The Meaning of Mukbang: What It Is and How To Use It

What does the word Mukbang mean, and why do people like watching this type of YouTube video? This article covers the meaning of mukbang.

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The word mukbang is a popular term on the internet. What does this word mean, and why do people enjoy watching mukbang videos so much? This article will tell you everything you need to know about the word mukbang and how it is used on the internet. 

What Does the Word Mukbang Mean?

A mukbang is a style of online video in which a person eats a large amount of food in one sitting. In a mukbang video, viewers watch a host binge eat numerous different types of foods in front of a camera, including seafood, fast food, pizzas, noodles, and more. This extreme eating is a popular trend online. 

Some of these content creators also do ASMR — or autonomous sensory meridian response — using their chewing or slurping while they eat. Some people enjoy these sounds, while others can’t stand to hear people’ eating. Some people broadcast mukbang videos in real-time while live streaming, while others prefer to post on social media platforms like their YouTube channel after they have edited the video. 

What Is the Origin of the Word Mukbang?

According to Dictionary, the word mukbang is a portmanteau of two South Korean words. The Korean word for eating, meokneun, and the Korean word for broadcast, bangsong, were spliced together to create the word mukbang. Therefore, the direct translation of mukbang is eating broadcast or eating show. 

The concept of mukbang videos started with segments on Korean variety shows and quickly branched off onto South Korean streaming sites. There, broadcast jockeys — also known as BJs — began the trend of eating immense amounts of food while speaking to an audience who is likely eating alongside them. 

Some people may be puzzled as to why other people enjoy watching mukbang videos, but it may have something to do with the social aspects of eating in South Korean culture. This can also be amplified by a sense of digital isolation or wanting to live vicariously through the people eating. 

This trend had continued to expand around the world with popular YouTubers all throughout the East and West participating in the trend. This includes people like Bethany Gaskin, Yuka Kinoshita, BLovesLife, BangSong, Nikocado Avocado, MommyTang, and more. A popular streaming site that is usually used by gamers, Twitch, even added its own social eating video category in 2016.

What Are Other Translations of Mukbang?

We know that the term mukbang is a Korean word for eating broadcast. How can a person say the phrase eating broadcast in another language in order to clarify what they might mean when traveling? Read on to discover some helpful translations of the word mukbang.

  • Welsh: Bwyta Darlledu
  • Latvian: ēšanas raidījums
  • Malay: Makan siaran
  • Gujarati: પ્રસારણ ખાવાથી
  • Filipino: Eating broadcast.
  • Icelandic: Borða útvarpsþáttur
  • Kannada: ಪ್ರಸಾರವನ್ನು ತಿನ್ನುವುದು
  • Bulgarian: ядене на излъчване
  • Arabic: الأكل البث
  • Malayalam: പ്രക്ഷേപണം കഴിക്കുന്നു
  • Vietnamese: Ăn phát sóng.
  • Estonian: eetrisse söömine
  • Greek: Φαγητό
  • Norwegian: spise kringkasting
  • Danish: spiser udsendelse
  • Marathi: प्रसारण खाणे
  • Chinese (PRC): 吃广播
  • Bengali: খাওয়া সম্প্রচার
  • Finnish: syöminen lähetys
  • Slovak: Jesť vysielanie
  • Basque: Jateko emisioa
  • Indonesian: Makan siaran
  • Tamil: ஒளிபரப்பு சாப்பிடும்
  • Polish: Jedzenie transmisji
  • Portuguese (Portugal): Comendo transmissão
  • Hebrew: אכילה שידור
  • Lithuanian: Valgyti transliaciją
  • French: émission d’alimentation
  • Ukrainian: їжа трансляція
  • Urdu: کھانے کی نشریات
  • Serbian: Еате Емитовање
  • Japanese: 放送を食べる
  • Russian: Еда трансляции
  • Thai: การรับประทานอาหารการรับประทานอาหาร
  • Amharic: ስርጭት
  • Croatian: emitiranje
  • Catalan: Emissió de menjar
  • Spanish: emitido
  • Slovenian: jedo oddaja
  • German: Sendung essen.
  • Dutch: Eet-uitzending
  • Hungarian: étkezési közvetítés
  • Portuguese (Brazil): Comendo transmissão
  • Swahili: Kula matangazo.
  • Swedish: Äta sändning
  • Hindi: प्रसारण
  • Czech: Jíst vysílání
  • Italian: Eating Broadcast.
  • Telugu: ప్రసారం తినడం
  • Turkish: Yayış Yemek
  • Chinese (Taiwan): 吃廣播
  • Romanian: Mananca difuzare

What Are Other Types of YouTube Videos?

If mukbangs are not your preferred type of YouTube video, don’t fret! There are plenty of genres of YouTube video that you might enjoy, mentioned below. What kind of YouTube videos do you enjoy watching, and which types of videos are you excited to start watching?

Beauty Videos

One of the most popular categories of YouTube videos are beauty and fashion videos. In this genre, people will do hauls of makeup and skincare. They also perform makeup tutorials where they show viewers how to achieve certain looks.

Vloggers

Vlogging is another ridiculously popular genre of YouTube video. There are people who post videos that document their daily lives. Some of these include family vloggers who document their activities with their kids, while other people simply take their audiences around as they experience single life. Some vloggers travel for a living and document their time spent away from their home country.

Fitness

Fitness is another popular category of YouTube video. Especially during the pandemic, people look for guidance from a free source. Many people post free at home workout and dieting videos, and other people post things like their gym routine or journey.

Cooking

For people who are trying to learn how to cook but don’t know where to start, cooking and baking videos can be a great place to begin. People enjoy leaning to cook by watching someone perform different techniques, which can be easier than following a recipe. 

Conclusion

Overall, the term mukbang refers to a genre of online video in which people watch others eat an excessive amount of food. This trend started in South Korea and stams from the social eating culture of Korea but has since expanded all over the world. Do you enjoy watching mukbang videos, and do you have a favorite mukbanger?

Sources:

  1. Mukbang | Dictionary.com 
  2. Definition of mukbang | New Word Suggestion | Collins Dictionary 
  3. What is YouTube? | Techopedia