K-celebs Love Mukbang!

By Jae-Ha Kim
Kocowa.com
March 3, 2021

Mukbangs — or eating broadcasts — are a big part of YouTube, with millions of people watching others eat. But did you know that some of your favorite Korean celebrities also celebrate their love of food by treating their fans to the occasional mukbang here and there? They are so good at making everything look mouth-wateringly delicious that it’s difficult to not eat along with them.

Here are a few of our favorites:

Kim Hee Chul (“Delicious Rendezvous“)

Is there anything this idol, actor and emcee can’t do? Cooking with (and for) South Korean chef Paik Jong Won, Hee Chul proves that he’s quite the gourmand, with a taste for cooking and enjoying delicious food. When he perfects something like a spicy ramyeon dish and everyone raves about it, he points out how nervous he was serving it. What I really love about his comments is that he points out little nuances that some other mukbangs leave out. He talks about the flavor of the seasoning as much as he does the main dish.

Na Eun and Gun Hoo (“The Return of Superman“)

“My Love From the Star” made chimek — an abbreviation for chicken and maekju (beer) — famous. But Jun Ji Hyun’s got some competition when it comes to making fried chicken look delicious. Little Na Eun eats the small fried chicken pieces with gusto, showing her appreciation for every delicious crunch. Her little brother, Gun Hoo, at first just watches, before enjoying his baby bird-size bites. I completely understood when Na Eun complained that her dad ate too much of their meal. When it comes to fried chicken, the more the better!

Hong Jin Young and Sun Young (“My Little Old Boy“)

Trot singer Jin Young and her sister, Sun Young, share their lives with viewers as they eat, shop and discuss life’s issues … such as Sun Young’s desire to lose weight. Actually, whether she truly wants to lose weight or feels forced to by society’s expectations of women is debatable. At times, the amount of food she eats seems forced — almost as if the producers said, “OK, Sun Young, let’s have you eat a little more.” For instance, when they’re at a PC bang (computer room), she orders a large bowl of noodles and everyone marvels that she’s eating again. But she shares most of it and leaves leftovers, indicating that she wasn’t truly hungry. While I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the sisters eat all of their tasty meals — and seeing an ajumma grilling Jin Young about whether she’s dating Kim Jong Kook (“Running Man“) in real life — I didn’t care for the insensitivity of some of the panelists watching video. The siblings are eating the same amount, but since Jin Young is slender and Sun Young isn’t, most of the comments (she has such a healthy appetite; she’s drinking two sodas at breakfast; oh, she’s eating again) about food consumption are directed at Sun Young.

Hwasa (“Home Alone“)

We’ve all heard about how strict diets can be for idols, who have to remain thin and always look their best. So when I see an idol — especially a female singer — really enjoying a meal, it warms my heart. Hwasa (Mamamoo, Refund Sisters) obviously is too busy to tackle on another project, but if she were to start her own mukbang channel, she would excel at it. An adventurous foodie, she has a soft spot for organs and loves gopchang (small intestines). I don’t. But she made the barbequed entrails, fried rice and gopchang jjigae (stew) look so delicious that I wanted to eat them, too. And that’s what a talented mukbanger does.

Kang Daniel (“It’s Dangerous Beyond the Blankets“)

Celebrities are like all of us. When we’re hungry, we can’t function. After filming two back-to-back shows, Daniel said he was super hungry and needed to eat. So he made two servings of jjajangmyeon (noodles with black bean sauce). He was so hungry that he dropped the dry noodles in before the water had boiled. He rectified that and whiled away the time by eating some gummy bears. Ha ha! And like most Koreans, he couldn’t eat his noodles without a side of kimchi. Daniel ate while he played on his Nintendo Switch and seemed thoroughly satisfied after his quick and easy meal.