A Study on the Content Characteristics of the YouTube Web Drama 〈Short Paper〉

This Recently, the center of the video content industry has rapidly shifted from legacy media to OTT and mobile platforms, with YouTube at the core of this transition. This study examines the differentiated content characteristics of 〈Short Paper〉, a successful case of a YouTube-based web drama, through an in-depth analysis of its three underlying series. The results identify two distinct characteristics of 〈Short Paper〉 derived from the nature of the YouTube platform. First, in terms of storytelling, it utilizes “proximity” rather than “remoteness” (distance) as a key mechanism. This is realized through the setting of the everyday time and space of ordinary college students, the use of micro-subjects and conflicts rather than grand events, and the reinforcement of empathy and play phenomena through interaction among viewers. These characteristics provide a sense of intimacy, akin to sharing daily experiences with the viewer, despite taking the form of a dramatization. Second, it actively borrows characteristics of vlog content. 〈Short Paper〉 narrows the psychological distance with viewers through firstperson point-of-view and narration, maximizes empathy through hyper-realistic depictions based on experiential narratives, and utilizes mechanisms of voyeuristic desire and empathy. In conclusion, 〈Short Paper〉 is positioned on the boundary between TV drama and vlog, presenting a new form of “dramatized daily life.” This provides significant implications for the future direction of evolution for YouTube-based web dramas.