Mukbang (a portmanteau that combines the Korean terms for ‘eating’ and ‘broadcast’) is an internet craze that lets viewers ogle at broadcasters consuming unusually large quantities of food. Not just that, sometimes people pay to watch these broadcasters eat. Also known as gastronomic voyeurism, this trend was first seen on AfreecaTV in 2009 and became a rage in South Korea by the 2011.
In 2017, the internet saw a rise in Mukbang videos with people from all corners of the world trying out the trend. Yes, millions of people are now tuning in to watch their favorite YouTubers, Instagrammers and social media celebs stuff themselves with food. Viewers voluntarily send donations their favorite broadcasters and the broadcasters end up making thousands of dollars off of a single video!
Now if you’re wondering why, the answer to that is kind of complicated. If you go through the comments on an average Mukbang video, you’ll realize that many use Mukbang videos as a way to change their relationships with food. Some use them to stimulate their appetites while others treat them as a ‘dieting tool’. Since the hosts are binge-eating on camera, people are either stimulated to eat more (you know, seeing all the food makes them hungry) or eat less because they’re living vicariously through the broadcaster and ‘feel full’ after they see them eat.
The website that started it all, AfreecaTV, says it’s not just the food. People tune in to these video to feel a little less lonely. To make sure they have someone to have dinner with.
Here’s an example:
People also look forward to food reviews and hear the broadcaster about their country’s food:
And sometimes, it’s just, err..creepy people on the internet:
Here’s Park Seo Yeon, a retired South Korean Mukband sensation who left her job to make Mukbang videos and was earning around 9,000 USD per video. Her on screen name, Broadcast Jockey Diva, or as she was popularly known, (don’t laugh) BJ Diva. Check out one of her ‘performances’:
Mukbang videos of popular broadcast jockeys from South Korea:
The trend became a huge hit in the US this year with broadcasters indulging in pizzas, donuts, burgers et al:
Indian food has always been a big hit with these broadcasters and most of them try to eat with their hands:
Of late, a bunch of Indian YouTubers have also jumped into the Mukbang bandwagon where they indulge in dishes like naan, chicken tikka, paneer etc. While the Indian audience obviously loves food, the Mukbang concept still bamboozles them. Clearly. we’re gonna take a while to get used to watching people stuffing themselves with food. Here are a bunch of desi YouTubers attempting Mukbang:
Ya’ll hungry yet? Tell us what you think about this crazy trend in the comments below!
