Mukbang Isn’t What It Looks Like!
The Harsh Reality Behind Mukbang!
Let’s talk about hell for a minute. We all know what hell is and all of us have this uncanny resemblance about hell being on fire with demons tormenting sinful people. Hell has room for all kinds of people, be it lust, treachery, anger, gluttony, etc. In fact, there is a whole separate circle for gluttonous people who like to over-indulge or overconsume almost anything. But when it comes to spicy ramen, monstrous lobsters, ocean crabs, and large slices of pizzas, mukbangers just don’t seem to care at all. Believe me, even the demons must shiver while having to watch them eat. From whole chicken drumsticks to the largest of steaks, anything that goes into their mouth —
DOESN’T. COME. BACK!
Stick to the end and you will learn everything on why millions of people barge in to watch YouTubers finish entire meals in bite-size proportions.
Mukbang Comes From Korea!
The word mukbang is simply a mashup of two Korean words of let’s eat (“muk-ja”) and broadcasting (“bang-song”).
Mukbang originated in Korea and there is an interesting story behind its origin. The citizens of Korea have always been in the habit of eating together, be it with a friend, a family member, or even a person who is a complete stranger. They rarely dine alone, so when one does find himself or herself without company, they just tune in to live broadcasts of their favorite personalities and watch them eat, and hence, don’t bother by having to eat alone. Unlike most of the mukbang videos available on YouTube, Korean mukbang isn’t pre-recorded or edited. Mukbangers just sit down, start a live broadcast and eat with thousands of fans watching them. Mukbang in Korea is somewhat like an online community of bachelors that eat together but that’s not the sole purpose behind why people get into mukbang! While most of them see it for the cravings, some of them watch it for the ASMR. For those who don’t know what the acronym stands for, ASMR means Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response. Mukbangers use expensive and highly sensitive equipments to record these brain-tingling sensations that are the munching, slurping, and chewing noises that give a ‘near-pornographic experience’! Weird, right?
Mukbang Differs!
You will be surprised to know that Mukbang differs in different parts of the world. Where most Koreans choose to have a plant-based, healthy diet, Americans choose greasy, oil-rich, and fatty meals. Most of the Korean dishes are healthy, for instance, Kimchi — a side dish of salted and fermented vegetables such as napa cabbage and Korean radish with varying selections of seasonings. Also there is the Tteok-bokki — which is basically a simmered rice cake dish and last but not least, the Enoki mushrooms — which are edible mushrooms served with a number of seasonings and soy sauce. While most of these recipes are good for health, you will be amazed what the Americans choose for their mukbang. Can you guess? Well, basically everything from Taco Bell to Burger King & Dominos and the quantity in which they consume this awful lot of fast food is just intimidating. Google Trends data for India shows that the term ‘mukbang’ has become three times, the most searched thing on Google and YouTube. Indian mukbangers like Bharat Eating Show, MaddyEats, Wake’N’Bite, and who can forget the chicken leg piece guy, Ulhas Kamathe have gained fame in the last couple of years. Also, Indian mukbang has these crazy challenges where people compete with each other in eating contests, and the first one to finish his/her meal wins!!
Mukbang Pays!
We often find ourselves wondering how can mukbangers afford this much food for a single meal even though it’s for the sake of a YouTube video and not only that, some of them upload 5–6 videos a week!!! We think that these mukbangers are just crazy rich people who don’t have to work and the only thing they have to do is sit in front of a camera and gobble down enough grub to feed a small family of three. Well, that is not the case here. What if I tell you that you can get paid for eating anything you want and as much as you want? Will you be able to fathom this fact? An average mukbanger receives as much as $10,000 per month and believe me, all they have to do is just eat. Hilarious and ridiculous, isn’t it? But it’s true!
American mukbang queen, Bethany Gaskins a.k.a Bloveslife or The Shellfish Queen stated in an interview that eating shellfish online has made her a millionaire.
“HOW’S. THAT. POSSIBLE?!!!”
Well, it’s true! Bethany, on her two YouTube channels Bloveslife & BlovesASMR Eating Her Way chats up with her audiences while eating king crabs, lobster tails, mussels with of bunch of other things, and millions of fans actually join in to watch her slurp that juicy crab meat. She also said that she quit her job and realized she actually had faith in mukbang and that’s when she started and now she’s here.
Mukbang is easy, right? Well, what do you have to lose? All you need to do is invest some money into food and record yourself eating it.
Also, you will gain popularity through your videos!
And Also, Also, you will earn money!
And Also, Also, Also, you will never have to worry about eating tasteless, wishy-washy food!
So, you all must be thinking of starting your own YouTube channel and getting into the trend of mukbanging, right? Then hold your horses! Just like everything has a price, Mukbang ain’t free too!
Mukbang Takes A Toll!
While it is fun to watch people stuff their mouth with whole chicken drumsticks dipped in cheese and mayonnaise, there is actually a downfall to all of this. An average size of a stomach is similar to the size of that individual’s fist or at least that’s what some experts and people say. However, studies have shown that the organ can enlarge up to 25% of its normal size after eating a full stomach. Tall and obese people have stomachs larger than those compared to average people and hence, they are able to eat more.
When we eat, our stomach and liver produce various gastrointestinal juices to digest the food. Similarly, if we eat more food, the inner wall of the stomach stretches far more than its usual size and it becomes hard for the body to ingest the material inside. Also, the body has to produce twice the amount of digestive juices to break down the stuff and that is the reason we feel tired and drowsy after eating up to the fill. While some people have strong intestines to somehow keep the process of digestion going, most of them cannot. This results in excessive vomiting and bloating of the stomach which leads to chronic constipation and sometimes even haemorrhoids (also known as piles).
Dietician Theresa Kinsella, while talking about the costs and benefits of mukbang, told the New York Times,
“The short-term health risks are physical discomfort, gastrointestinal distress, lethargy, and fatigue!”
She added further,
“, in the long-term, mukbangers may see weight gain, heart disease, and diabetes!”
In 2019, mukbanger Nicholas Perry, popularly known as Nikocado Avacado, shared that the frequent practice of mukbang has taken a toll on his health and now he is concerned about it. He shared that mukbang has led him to face issues like erectile dysfunction, frequent diarrhea, shortness of breath, and weight gain.
As an epilogue to this article, I would like to draw your attention to the basic fact that there is always a price for everything. All you have to do is just look carefully! Now, it is up to you if you still want to muk-the-bang!
