September 15, 2016

Watching people eat — on the internet — is big in South Korea and coming to the U.S.

Bloomberg reports.
Dubbed “social eating,” the practice is popular in South Korea... It’s a difficult pastime for people in the U.S. to initially grasp, he acknowledged, but he said it’s gaining traction, along with rising demand for non-gaming content. Disbelief about the growth potential for Twitch, a platform for watching people play video games, has taught him not to discount something he doesn’t personally understand, [said Twitch Chief Executive Officer Emmett Shear].
Here's a video from a couple years ago showing a woman who makes $9,000 setting up a big feast for herself in front of the computer and letting people watch.



It seems to have something to do with comforting people who are out there somewhere eating alone... or who are refraining from eating and substituting eating vicariously.

ADDED: I don't know how related that might be to listening to people eat — for ASMR purposes (Autonomous sensory meridian response) — like this.

23 comments:

CJinPA said...

Wait, wait wait. The last post was about watching someone eat, and you find another story about watching someone eat - and it's current? It wasn't like you found an old story on the weird South Korean fad.

I doff my cap.

BarrySanders20 said...

Asian reality entertainment differs from the stuff that is popular here, though this is internet based content, not TV.

For example, this Japanese TV show never caught on here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fA4PxJkthOY

Maybe with a Hillary presidency it will be more popular.

n.n said...

Culinary consumption is a competitive contest.

Sprezzatura said...

That massive spread of food reminds me of the Korean gals I've hung w/.

They made insane meals for me. Lots of dishes. Good, too.

Amexpat said...

Sort of reminds me of Nigella Lawson softcore food porn. But she was making food, eating it is more arousing.

n.n said...

No, this is not about competition; although that is a popular past time. This is virtual voyeurism which already has a minority and maybe progressive following in America. Transsocial.

traditionalguy said...

Preparing and eating food together is the social activity that we social animals Work The Hardest at doing. Eating alone is for a tired traveler in a foreign land and hermits.

You have to love that guy on the Dias at the New York Economic Club sitting behind Trump. He was eating diligently for an hour. If Trump had gotten through in 30 minutes, I bet he would have kept on eating alone in an empty room.

Are the Media Slander Trump artists still repeating the narrative that he eats commoner fast foods so he cannot be as healthy as her Highness .

Lyle Smith said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

So Microsoft will create a virtual table surface that lets you Skype to other peoples dinner tables? Then you can socialize with them while you eat?

It would infer from the video that a coffee house retired law professor could leverage $9,000 a month easily in South Korea by purchasing and consuming coffee and pastries in a live stream.

Lyle Smith said...

Eating a meal or food is already a popular genre of ASMR on YouTube.

Lyle Smith said...

ASMR, I think, can be triggered by either listening or watching, or both. This Korean thing might be something else but I see some similarities. A lot of ASMR content is just watching people do something or talk about something.

Eddie said...

My girlfriend's 4 year old daughter loves to watch youtube videos of kids (and adults) playing with baby dolls. My 13 year old son, along with many other boys, watch people play and comment on video games.

And I've heard that some adults like to watch videos of other adults having sex.

Unknown said...

So the guy at the Trump speech missed his chance to make a little cash?

As for Asian entertainment, there is s Japanese game show where people watch and bet on cats who are dragging huge fish around- it is strangely hilarious.

Darrell said...

The Korean show is really about sex. It's always about sex. When it's smuggled into North Korea, though, it's about food.

mockturtle said...

Next big thing will be watching people vomit. Whee! What fun.

Big Mike said...

I predict that the next fad will be watching people crap in a solid gold toilet. Remember! You read it here first.

Known Unknown said...

I wrote a short film in college about a man who was a professional eater. Not a Joey Chestnut-type but a guy in competitions judged by panels on how "well" he ate — his manners, his motions, his chewing abilities, etc.

Of course, his personal life was a disaster, and he was involved in a bribing scandal before making the comeback in the story.

MacMacConnell said...

This might just be South Korean propaganda being piped into the starving North.

Bill said...

Well, if you want to see Korean girls' reactions to various cuisines, see
https://www.youtube.com/user/Halfandhalf83

Michael The Magnificent said...

ASMR experience while watching Björk talk about how a TV works. She hasn't have a clue, but she's so cute doing it, and the timbre and accent of her voice just sends those shivers down my spine.

mikee said...

I never made it through My Dinner With Andre, and now you expect me to waste time on this?

walter said...

Eat your heart out.

Bad Lieutenant said...

Ann, your "like this" looks and sounds like reverse slo-mo of an anus spewing diarrhea. I don't know what ASMR is, but if that's ASMR, ASMR is very bad.