Mukbang Culture
Where it started and how YouTube changed it
Through the community and sub-communities that have been made through mukbang videos, people have been able to share their identity through different platforms to connect with others. Mukbang started as a community to help people feel a connection to others when eating.
Mukbang, which translates to eating broadcast, is a trend that began in South Korea in 2010 and started to spread globally around 2014. Mukbang began as a response to many Koreans feeling alone when eating. In Korea, dining is a social activity that is done with others. With many Koreans living alone and increasing loneliness in this digital age, they started doing live streams of them eating and talking about their day. The start of mukbangs was with live streams on a Korean platform called AfreecaTV because it allowed users to connect with the person leaving comments in real-time, asking them questions, or telling them to mix certain foods.
This trend took off with many also feeling alone and using mukbangs as a tool to feel less alone when eating lunch and dinner. A lot of the inspiration for mukbangs started with Korean cooking shows. Compared to American cooking shows, they spend more time describing their meal than showing the actual cooking process. Many also compare mukbangs to haul videos on YouTube since most mukbang…
