"I made 2 million won working one hour after work"... The side hustle drawing women in their 20s and 30s

[The Financial News] A side hustle known as the "blue lady" gig, which uses the policy of X (formerly Twitter), a social networking service (SNS) that pays revenue to paid subscribers, is gaining popularity among young women.

They are called "blue ladies" because their accounts display a blue verification badge next to the username, indicating that they are paid subscribers on X.
According to the IT industry on the 17th, X has been granting blue verification badges to paid subscribers since November 2022 and introduced an ad revenue-sharing feature in July 2023. As a result, a system was created in which ordinary users can also earn money based on content exposure if they meet certain conditions.
Not everyone with a blue badge receives payouts. To generate income, users must subscribe to the paid "Premium" service, which costs around 10,000 won per month, keep their blue badge, have at least 500 followers, and achieve at least 5 million post impressions over the past three months.
To meet these criteria, blue ladies cooperate by using "Twitter friends introduction" posts to increase each other's followers and by repeatedly sharing posts to boost exposure. Most of them meet the revenue requirements within two weeks to one or two months.
In the process, financial tips and investment information are often shared together to encourage participation. Some users have shared their experiences, claiming they can expect to earn around 2 million won a month by spending just one to two hours a day on the platform.



The blue lady side hustle is seen as particularly attractive for people such as graduate students and freelancers whose income is unstable, because it is relatively easy to start with just social media activity.
Kim, a 24-year-old female graduate student with about 2,000 followers, told News1, "The blue lady gig works well as a side job, but more than that, there is a sense of belonging because everyone has come together to help women, and my goal is to help more women get started as blue ladies."
Another user said, "I just wrote casually about my daily life, and I received 1,000 dollars (about 1.48 million won)," adding, "YouTube requires video editing and a blog means you have to go out and take photos, but on X you can do it anytime just sitting down. In this era of a strong dollar, I'm happy to be paid in dollars."
However, some point out that actual earnings vary greatly from person to person and that it is difficult for this to become a stable source of income. Because it requires a certain level of exposure and continuous activity, some also argue that the return on labor can be low.
Experts say the spread of SNS-based revenue models is a natural trend, but warn that people should fully understand the profit structure and risks before jumping in.

moon@fnnews.com Reporter Moon Young-jin Reporter