'Meokbang' bittersweet craze in Korea
Cho In-ah, better known by the nickname “Inah Zzang,” eats a large-sized pork cutlet during her eating broadcast, called “meokbang,” on the online video platform AfreecaTV.
By Kang Seung-woo
“Meokbang,” an online broadcast, during which a host consumes vast quantities of food, has been a big fad in Korea for years.
On the back of its huge popularity, a raft of live streamers, called broadcasting jockeys (BJs) here, make tens of thousands of dollars a month by just eating lots and loudly in front of webcams, leading more and more people to sign up to join in the binge eating.
“I make a maximum of 20 million won ($17,520) a month along with 5 million to 10 million won from broadcast-related advertisement fees,” said Cho In-ah, who goes by the nickname “Inah Zzang” on her broadcasts at AfreecaTV, a YouTube-style network that provides the live-streaming platform.
According to some reports, the top meokbang earners can rake in as much as $100,000 a month.
“Thousands of people would launch their own eating show a day and as far as I know, four-fifth of them quit the very next day,” she added.
Cho, 25, a fashion design major, was a bit of a late bloomer in the new internet craze as she began her meokbang career less than two years ago.
“After graduation, I ran a small-sized online shopping website and I encountered a meokbang clip while looking for ways to promote my site online,” she said.
“I started airing my own eating show out of curiosity in May 2015 because I like eating. But as my broadcasts drew more attention, I decided to make a living from it.”
The petite girl who weighs about 40 kilograms is known for eating 10 McDonald’s hamburgers at a time. In addition, she can consume bowls of really hot spicy noodles up to 11.
She believes that a growing number of those who dine alone have contributed to the rise of meokbang as an alternative way of experiencing community.
“People watch the eating show because I think they do not want to feel lonely while eating alone at home. For them, it can give them psychological comforts and the impression that the BJs are dining with them,” she said.
In terms of the payment, viewers voluntarily give money to BJs in the form of “star balloons,” a type of virtual currency worth 110 won (10 cents) each and they can be exchanged for Korean won, helping live streamers gain more recognition.
With the radical diet emerging as a food phenomenon, global media outlets are paying more attention.
“Some foreign media outlets, including CNN, have called me for an interview or a documentary,” Cho said.
Along with her, many other meokbang hosts have been covered by global media outlets.
In addition, there are many foreigners who are following the suit.
Hitches of binge eating
Amid the increasing participation in meokbang, just eating does not guarantee Cho enough star balloons — she must eat ferociously.
“In order to survive the intensifying competition, I am focused on eating voraciously,” she said.
“When I started my broadcast, my concept was not overeating, but the demand on me devouring great amounts of food is getting higher and I unavoidably have to eat lots.”
She is concerned that the voracity-centered trend may give rise to many negative responses to meokbang.
As a result, many are concerned about the medical consequences of such a practice and Cho admitted that many live streamers for meokbang as well as she are in poor health.
“Since I started this job (in 2015), I have gained weight and bloated, so family members are somewhat worried about my health, asking me to eat less food,” she said.
“Also, I can feel that my health is getting worse due to the tendency of binge eating.”
She added that eating stale food is another stressful job.
For meokbang hosts, they usually consume delivery food for their broadcasts and get them ready hours before live shows.
“Although I am now accustomed to them, it was a tough job at first,” said Cho.
Although it is a profitable job, Cho does not want to recommend it to her acquaintances — let alone her family members, she added.
Amid the growing health issues, Cho is now planning to change her broadcast concept a little bit that features talks, games and collaboration with other hosts.
“I think just eating is likely to hit a wall due to health issues, so I am trying to change its concept,” she said.