What Is A Mukbang & Why Are These Viral Korean Videos So Addictive?

What is it about a Mukbang that makes it so addictive? Well, these viral Korean videos where people scarf down copious amounts of food is a huge phenomenon. Let’s have a look at what they are and why are they so popular?

What Is A Mukbang?

If you’ve ever been addicted to Mukbangs in your lifetime, like me, then you must have had these questions in your mind too. Like where did a mukbang originate from, what does it mean, how do you pronounce it…?

Mukbang is a mix of two words smushed together. It comes from Korean words mouk-da “eat” and bang song “broadcast” which means an eating show.

While Westerners pronounce it as muck-bang, Koreans like to call it mook-bong.

Mukbangs gained popularity in South Korea during the 2010s. It basically involved people showcasing a wide range of food while live streaming themselves through an online platform.

This trend has slowly wended its way to the West. That is when it became a worldwide success. It is a specific niche on its own and SO MANY YouTubers have dedicated their channels to making mukbangs only.

What they do is basically they walk their viewers through the process of cooking the food and then eating it while communicating with their fans. Narrating their life stories or anecdotes or basically talk about anything in the world.

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via GIPHY

ASMR

ASMR stands for “autonomous sensory meridian response.” This technique is what makes them so interesting. All these mukbangers, yes, that’s what they’re called, use high end microphones to make exaggerated slurping , chomping, chewing sounds to keep the viewers hooked.

via GIPHY

Furthermore, the concept is so generic that you don’t even have to know much about it to connect with it. It’s just people having the time of their lives while having food and you as a viewer are getting bemused at the spectacle!

VERONICA WANG

One of my personal favorite Muck-bang Channels is that of Veronica Wang. The way she narrates her stories while cooking food and even eating them is highly entertaining. All the drama that revolves around her life. Her mukbangs in her car where she rates all these foods is pretty enticing.

Yes, all of this might sound super bizarre but you have to watch it for yourself to actually experience what this craze is all about.

If you’re also crazy addicted to these like me, drop a comment below!