the southern resort island of Jeju, shared a follow-up message on TikTok thanking viewers and reflecting on the response.
“What started as a short video to check on my TikTok friends in Venezuela has now been introduced by Korean media,” he wrote.
“I sincerely hope that as both the good news and the difficult news continue to spread, more donations and more support will reach my friends in Venezuela, so that their lives can return to the peace they once knew. Thank you.”
Yum’s original 29-second video, recorded in Spanish with the help of AI translation tools, was posted after he noticed that regular Venezuelan viewers who usually greeted him during his livestreams suddenly disappeared following the June 24 earthquakes.
Once communications gradually resumed, thousands of Venezuelans flooded the comment section with messages thanking the Korean stranger for thinking of them during the disaster.
As of Thursday, the video had recorded over 198,000 views with over 40,000 likes.
Yum said he hopes the renewed attention generated by the news coverage will keep international interest focused on Venezuela’s recovery, long after global headlines move on.
