YouTuber Lalal and Her Alter Ego Lee Myunghwa: A Bold Move or Risky Business?
Lalal, whose real name is Lee Yura, is a South Korean YouTuber with over 1.8 million subscribers. What makes her channel stand out isn’t just her candid personality, but her creation of a surprising and spunky alter ego (or “virtual character”) named Lee Myunghwa — a feisty grandmother in her 60s with outlandish makeup and an unfiltered mouth.
This character was birthed not out of a marketing strategy, but from Lalal’s personal experience: weight gain and physical changes during and after her pregnancy. Instead of hiding those changes, she embraced them creatively through this add-on persona. And audiences loved it.
Why Lee Myunghwa Works
Lee Myunghwa is over-the-top, funny, and shockingly relatable. Through this character, Lalal openly discusses topics like postpartum body changes, the struggles of motherhood, and mental health – subjects still considered taboo in many parts of the world.
The alter ego gave her a powerful new way to connect with her audience. Fans appreciate the raw honesty and creativity, and her character won her the 2023 Mnet Virtual Character Contest. She’s featured not only on YouTube but also on Korean television, even dabbling in the music industry through KBS's Music Bank. It's a rare example of internet content evolving into something that bridges real-world media and digital avatars.
This might remind global audiences of Lil Miquela — the AI-generated influencer with over 3 million followers — but the difference is Lalal plays her own character, grounded in real struggles, not synthetic simulations.
But There's a Flip Side
Despite Lee Myunghwa's success, not everyone is clapping. Critics warn that Lalal is walking a fine line. When you blur reality and character too much, it can confuse your audience and damage your credibility. Some fans report not knowing where Lalal ends and Lee Myunghwa begins.
Additionally, Lalal has shared deeply private details about her life — like taking medication for ADHD (a condition that affects attention and impulse control), going broke after a failed merchandise business, and her complicated journey through motherhood. While that raw openness builds empathy, for some, it feels like oversharing, or worse, emotional manipulation.
This sparked debate online. Is she sharing to build community, or to create click-worthy content? In the U.S., we've seen similar skepticism toward personalities like Jessica Sobel, a streamer who lost audience trust after airing extensive details of her financial ruin — what many viewed as reputation self-destruction.
Where’s the Line?
Lalal’s character work highlights a challenge facing many creators today: how to separate your public persona from your real-life identity. In the era of parasocial relationships (where fans feel they know creators personally despite never meeting them), this line is blurrier than ever.
Her merchandise business failure, where she claimed to have lost everything, underlines the risk influencers face when trying to pivot into entrepreneurship. It's a textbook case of the dangers of moving too fast without a solid foundation.
More importantly, her emotional and psychological well-being is now up for public discussion, something that raises questions about boundaries. Should fans be responsible for a creator’s mental health? Should creators feel obligated to share every failure and trauma?
Balancing Reality and Performance
There’s no denying Lalal’s courage or creativity. Turning personal challenges into a viral character is no small feat. But to maintain longevity and trust, she’ll need to find a healthy balance between transparency and privacy, humor and vulnerability, alter ego and original self.
She’s already evolving. Some of her recent videos focus more on storytelling and character building, rather than her personal hardships. This pivot may be the very growth space she needs — and what fans ultimately want: entertainment with a touch of humanity, not a constant emotional rollercoaster.
In today’s creator economy, where audiences crave both authenticity and content that feels polished, Lalal is a fascinating case study in what happens when both meet — and sometimes conflict — on screen.
