Pop Culture dictionary
mukbang
or mokbang (毹闺癌) [moo k bahng]
黑料网 does mukbang mean?
Starting in South Korea, 尘耻办产补苍驳听is a livestream of a host who binge-eats large quantities of food as they talk to their audience.
Where does mukbang come from?
惭耻办产补苍驳鈥�made up of the Korean words for “eating” (meokneun) and “broadcast” (bangsong)鈥�originated in South Korea in the late 2000s鈥�10s. Around this time, a segment on Korean TV variety shows followed guests around as they ate. The trend expanded onto the South Korean streaming site AfreecaTV, where videos of so-called broadcast jockeys, or BJs, before a camera with a table full of indulgent foods became popular.
During a mukbang broadcast, hosts converse with viewers and express their pleasure, giving the impression that they are eating together鈥�creating a social atmosphere very important to eating in Korean culture and which may help explain the popularity of mukbang in an age of digital isolation and social media. Other people may watch听mukbang听to vicariously enjoy food the viewer might not be able to enjoy themselves, for example due to dieting.
Further popularizing听mukbang was a 2011 episode of Anthony Bourdain’s听food and travel show听No Reservations, where Bourdain participates in a mukbang broadcast. In 2014, CNN featured an article on one of the most popular mukbang broadcasters, BJ The Diva. Some Westerners took to broadcasting mukbang on YouTube, including popular broadcasters Erik TheElectric, Nikocado Avocado, and Wendy of Wendy’s Eating Show. Streaming site Twitch.tv added a “Social Eating” category in June, 2016.
Examples of mukbang
Who uses mukbang?
Mukbang content can be referred to as mukbang videos, or simply mukbangs. As noted, the hosts of these broadcasts in Korea hold the title of BJ, or broadcast jockey.
A title for a broadcast will often include the type of food being eaten (e.g.,听Fast Food Mukbang听or Crazy Donut Mukbang.) Some mukbangs may also include storytelling from the host, called storytime, also specified in the title (e.g.,听Mukbang with Storytime). The hashtag “#mukbang” is used on social-media sites such as Twitter to talk about this kind of content.
A derivative of mukbang is cook-bang, which shows a host cooking food for the audience. It may then culminate in a mukbang.
Mukbang is sometimes criticized for the health risks and conspicuous consumption associated with the practice’s binge-eating.
Note
This is not meant to be a formal definition of mukbang like most terms we define on Dictionary.com, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of mukbang that will help our users expand their word mastery.