Thais snatch up national parks guidebook after praise by S Korean YouTubing duo

The unprecedented popularity of the national park passport was due largely to the video diary of two South Korean YouTubers named Cullen and Jung, said the DNP director-general, Atthaphon Charoenchansa, on Wednesday.

The channel, “@cullen_hateberry” has become well-known among netizens, especially Thais, for content related to travelling across the nation, with over 1.51 million subscribers as of Wednesday.

According to a Wisesight study from January 1 to December 31 of last year, more than 143,548 messages from the channel resulted in engagement from more than 20 million audience members.

In their video diary, the two influencers demonstrated how useful and informative the guide is, prompting viewers to rush out and buy it for their expected future travel.

The DNP announced on its website earlier this month that national park passports had sold out, adding that the reprints will soon be on the way.

Atthaphon said once the 90,000 copies are ready, the booklets will be distributed to 155 national parks throughout the country, where visitors can pick them up at 100 baht apiece.

Atthaphon added that the DNP had made the right decision in inviting the Youtubers to join the department’s promotional campaign for their national parks, adding that talks regarding future projects have yet to be scheduled since the two are very busy.

“We will not interfere with their (creative) process, and will let them perform as they naturally do,” he added.

Cullen, 33, also known as “Park Kideuk”, describes himself as a producer of electronic dance music and a model. He has prior experience as a disc jockey at a Korean restaurant in Thailand.

The 34-year-old businessman Jung came to Thailand to work and to learn the Thai language. He was dubbed “Brother Jung” by Cullen.