Andrew Rafael Kim

Korean-American TikTok star Andrew Rafael Kim rose to fame after he helped saved his grandfather’s Dallas Sushi Business from bankruptcy. The social media sensation went online for help after he found out his grandparent’s business Sushiya was in trouble following the COVID pandemic as the entire restaurant industry became crippled. Saddened to see his grandparents struggling, the kind hearted teenager made a quick TikTok video inviting people to the restaurant and the 15 second clip of his grandparents and waving restaurant workers went viral, receiving millions of views. The video has now garnered over 6 million views and has shot the architecture student to social media stardom. The youngster is now followed by more than 660,000 fans and even has his own merchandise range, and is also known for his dubs, lip-synchs and dance challenges.

Kim’s Grandfather Kang Lee first immigrated from South Korea to the United States in the 1960s and has worked in the restaurant industry for more than 50 years. His family restaurant was devastated when Coronavirus hit, but thanks to the online efforts of his grandson customers were soon lined up at the door and the family-owned restaurant sales began to soar. This enabled Kang to also rehire all of his previous workers he had reluctantly let go during the pandemic. Kim has proven that social media can be used for good, and won the hearts of the internet looking out for the older generation.