• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
• /
• v.26 no.2
• /
• pp.93-102
• /
• 2021

Objectives: This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between watching mukbang (eating broadcasts) and dietary and health behavior in adults who watch mukbang. Methods: The questionnaire was administered on a self-written basis through online and offline formats to 800 adults (400 men and 400 women). The contents of the survey consisted of general characteristics, mukbang viewing time per week, breakfast intake frequency, preference for menus when viewing mukbang, delivery food intake frequency per week, late meal intake frequency per week, and health behavior. The subjects were divided into three groups according to mukbang viewing time. Results: The body weight of viewers was significantly higher when mukbang viewing time was over 14 hours for both men and women. In particular, based on the BMI (body mass index), those who watched mukbang for more than 14 hours were found to be overweight. People with more than 14 hours of mukbang viewing time per week were found to prefer mostly carbohydrate-rich food and meat, while those with less than 7 hours of mukbang viewing time per week showed a higher preference for vegetables and fruits. An analysis of the frequency of breakfast eaten showed that the rate of skipping breakfast was the highest for those who watched mukbang for more than 14 hours per week, and the rate of eating breakfast daily was the highest in the case of fewer than 7 hours of viewing. In the case of high mukbang viewing time per week, the frequency of food delivery and night eating was high. When mukbang viewing time was high, the viewer's interest in health was low and the frequency of exercising too was low. Conclusions: Viewers with high mukbang viewing time showed undesirable health and eating behavior. Thus, it is believed that proper nutrition education on improving eating habits and raising the awareness of correct eating habits is necessary for such viewers.

• Journal of Information Technology Applications and Management
• /
• v.29 no.1
• /
• pp.71-82
• /
• 2022

Mukbang, which has established itself as a popular content, is now enjoying a sensational popularity not only in Korea but also around the world. This study investigated the effects of mukbang on consumers' vicarious satisfaction and desire increase in different emotional aspects. In addition, we analyzed how the positive and negative emotions of consumers affect the vicarious satisfaction and desire increase of mukbang. According to this purpose, 120 participants in their 20s and 30s who had experienced watching mukbang were encouraged to watch mukbang videos after inducing positive, negative, and neutral emotions, and the effects of vicarious satisfaction and increased desire depending on emotions were examined. As a result of the experiment, it was confirmed that vicarious satisfaction through mukbang was high in positive emotional states, and desire through mukbang was high in negative emotional states. This study has a theoretical contribution that empirically investigates the different effects of mukbang according to positive and negative emotions, and is expected to help derive marketing measures using consumer emotional states that have not been received enough attention in using mukbang as a marketing tool.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
• /
• v.14 no.3
• /
• pp.276-285
• /
• 2020

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: As watching food-related programs has become very popular among the young generation in Korea, this study sought to compare the Mukbang- and Cookbang-watching status of university students with their dietary life. SUBJECTS/METHODS: The participants were 380 students who were not majoring in food and nutrition at a university in Gyeonggi, Korea. Based on self- reports, the participants were grouped according to their frequency of watching Mukbang or Cookbang: frequent-watching (FW) 21.1% and 5.3%, respectively; moderate-watching (MW) 43.9% and 27.9%, respectively; and not-watching (NW) 35.0% and 66.8% respectively. RESULTS: In the FW group, up to 88.8% and 70.0% of participants reported watching Mukbang and Cookbang, respectively, ≥ 3 days/week. Almost all participants in the FW and MW groups reported intention to keep watching these shows. The most frequent watching route was "YouTube" and the most important criterion to select a program was "food". In the case of Mukbang, but not Cookbang, the participants in the FW group scored their diet significantly worse than those in the NW group (P < 0.05). A greater proportion of participants felt that watching Cookbang improved their diets rather than worsened them (14.3% vs. 0.8%, respectively), while more participants said that watching Mukbang worsened their diets rather than improved them (8.1% vs. 2.4%, respectively). In both cases, greater differences were shown in the FW groups compared to the MW groups (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01 for Cookbang and Mukbang, respectively). Moreover, the participants answered that Mukbang-watching prompted them to eat more of less desirable food, such as through eating out and purchasing convenient and delivered foods, whereas Cookbang-watching made them want to cook more of their own food. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggested that Korean university students who frequently watch Mukbang, but not Cookbang, may be a nutritionally vulnerable group that needs attention.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
• /
• v.20 no.9
• /
• pp.68-85
• /
• 2020

Mukbang, which appeared through the new media platform in the early 2000s, reflected the life of the young generation who had to eat alone in the face of deteriorating socio-economic conditions. Many young people were able to watch Mukbang together, and gain comfort by establishing a virtual community of everyday life with those who suffered similar difficulties. Since then, Mukbang has evolved into various forms, reflecting the society and also accommodating the needs of viewers, and now it has become a global phenomenon, not just in Korea. Early research focuses on the phenomenon as a bizarre side that appears in the early stages rather than the growth and change of Mukbang, and deals with it in a limited way. This article critically examines these limitations, and examines how the growth and development of Mukbang interacted with the social change process, and how the uniqueness of Mukbang could emerge in the characteristics of the new media. Through this, we will be able to look at the context of the growth of Mukbang as a global phenomenon and the impact on the legacy media.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
• /
• v.54 no.1
• /
• pp.104-115
• /
• 2021

Purpose: With increased time spent at home due to prolonged online classes, this study sought to determine how the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted the mukbang- and cookbang-watching patterns and dietary life of college students. Methods: All students majoring in food and nutrition (FN) at a college in Gyeonggi, Korea, participated in the survey in April 2019 (M/F = 36/106) and June 2020 (M/F -37/130) and data were analyzed using SPSS 26.0. Results: Compared to students responding in 2019, those in 2020 reported more frequently eating alone (p < 0.01) and cooking (p < 0.01), and evaluated their diets better regarding pleasant mealtimes atmosphere (p < 0.05), moderation in drinking (p < 0.05), and not consuming excessively delivery foods (p < 0.001), processed foods (p < 0.01), foods with animal fat (p < 0.01), salty foods (p < 0.01), and sweets (p < 0.01). Although the proportion of respondents who answered that they watched mukbang and cookbang at least occasionally did not change, greater proportions of respondents reported watching both genres frequently (p < 0.001, respectively) and spending less time/day in watching mukbang (p < 0.05) in 2020 vs. 2019. While they evaluated the effect of mukbang- and cookbang-watching on overall diet similarly, the proportion of respondents that reported feeling as though mukbang-watching prompted them to eat more of less-desirable foods decreased from 54.3% to 41.5% (p < 0.05). Diet improvement of participants due to COVID-19 resulted in that the association between frequent mukbang-watching and unhealthier dietary habits in 2019 was not shown in 2020. Conclusion: Our results suggest that the prolonged at-home stays due to COVID-19 might have improved many aspects of diet and decreased undesirable effect of frequent mukbang-watching in case of college students majoring in FN.

• Journal of Information Processing Systems
• /
• v.18 no.4
• /
• pp.470-479
• /
• 2022

Mukbang is a type of foodcasting where a host records or streams their eating rituals for audience consumption in live format. With origins in South Korea via the online broadcast genre found on Afreeca TV in the mid-2000s, the phenomenon has since found global popularity. Its development as a full-fledged genre is based on a communication culture that invites people to a meal rather than to talk to one another; viewers watch in silence as a host consumes a copious number of dishes from Korean gastronomy to fast food to other ethnic cuisine on display. An invitation to eat means the beginning of a public relationship that quickly turns to a private shared experience. This study analyzes several Mukbang video postings and makes use of Linden's culture approach model to provide a view toward a number of cross-cultural connections by Koreans and non-Korean audiences. Prior to the study, 10 Korean eating shows were selected and used as standard models. Korean Mukbang mainly consists of eating behavior and ASMR, with very few storytelling or narrative devices utilized by its creators. For this reason, eating shows make a very private connection. In other ways, this paper shows how 28 Mukbang-related YouTube contents selected by Ranker were evolving and examined through notions of acculturation and reception theory.

• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
• /
• v.26 no.12
• /
• pp.273-281
• /
• 2021

In this paper, we propose a ways how YouTube Mukbang content attributes affect favorability, satisfaction, and brand selection, and suggest to use YouTube Mukbang contents, and to propose a strategic marketing plan using YouTube at the food franchise. This study conducted survey on 218 people who had watched chicken Mukbang among YouTube Mukbang contents. Through previous studies, YouTube content attributes were classified into informativity, entertainment, reliability, and attractiveness. To verify the hypothesis of the study, single regression and multiple regression analysis were conducted for verifying the relationship between variables. Key results of the study are as follows. First, it was found that YouTube Mukbang content attributes had a positive relationship with favorability. Second, it was found that YouTube Mukbang content attributes had a positive relationship with satisfaction. Third, it was found that favorability had an effect on satisfaction. Fourth, it was found that favorability influenced brand selection. Fifth, it was found that satisfaction did not affect brand selection. Based on these findings, a strategic approach will be needed to increase users' favorability by providing attractive and accurate information through YouTube Mukbang contents and to continuously improve brand choices through continuous favorability to revitalizing YouTube marketing at the food franchise.

• Journal of Internet Computing and Services
• /
• v.24 no.6
• /
• pp.49-55
• /
• 2023

In this study, models for predicting the popularity of mukbang content on YouTube were proposed, and factors influencing the popularity of mukbang content were identified through post-analysis. To accomplish this, information on 22,223 pieces of content was collected from top mukbang channels in terms of subscribers using APIs and Pretty Scale. Machine learning algorithms such as Random Forest, XGBoost, and LGBM were used to build models for predicting views and likes. The results of SHAP analysis showed that subscriber count had the most significant impact on view prediction models, while the attractiveness of a creator emerged as the most important variable in the likes prediction model. This confirmed that the precursor factors for content views and likes reactions differ. This study holds academic significance in analyzing a large amount of online content and conducting empirical analysis. It also has practical significance as it informs mukbang creators about viewer content consumption trends and provides guidance for producing high-quality, marketable content.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
• /
• v.29 no.2
• /
• pp.156-170
• /
• 2024

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the association between how often Korean adolescents watch Mukbang and Cookbang videos and their dietary habits. Methods: Data from the 18th Korea Youth Risk Behavior Survey conducted in 2022 was analyzed for this study. The study included 51,850 middle and high school students and assessed various aspects, including demographics, frequency of watching Mukbang and Cookbang videos per week, dietary habits, health behaviors, and mental health factors. Results: Nearly a third (29.3%) of Korean adolescents watched Mukbang and Cookbang videos one to four times a week, while 13.5% watched them more than five times weekly. Females, those with lower academic achievement, and those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds were significantly more likely to be frequent viewers (P < 0.001). Increased viewing frequency was associated with poorer dietary habits. Adolescents who watched more frequently were less likely to eat breakfast and consume fruits and milk, while their consumption of fast food, high-caffeine drinks, sugary drinks, and late-night snacks increased (P < 0.001). Higher viewing frequency correlated with increased feelings of stress, depression, and loneliness (P < 0.001). Logistic regression analysis confirmed these associations. More frequent viewers were significantly less likely to eat breakfast (odds ratio (OR), 0.63; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.58-0.68), and more likely to consume fast food (OR, 1.85; 95% CI, 1.69-2.02), high-caffeine drinks (OR, 1.43; 95% CI, 1.30-1.56), sugary drinks (OR, 1.54; 95% CI, 1.41-1.67), and late-night snacks (OR, 1.37; 95% CI, 1.25-1.51). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that frequent exposure to Mukbang and Cookbang content is linked to unhealthy dietary habits in adolescents. Educational programs may be necessary to mitigate the potential for these videos to negatively influence dietary choices.

• Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
• /
• v.28 no.4
• /
• pp.119-133
• /
• 2022

One of the most important current features of food related industry is the growth of food delivery service. Another notable food related culture is, with the advent of Youtube, the popularity of Mukbang, which refers to content that records eating. Based on these background, this study intended to focus on two things. First, we tried to see the impact of Youtube Mukbang and the sentiments of Mukbang comments on the number of related food deliveries. Next, we tried to set up the predictive modeling of chicken delivery order with machine learning method. We used Youtube Mukbang comments data as well as weather related data as main independent variables. The dependent variable used in this study is the number of delivery order of fried chicken. The period of data used in this study is from June 3, 2015 to September 30, 2019, and a total of 1,580 data were used. For the predictive modeling, we used machine learning methods such as linear regression, ridge, lasso, random forest, and gradient boost. We found that the sentiment of Youtube Mukbang and comments have impacts on the number of delivery orders. The prediction model with Mukban data we set up in this study had better performances than the existing models without Mukbang data. We also tried to suggest managerial implications to the food delivery service industry.