South Korean kid Kim Ye Bin is a mini celebrity thanks to a viral video showing her learning how to say no to strangers. At age four, she has made news worldwide, receives gifts from adoring fans and even has a manager to negotiate endorsement deals on her behalf.
The adorable tot made her first overseas appearance in Singapore on Monday. The bona fide Internet sensation will be presenting an award at Influence Asia 2015, a social media awards show in its first edition this year.
On what it was like taking a flight for the first time in her life, the cheery Ye Bin in said in Korean: "It's not scary at all."
"It's hot in Singapore. But I prefer the cold weather in Korea," she told The Straits Times on Monday morning before the awards ceremony.
Ye Bin arrived here on Sunday morning with her parents and nine-month-old baby brother Do Bin. She was invited to appear at the awards show by the organisers, South Korean-based digital marketing company Yello Digital Marketing Group and local social marketing agency Gushcloud.
Her housewife mother Jang Hye Jeong, 26, never expected the overwhelming reaction to the home video shot on a smartphone. The video has garnered over 1.3 million views on Yebin's Youtube channel Lil Yebin, which has over 110,000 subscribers. Her Facebook page Baby Yebin has over 860,000 followers and her Instagram account (@wowhahahohoho) has over 387,000 followers.
Mummy Jang explained that the video was part of their routine practice of teaching Ye Bin about life lessons through role-playing.
In the hit Stranger Danger video, her mother pretends to be a stranger offering Ye Bin ice cream and cookies. The doe-eyed Ye Bin cannot resist the treats, and quips in Korean: "I'd like it!"
The precocious lass has finally learnt the correct method of dealing with strangers.
When The Straits Times asked Ye Bin what she would do if a stranger offers her snacks, she screamed at the top of her lungs: "No!"
The Stranger Danger video can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kN29b1-hhZ0
