The subscriber count of the YouTube channel PSICK University has drastically dropped.
As of the 23rd, PSICK University has 3.02 million subscribers. This is a significant drop of 160,000 subscribers, down from 3.18 million since the 10th. This rapid decrease in subscribers began after the upload of a video titled “What’s up in Yeongyang, the smallest city in Gyeongsang Province” on the 11th.
In the video, the members of PSICK University made disparaging remarks about the area, such as “Have you ever heard of this place? Isn’t it China?” “The river looked nice from above, but from below it looks like sewage”, and “It’s incredibly boring from a human perspective.” They even criticized the local restaurant and area while the owner was present, stating, “The jelly tastes like an old woman. It feels like we’re tearing into grandma’s flesh.”
Despite the ongoing controversy, PSICK University remained silent. However, they released an apology a week later on the 18th. They emphasized that the delay in the apology was due to their belief that “it was first necessary to offer a sincere apology to the affected parties.”
However, this was not PSICK University’s only controversy. The PSICK Show segment featuring Jang Won Young also drew criticism. The thumbnail of The PSICK Show episode with Jang Won Young was criticized for resembling sexual slang. The phrase PSICK Show was obscured to appear as “FXXK she.”
Until now, PSICK University has arranged the faces of the guests and MCs side by side in the other 96 PSICK Show videos, excluding Jang Won Young. There were no exceptions even when the logo obscured part of the cast’s faces.
As the controversy escalated, PSICK University stated in the comments that “the original thumbnail was intended to highlight the guest, and there was no other intention. We replaced the thumbnail to protect the cast.”
Despite their apologies, the number of PSICK University subscribers continues to decrease. According to the YouTube guide on the 23rd, PSICK University’s rank in the domestic YouTube channel chart for the fourth week of May fell from 1st to 31st place. The weekly views also plummeted from 30.73 million last week to 22.94 million this week. Some speculate that the 3 million subscriber count will soon crumble.
