Meet YouTube sensation Rev Chris Lee, the British priest who became a viral star in Korea for filming reactions to BTS and Ariana Grande
The surprise star of Korean Englishman and the British Priest Reacts channels samples strange foods, trains with commandos, gets his bones cracked and has more Instagram followers than the Archbishop of Canterbury – and an inbox overflowing with messages from female fans
With more Instagram followers (128,000) than the Archbishop of Canterbury (28,200), Reverend Chris Lee’s online and offline fame came as a surprise.
The priest at St Saviour’s Church in west London, and a father of two, never expected his appearance in a friend’s YouTube video to spiral into numerous trips to South Korea.
Or to inspire two series focusing on him, which see Lee experience things like life in the Korean army with his twin brother, a British commando, dancing with a B-boy team, and getting his bones cracked at a traditional medicine clinic. The views? In the millions.
When his friends Josh Carrott and Ollie Kendal, creators of popular YouTube channels Korean Englishman and Jolly, approached him to be part of a video introducing British people to Korean fire noodles, the Church of England’s Lee – or Rev Chris as he is more popularly known – soon became a regular fixture as they continued introducing their British friends to different types of food.
“I knew very little about Korea when Ollie first asked me to star in the fire noodle video, but my interest really started when they introduced me to chimaek (fried chicken and beer),” says the 35-year-old, who also cites bulgogi as another of his favourite dishes.
“Korean culture seems very integrated with their cuisine – just the way food is more of an event rather than just food. I’ve had some of the best beef I’ve ever tasted there. It was like going from black and white TV to 4K HD.”
The turning point from priest to online celebrity was when he reacted to suneung, the Korean university entrance exam, where he prayed for the students, and he became known as a non-judgemental, open and modern Christian voice on the channel.
“After that we started doing the British Priest Reacts series. The first was to Ariana Grande’s God is a Woman, which went viral. The reaction was overwhelming, because I was suddenly thrust into being a responsible voice for Christianity online and brought a wave of Christians, as well as atheists, agnostics and non-Christians asking me questions,” he added.
“I’ve had people approach me on the street at least once a week for selfies, and people move to London from as far abroad as Australia and Singapore, because [they] saw me online and seek out my church.”