So what\u2019s the appeal \u2013 both for the person doing it and the millions watching? There are currently six million videos on TikTok with the Mukbang hashtag. It\u2019s video after video of foodie influencers<\/a>, some with millions of followers, biting into various-textured food on camera, the mic catching the sounds of their noisy slurps and crunches. Some of the combinations are unexpected and even unappetising \u2013 but many people say they can\u2019t look away.<\/p>\n It started in 2009. Mukbangers in South Korea called \u201cbroadcasting jockeys\u201d would make scheduled nightly shows where they ate their main meal enthusiastically to camera via live stream. This phenomenon took off, with Mukbang stars making shedloads of money from fans paying them large \u201ctips\u201d to watch them eat.<\/p>\n There are viewers who find Mukbang erotic, so many creators have switched from mainstream social media to OnlyFans<\/a>. As with most things on social media, people start to outdo each other, with volumes of food becoming dangerously large. The viral appeal switched from people loving the calming nature of it to wanting to be shocked and grossed out.<\/p>\n The consequences are real. In July 2024, Pan Xiating, a famous Mukbang creator, died during a 10-hour live stream after consuming more than 10kg of food. An autopsy revealed her stomach was severely distended and filled with undigested food, leading to a stomach rupture.<\/p>\n Dongz Apatan from the Philippines, a 38-year-old creator, suffered a severe haemorrhagic stroke shortly after broadcasting himself eating mega-volumes of fried chicken and rice. In March, Efecan Kultur, a 24-year-old creator from Turkey, died from severe obesity-related complications<\/a> after being hospitalised for three months, bedridden and completely immobilised.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve had a morbid fascination with eating challenges since I first saw the pie-eating contest in the early 80s film Stand By Me, where they reminisced about a chubby kid, Young Master David Hogan or \u201cLard Arse,\u201d taking part in a pie-eating contest amidst much fattist humiliation. Face down in fruit pies, the contestants chow down at speed to devour blueberry pie after blueberry pie. As one of the most gratuitous acts of public revenge, \u201cLard Arse\u201d pukes his guts up all over his bullying counterparts to set off a puking frenzy \u2013 \u201ca barfarama\u201d. America had introduced me to some of its weird customs and I thought it was brilliant viewing.<\/p>\n As a teenager who never slept, late-night TV offered me so much comfort. Channel 4 in the 90s was seriously weird<\/a>. These late nights introduced me to Japanese endurance challenges, where participants endured extreme physical and psychological strain. It was the first place I saw people swallowing whole hotdogs in buns for laughs.<\/p>\n Then in the late 2000s, \u201cdude food\u201d landed with Man vs. Food, where host Adam Richman entered extreme eating challenges while travelling around America. Standouts included a 30,000-calorie feast, where he had to eat a 72oz steak with a monstrous prawn cocktail, baked potato, salad and roll within an hour; and a whopping 26lb, 50-inch pizza<\/a> (a large one is normally 18 inches) loaded with toppings. After almost five years, Richman stepped down from the show amid health rumours<\/a>.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve often wondered how I would fare at these challenges.<\/p>\n Some of my job can feel like one \u2013 I\u2019ve done two tasting menus in a day, eaten terrible food for work, and once had 34 oysters for this column. My appetite is pretty insatiable<\/a> and I\u2019m fiercely competitive, but eating at speed and simply for volume in limited time? That\u2019s another thing entirely.<\/p>\n London\u2019s not famous for eating competitions in the same way America is, but the Red Dog Saloon is doing a burger-eating<\/a> competition: as many as you can in 10 minutes, for a cash prize of up to \u00a35,000.<\/p>\n On the way to the restaurant, my friend and I guess how many I\u2019ll get to in 10 minutes. He guesses six, I guess five. We speak of technique \u2013 separating the burger into bits or squashing it \u2013 but the restaurant says the people who succeed just wolf it down. Five picture-perfect cheeseburgers appear. You already know the rest.<\/p>\n The next day, I try Mukbang \u2014 ie eating with maximum sound effects on camera. I make the Korean dish budae jjigae or \u201carmy stew,\u201d a fusion recipe left from the American soldiers during the Korean War. It\u2019s two packs of noodles in a spicy broth, with lots of processed meat toppings like Spam, frankfurters, and lots of cheese. Thankfully this is about the sound, technique and volume as opposed to timing and I think I\u2019m going to do well.<\/p>\n The technique shown on social media involves eating such a big bite that you don\u2019t have any space in your mouth. The noodles are piping hot, both in temperature and in searing spice heat, and I want to spit them out again, but they are well and truly wedged into my gob. I feel like I am going to choke but I manage to get them down. <\/p>\n Next bite, I eat a cheese mochi, which is really fun \u2014 perfect ASMR crunch and slurpy cheese pull. Then I try to see if I can slurp up a whole hotdog. I can\u2019t, and have to spit it out.<\/p>\n The whole thing is a disaster and not enjoyable. It gets boring very quickly \u2013 having to be so considered in how you are eating<\/a> and making sure you get all the right moves. I hit full to the point of defeated about a third of the way through, feeling gross.<\/p>\n As Mukbangs grow in popularity, dietitians are expressing concern about the potential impact of this trend on its audience\u2019s eating habits. The more extreme videos could encourage some viewers to overeat<\/a>, avoid certain foods or fail to eat the various nutrients their bodies need.<\/p>\n A person with a restrictive eating disorder could use the videos to fulfil the sense of eating without consuming any food.<\/p>\n![\"ASMR](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/SEI_262024104.jpg\")
There is enough Mukbang out there \u2013 the world certainly doesn\u2019t need me (Photo: YouTube)<\/p>\n