Is mukbang culture toxic? Viewers label food trend “disgusting”

Mukbang culture have been around for a long time, as a way for people to eat vicariously through others and have their mouths watering at food influencer’s takeout hauls.

However, after some concern was sparked for TikToker Jelly Bean Sweets, people have been questioning the darker side of mukbang content.

Calling it disgusting, unhealthy, and downright weird, people are asking why we enjoy watching these videos, and if there is a darker side to mukbang content.

Why do people find mukbangs satisfying?

MarketWatch

Mukbang culture originated in Korea in the early 2010s and was mainly posted on YouTube. The word combines the words for ‘eating’ and ‘broadcast’. Since then, it has become a huge worldwide phenomenon that’s reached new heights on TikTok.

Much like ASMR videos, mukbang content falls into the ‘oddly satisfying’ category for some people. Popular mukbang influencers, like Jane Mukbangs and Dylan McArthur have amassed over 100 million likes exclusively for their eating content that often involves huge amounts of food, messy eating, and lots of chewing noises.

People enjoy watching these videos for a multitude of reasons, and pyschologists at Nottingham Trent University found that people watched mukbang videos and engaged with mukbang content on a base level, as a source of entertainment.

However, they also identified that people use the videos to eat vicariously without potentially damaging their own health (known as ‘feeder content’), as well as a way to escape from reality and feel less lonely if they often dine alone.

“Watching people consume food online can make you feel more content and relaxed. By providing you with social connection and the chance to temporarily escape the hurdles of everyday life, it is no surprise that “mukbang” has become such a sensation over the years.” the study confirmed.

Are mukbangs becoming rage bait?

As is with most online trends, people go further and further to try and get more views and go viral, this has led mukbangs to become bigger, messier, and grosser.

TikTokers like Moe Eats have taken to filming mukbangs in their cars, and even sometimes deep fat fry already fried food like Big Macs, inside their vehicles.

This content has become more rage bait than satisfying as people watch in fear as people eat the messiest meals possible.

The grossest trend that people identified in 2024 was the candied Chipotle burrito, where people were dunking their burritos in vats of hot sugar and then chowing down on it after it dried like hard candy.

The darker side of mukbang culture

Viewers have started to pick up on this shift in mukbang content, and new opinions of the food trend are forming as people claim the content is becoming toxic.

Some people are concerned for the health of mukbang influencers who eat multiple fast food meals a day, and some are just sick of seeing these visceral videos on their FYP without a trigger warning:

“No literally what happened to the mukbangs where ppl eat at a normal pace and talk to u like ur their friend”, noted one user, who was missing the chatty vlog style of mukbang content that was first popularized on YouTube.

Another noted, “Like why are you dipping everything in canes sauce?” Alluding to the popular fast food trend of ordering a large drinks cup of sauce at Raising Cane’s.

“I loved the 45 min mukbangs where they’re with a friend enjoying a meal and talking about life. Now it’s someone crying alone in the dark stuffing their face,” mentioned one user, commenting on the darker turn these videos seem to have taken.

“I’m an avid mukbang lover, not because I watch them instead of eating but because the sound is genuinely calming. But when I see sauce dripping everywhere grrr, especially the squirming noises.” another said.

After a YouTuber died during an eating livestream in July 2024, people are becoming more and more aware of the darker side of this content that promotes overeating and social isolation.

However, these changing opinions aren’t hindering the popularity of mukbang videos on TikTok, as food influencers continue to rise in popularity. Whether people are watching these videos because they genuinely find them satisfying, or because they find them gross, still remains to be seen.