먹방 (Mukbang), short for 먹는 방송, means eating show. It is a type of show that started in South Korea a few years ago and gradually became a global trend. Now on YouTube and Tik Tok, there are tons of videos where the host eats a variety of food, usually in big portions as well, which are all very visually appealing.
Even before I knew there is such a thing called 먹방, I've seen people in Korean variety shows eating like a show. They would show the camera what the food looks like first (always in beautiful colors), and then eat nicely and cleanly while describing the flavors vividly. Every time I watch a Korean variety show or drama, I need to have some snacks beside me because every dish looks so good on the screen. It does not matter if I really like it or not, it is the way of them showing it.
Earlier this year, some Korean YouTubers for 먹방 opened their accounts on Chinese social media, when I knew about this culture and watched a few videos of theirs. The YouTuber with the highest views and recommendations is called "Eat with Boki", who has a million followers on Chinese social media and 7 million on YouTube (up to December 2021). In the video I watched, she ate a very large pot of 부대찌개 (budae jjigae, army strew) with ramen, ham, tofu, and a lot of other ingredients in it, with kimchi on the side and some big 계란말이 (rolled omelet). If I were to eat it, I don't think I will be able to finish them all in a day, but Boki finished it all in her video. It was quite astonishing to me because Boki is a girl about my age, but with a good appearance and a fit body.
This semester, Vivian and I discussed some controversies on not only Boki but also the Mukbang YouTubers. Some pointed out that none of these YouTubers said explicitly that they received ads from some food companies, which is illegal in South Korea. There are also some controversies saying that the YouTubers edit their footage so that they could just chew the food and then spit it out. This is called 먹뱉 in Korean. Many people lost their trust in the YouTubers doing 먹방 for these reasons. To prove herself, Boki uploaded a video that she claimed to be uncut, which includes the whole footage of her eating and swallowing the food, but the comments are still not so friendly. The problem about 먹뱉 is not only about wasting food but also that they cause a lot of anxiety for girls living in a society that is already toxic about it. As an example, Boki shows by doing 먹뱉 that she can eat a lot of food while being fit, so now girls have a higher standard of beauty where they need to be pretty while having a lot of food, which is toxic, unhealthy, and I would say impossible to do for any human being. Therefore, when accused of the unnotified advertisement or fake eating, a lot of 먹방 YouTubers shut down their channels for months or apologized for their past actions.
Sources:
유튜버 문복희 "절대 먹뱉 하지 않았다" 적극 해명 | SBS 뉴스
유튜버 문복희 "먹뱉 절대 하지 않았다" - 스타투데이 (mk.co.kr)
먹방 유튜버 문복희의 ‘먹뱉’ 의심 정황이 새롭게 발견됐다 - 인사이트 (insight.co.kr)
What is 'mukbang'? Inside the viral Korean food YouTube trend (today.com)
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