[YouTube channel 'Gilbadak']
[YouTube channel 'Gilbadak']

YouTuber Gilbadak broke his silence in a live broadcast Thursday, addressing rumors that he had gone missing and sharing an update on his whereabouts.

Gilbadak went live on his YouTube channel under the title "Proof of Life."

"I'm in Australia right now. I'm alive and well," he said, greeting viewers in good spirits.

He said he was surprised by how widely the story had spread. "Where did this end up in the news? I posted something in the community because rumors started appearing in the comments after I hadn't uploaded videos for a while — and it seems like things blew up from there," he said. "I think the problem was that I wrote it too casually. I was a bit flustered at the time and dashed it off quickly."

He also addressed the wave of tips sent to the SBS program "Gunggeumhan Iyagi Y," a TV investigative show. "My acquaintances sent it to me and I saw it — I couldn't believe it had gotten this big," he said. "People are asking, 'You're not being held hostage, are you?' — no, I'm not. I'm doing just fine on my own."

Gilbadak repeated his denial. "It's not AI. No threats, no confinement. No one is holding me captive," he added.

On why he had stopped posting, he said he had been too busy with daily life to keep up with his channel. "I've been in Australia for over a year now, and I've basically just been working nonstop trying to get by. There was also a point during my travels when my laptop had problems and I couldn't edit," he said.

The missing-person speculation began after Gilbadak stopped uploading full-length videos, with his last one being footage from a trip to India about a year ago. He later posted a community update saying he had "finished the trip safely and is alive," noting he had completed 13 months of travel without incident. But the post drew suspicion — viewers pointed out differences in writing style and punctuation compared with his earlier posts, questioning whether he had written it himself. The speculation escalated into rumors of kidnapping and confinement, fueling widespread concern.

Adding to the frenzy, the production team behind the SBS program "Gunggeumhan Iyagi Y" publicly called for tips Wednesday through its official channel, posting that it was "waiting to hear from YouTuber Gilbadak or anyone who knows him."


min3654@heraldcorp.com