TikToker Chambo’s new quest: Building a better home for foreign creators

For about two years, Australian creator Chris Hambarsoomian says he made no money in Korea, even as he was building the online persona that would make him known to millions as “Chambo.”

Now, with more than 1 million followers on TikTok, over 600,000 YouTube subscribers and permanent resident status in Korea, the 34-year-old is taking on his next project: building an agency for foreign content creators facing some of the same problems he did.

“I feel like the global content creator community in Korea is not being served well,” Chambo said in a recent interview with The Korea Herald.

His early years in the industry were marked by visa restrictions and payment disputes. Under the terms of his E-6 entertainment visa, he said, he had to work through sponsoring agencies that handled his payments.

“Back when I was on the worst visa on the planet, the entertainment visa, I had to go through agencies, and they would constantly scam me. They wouldn’t pay me,” he said. “All the money would go through them.”

Commercial pressures also influenced the content he produced. Chambo said TikTok Korea advised him to focus on Korean audiences to attract more advertising.

“So I went back to making super Korean content for years, like two or three years,” he said.

His circumstances improved when he obtained points-based F-2 residence status, which gave him greater freedom. But the visa still required periodic renewal and income reassessment.

After an application process that took 11 months, he obtained F-5 permanent resident status. The change removed the recurring income requirements attached to his F-2 renewals and gave him greater flexibility to leave and return to Korea, he said.

“I think having that option makes you feel a lot calmer internally,” he said.

Permanent residency also carried a deeper personal meaning. After years of being asked why he lived in Korea — and having his knowledge of the country questioned — Chambo said he finally had a simple answer.

“People are like, ‘Well, why do you live in Korea?’ Well, I can just ask them, ‘Why do you live in Korea?’” he said. “This is home now. I don’t see this as the foreign country I live in.”

He nevertheless warned other foreign residents not to underestimate the difficulty of obtaining permanent residency.

“Find a way to make lots of money,” he said. “You need to have a real reason to be in Korea, and I feel like if you’re not making lots of money anyway, that reason had better be really strong.”

Reaching one of his biggest long-term goals initially left him with an unexpected sense of emptiness.

“Once I got the visa, I was like, OK, that’s it. What else do I need to do?” he said. “The main quest is done.”

His answer is to help other foreign creators build more stable careers in Korea.

Chambo said an agency led by someone who understands both international creators and the content industry could fill a gap in the market. About five creators have expressed interest, he said, although many remain wary of exclusive contracts after negative experiences with Korean agencies.

Interest in Korea-related content continues to grow. The government’s K-influencer program drew a record 4,184 applicants from 134 countries in 2026, including 122 Korea-based creators selected for the program.

For Chambo, the next chapter is no longer about proving that he can remain in Korea. It is about making it easier for other foreign creators to build careers here.