Essay #4: Coming Back for Seconds, an Intro to Mukbang

 

Coming Back for Seconds:

An Intro to Mukbang Videos

    

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On an Instagram search conducted on 04/25/2025 for "mukbang", these videos turned up. I'm so surprised by the number of views on these videos: 6.2 million! Though there is a diversity in represented cuisine (Wingstop, noodles, a slab of sashimi, Five Guys), the quantity of food is the same - there's a lot of it. 

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Adjacent to ASMR are mukbang videos. This media originated in Korea. It’s a “livestream where a host eats while interacting with viewers” (Choe). Viewers interact with the mukbang creator through the chat; the creator can “talk back” through the camera. On YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, the form has shifted – creators upload pre-recorded videos, thus eliminating the “live” interaction aspect. 

Drawing on the language I used when writing about ASMR, mukbang actors cultivate an immersive performance for their viewers by holding props (food) up to the camera, eating loudly, and describing the flavors. Some actors do “storytimes”, telling autobiographical anecdotes as they eat. Others are silent. Some actors offer the “first bite” to their viewer as a kind of digital offering.

While many actors opt for fast-food out of convenience (Wingstop, Taco Bell, Cane’s, Crumbl), some actors make their own meals, including seafood boils, ramen noodles, enoki mushrooms, and birria tacos.

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In some of Nezz ASMR's talking mukbang videos, she offers viewers the "first bite" of her meal. In this video posted to YouTube on March 29th, 2021, Nezz eats Wingstop tenders, voodoo fries, and cajun corn. 

I'm mystified by the giant vats of dressing/dip that a lot of mukbang actors use to accompany their "feasts." 

ASMR Phan on YouTube posted a birria taco video on August 4th, 2021.

Zach Choi is a really popular mukbang creator on YouTube. Look at this "ASMR MUKBANG SPICY FIRE NOODLES CHALLENGE (Black Bean, 2X Nuclear, Carbonara, Curry, Cheese, Corn)" video posted on September 7th, 2022. Over 13 million views! 

I'm fascinated by the use of the gloves. Not every mukbang "actor"/artist will use gloves. The sets of these productions are so elaborate, even if they seem simple on the surface. Similar to the breakdowns made in my ASMR essays, camera angle, mukbang actors' appearances, the "look" of the food itself, and the food accessories (plates, utensils, etc.) all function to create a multisensory, immersive experience.

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The slurping, crunching and gulping in a mukbang video brings it close to ASMR territory: still, it feels distinct from ASMR because of “storytimes” and actors’ tendencies to speak in full-bodied voices rather than in whispers (a hallmark of ASMR content). Mukbang videos feel messier, even though both genres center around pleasure– where mukbang is concerned with physical hunger and satiation, ASMR focuses on visual-sonic aesthetic pleasure. Still, the end goal is entertainment and satisfaction.

My own experience with mukbang is limited. I’m not a fan, but I’m not a hater. Mukbangs pop up on my feed, and I do stop to watch them – but I never seek them out. Users like @jellybeansweets on Instagram often lure me in because of the comments section (sometimes, I’m more interested in media commentary than the media itself). In times of high stress, like mid- or end-of-semester checkpoints, I find myself watching reels of beautiful women eating fried chicken – jarring, considering I’m pescetarian and haven’t eaten fried chicken in ten-ish years.

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Instagram user @janemukbangs often pops up on my feed. This screenshot was taken from a Wingstop mukbang posted November 12th, 2024.

I feel sad for Instagram user @jellybean.sweets. Her comments are often flooded with "haters", but I think her vibe is sweet. This screenshot was taken from an In-N-Out mukbang posted to Instagram on April 10th, 2025.

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But even if I’m not a voracious consumer of the content, there are countless loyal mukbang watchers who are. Like ASMR, it’s wildly popular. On YouTube, mukbang actors like @ZachChoi (32.5 million subscribers) are consistently met with high likes and views. What about this content form keeps people coming back for seconds? And why does the Internet like to watch people eat?

In my next suite of essays, I’ll draw on the works of Douglas, Choe, and Wang to further explore mukbang.

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For Claire: Word count is 400.

Citations and Scholarly Stuff:

CHOE, HANWOOL. “Eating Together Multimodally: Collaborative Eating in Mukbang, a Korean Livestream of Eating.” Language in Society, vol. 48, no. 2, 2019, pp. 171–208. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/26847787. Accessed 25 Apr. 2025.