“Never eat more than you can lift.”
– Miss Piggy
Mukbang is a
Korean term that means “eating broadcast.”
This YouTube
fad in South Korea and the U.S. features influencers that eat a large quantity of
food (about 4,000 calories) in one sitting before their amazed viewers.
The eaters gain following and money for this. They can earn up to US$10,000 a month that excludes food and drink sponsorships. When a mukbanger becomes popular, earnings can reach up to US$100,000 annually, apart from the income from endorsements, ebooks, and product reviews. Take, for instance, Christi Caston, the Texan host of YummyBitesTV, a mukbang YouTube channel where she claims she earns double as she does when working full time. In South Korea, fans would send direct money transfers to mukbangers.
Have you
heard about ASMR? It stands for “autonomous sensory meridian response.” People
who watch mukbang experience ASMR, the same way when others feel immense
pleasure from simple acts such as whispering, hair-combing, etc. Artists often act
in videos with food and accompany them with slurping, chewing, crunching and other
eating noises. These tactics elicit positive responses from the viewers. Mukbang
fans say that watching and listening to people eat is next to hypnotic because
they associate eating with pleasure.
Mukbangers
may binge on everything, from bowls of ramen to chicken buckets, boxes of pizza,
jars of candies, and even hefty servings of salad.
Despite the temptation
of mukbang videos, doctors and dietitians warn that the practice can be harmful to health.
As a
reaction, Chinese President Xi Jinping is not in favor of mukbang and has
reportedly cracked down
on the videos with his 'Clean Plate' campaign. The campaign was launched after the
President also said that the pandemic had "sounded the alarm" on food
waste. For him, China must "maintain a sense of crisis about food security."
Because of
this, the government-owned CCTV network criticized mukbangers. Anyone that
typed "eating show" or "eating live stream" on search
engines received warning notices.
Now that
Christmas is coming, would you consider doing a mukbang to feature all the
Christmas feasts and party food that will abound this season? It was just an idea.
Let’s discuss this below.
COMMENTS