▲ A screenshot of the video posted by Mr. Yeom on TikTok, titled "For my friends from Venezuela."
A video posted by a dessert cafe owner in Jeju for the people of Venezuela, who have suffered significant damage from a series of powerful earthquakes, is touching the hearts of internet users on the other side of the globe.
Yeom Ji-hong, who has been running a dessert cafe in Aewol-eup, Jeju, for seven years, was preparing for his usual TikTok live broadcast around 10:00 a.m. on June 25 when he noticed that his regular viewers from Venezuela were missing.
After checking the news, he learned that a series of earthquakes—the strongest in 125 years, with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5—had struck near Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, on June 24 (local time), paralyzing communication networks.
Concerned for the safety of his friends across the screen, Mr. Yeom used a translator and artificial intelligence to create a 29-second video with Spanish subtitles and posted it to his cafe's account.
The video included the message, "I am worried because I haven't seen you since the earthquake today. I sincerely hope that you and your families are all safe."
As communication was gradually restored, an explosive response from Venezuelan users began pouring in around midnight on June 26.
The number of comments, which usually averaged around five, surged nearly 900-fold to over 4,500, and the view count exceeded 197,000.
Comments such as "Thank you so much for your concern" and "Thank you for your support" were posted at a rate of one per second.
Mr. Yeom explained that as he read the comments, he could feel their sincerity rather than just mechanical responses.
Subsequently, internet users from other countries, including Indonesia and Peru, also sent messages of support and solidarity, creating a global sense of empathy.
Mr. Yeom said he realized through this experience that even a small gesture can be a great source of strength to someone, adding that he hopes to meet his viewers in person in Venezuela once the situation there has recovered.
(Photo: TikTok capture, Yonhap News)
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