A trend called Muk Bang is emerging in South Korea, where foodies record themselves consuming huge amounts of food voraciously; these videos are then streamed live online which are watched by thousands of people. Koreans take a commonly used “#foodporn” to the next level, from taking Instagram pictures to broadcasting live eating.

The petit, pale-skinned Asian girl in the video is known as The Diva. She live streams herself gobbling down a table full of appetizing dishes and simply uploads it on a Korean online video network called AfreecaTV, where thousands of viewers pay to watch her eat.

The outbreak of such bizarre food fetishism has even expanded to become the main source of income for The Diva. She gets paid up to $9,000 per month just to consume massive amounts of food. She has reportedly gained 20 pounds since she began her foodie project. Some people, who are confused by the bizarre concept, criticize her, but she has no intention to stop.

“I get some really awful commenters…but at the end of the day the positive feedback outweighs the bad, so I am happy to continue,” The Diva told CNN.

Despite the label “#foodporn,” the video goes nothing further than literally eating food. Nothing explicit or sexual is presented in the video and not a single piece of clothing is removed. The hour long video consists solely of a girl slurping and savoring food while responding to thousands of comments that flood the live chat from the viewers online. So why has this fetish gone viral?

According to some viewers, the video image of The Diva eating and responding to her online messages serves as good company for anyone eating alone. The viewers receive gratifying sensations from watching others eat in order to escape the harsh reality of their loneliness.

“It feels as though I’m eating that much food with her,” one viewer commented on The Daily Beast, “I feel as though that’s what the show is about. And it’s probably comforting for people who eat alone.”

The outbreak of Muk Bang fetishism can also be a reflection of current social phenomena erupting in South Korea. Due to the development of online communication and rise of cellular technology, more and more people are willingly confined in their individual space. Rather than interacting personally, they much prefer to socialize behind computer screen through the medium of the internet.

An online research showed that in the past decade, the percentage of single-person household in South Korea has increased 13.4 percent. The trend of increasing lonely individuals shows no sign of slowing down. More people are speculated to hover over their screen and involve themselves with unique social fetishisms for years to come. 

 Read More at CNN

 

Follow Executive Producer Taiu Kunimoto on Twitter