South Korean YouTuber Daeyeon Won, better known as Wonnie, lives in Seoul, but his humour is quintessentially Pakistani. His YouTube channel and Instagram handle are full of reels, vlogs, and shorts in Urdu and Punjabi — a shout-out to a culture he was intimately familiar with as a child.
“In Pakistan, we don’t say take him to hospital,” he opens in a reel. But then quickly transitions to fluent Punjabi — We say, ‘inhe nahi bachna, inhoo lore le ke jao’ (he’s not going to be saved, take him to Lahore).
His accent leaves fans gobsmacked.
“Your accent is way better than many desis,” writes one viewer. Another fondly calls him ‘desi marshmallow’. The comment section is filled with Pakistanis remarking on the accuracy of his accent, even thanking him for representing Pakistan with such kindness and honesty. “His Urdu is even better than mine” is standard fare. Wonnie takes the comments—even the racist ones asking how a Chinese can speak Punjabi–with grace.
From K-Pop and K-drama to Korean food and most things that use K as a prefix — Korean culture has made waves around the world. Wonnie, however, represents the inverse: Pakistani culture has left an imprint on this young South Korean. So much so that along with his Korean name, his YouTube bio proudly mentions his Urdu name — Tayyab Mohammed.
His channel, Wonnie.official, has over 90k subscribers and he’s also building a fan following on Instagram.
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Grew up in Lahore
Wonnie’s appearance belies his skill with languages. His fluency in Urdu, Punjabi and Hindi, without any accent and with all the correct intonations, has made him a local celebrity.
When he was 5 years old, his parents separated. The year after, his mother married a Pakistani man and thus began Wonnie’s cultural education. His family moved to Pakistan, and he and his mother both converted to Islam.
In a Youtube video, he recounts he and his mother feeling confused and overwhelmed by their new setting, giving the example of the number of people taking naps on public lawns. “We thought they were dead bodies,” he says.
He completed his schooling in Lahore, which he credits for his seemingly intrinsic feel for Pakistani trends and references.
This understanding is reflected in his content. In one reel, he plays a coy Pakistani woman who insists that she doesn’t have a long list for the perfect man—smart, loyal, caring, etc, etc.
He effectively capitalises on his uniqueness — taking advantage of his dual identity and fluid cultural upbringing. “Korean guy sells papad”, and “Korean guy selling sabzian at karaoke” — are the titles of a few of his reels.
“As-salamu alaykum,” is how he greets his viewers. “He has won the hearts of all Pakistanis by his intro,” writes a viewer.
One of his videos, which has over 677k views, shows him interviewing locals in Seoul’s bustling neighbourhood of Hongdae, asking them questions about Pakistani celebrities. Mahira Khan, Mehwish Hayat, Imran Abbas, and Ahsan Khan were some of the names that rang loud in the streets of Seoul thanks to Wonnie.
“Korean Munda aur Pakistani larki ki kahani” (The story of a Korean man and Pakistani girl), is the title of another, where he interviews a Pakistani woman, one half of a Pakistani-South Korean couple. “Main akela hoon,” he sights, before declaring that today’s videos will be about ‘shaadis’.
His videos in Korean tend to have English subtitles. However, most of his videos, in which he speaks a combination of Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi and English do not.
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Korea-Pakistan cultural crossover
Wonnie is not the only social media star whose content hinges on a confluence of cultures. Majid Mushtaq, a Pakistani YouTuber currently based in South Korea creates similar content. His content seeks to inform Pakistanis about life as a South Asian in South Korea.
In one video he takes viewers to Itaewon, a district in Seoul meant for the “international community”. He exclaims that he’s found a little Pakistan, with a lot of Halal food. He also has more information-based videos where he explains Korean currency in Urdu and the kinds of jobs available, both for students and young professionals.
His videos typically garner over 100k views, indicating the interest in Pakistan about life in South Korea and that cultural crossovers are appreciated. “You have no idea how happy this makes me as a Pakistani who wishes to travel to South Korea one day,” writes a viewer.
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)