“Mukbangs” are the latest sensation on social media video sites such as YouTube. Originating from South Korea, mukbangs are “eating shows” wherein the creator eats a meal in front of the camera for an audience. Originally, mukbangs were livestreamed; today, it is popular to pre-record mukbangs and upload them to YouTube.

Traditionally, mukbangers eat large quantities of unhealthy foods to entertain their audience. Some mukbangs also cross over in the ASMR category, meaning they eat while making sounds that create “tingles” in the viewer. They may do this by whispering throughout the mukbang, and/or chewing into an extremely loud microphone so the audience can enjoy chewing, crunching, and drinking sounds.

Contrary to popular belief, mukbang does not have sexual connotations. Rather, many people have vicarious enjoyment from watching the mukbanger eat large quantities of delicious-looking foods. Many dieters watch mukbangs to satisfy cravings for food without actually eating.

That said, there are many different types of mukbangs, and many different mukbangers with different styles, from all over the world. While mukbangs originated in South Korea, they have become extremely popular in the United States in recent years. Even mainstream YouTubers sometimes do mukbangs to satisfy their audience.

Here are a few of the best mukbangers:

UNITED STATES

Nikocado Avocado: Nikocado definitely fits the bill when it comes to large amounts of junk food. Nikocado started out as a vegan mukbanger, but has recently switched to eat anything delicious. He typically eats large amounts of fast food for his audience. Nikocado is sometimes called the “crying mukbanger” because he is open about his personal life and dramas, and also occasionally talks about YouTube community drama on his channel, making for extremely entertaining videos.

Divine Munchies: A former mukbanger who changed her username to “Star Brady” recently, you will want to look through her older videos to find her most popular mukbangs. She has lost some popularity since turning away from mukbangs. However, when she was doing mukbangs, she was mainly eating vegan food. She has a very satisfying way of eating big bites, and clearly enjoys her food very much. Recommended!

Trisha Paytas: A longtime YouTuber with a near-cult following, Trisha has done many different types of content, so you will have to look for the mukbangs. When she does mukbangs, she typically does medium-large amounts of food – more than most people might eat in one sitting, but nothing outrageous. Trisha also shares about her life, which is rich with drama, love life issues, and emotional breakdowns. Many people find this very interesting to watch, and fall in love with Trisha’s very specific “glam” aesthetic quickly.

Stephanie Soo: Stephanie has an extremely interesting format. While eating large amounts of food with her fiance (who sits behind the camera and is never seen), she recounts true crime stories and conspiracy theories. A gifted storyteller, it is just as satisfying to hear her dark tales, as it is to watch her eat delicious food. She usually eats either fast food, or Korean food, paying homage to her (and mukbang’s) Korean roots.

MeeshLA: While she doesn’t post as frequently as some other mukbangers, her food choices and eating methods make up for it. Eating medium amounts of rich junk food while telling stories about her life, Meesh comes off as a very sweet and sincere young woman who mukbangs as a hobby. A refreshing departure from the daily uploads and “content factory” feel of many other mukbang channels.

Erik the Electric: Erik the Electric is a competitive eater whose strength is quantity. In his videos, he eats truly unbelievable quantities of food (often junk food) for the audience. He is popular for food challenges (for example, when restaurants issue challenges to the public), and calorie challenges – for example, he may attempt to eat 40,000 calories in one day and film it. This is extremely satisfying to many viewers, as was his recent collaboration with Nikocado Avocado.

Mommy Tang: This vegan mukbanger is BACK after a long hiatus! She does a cookbang format, meaning she spends a considerable amount of each video showing her audience how to make the food she is about to consume. Full of personality in confidence (and with two adorable daughters who come in and out of frame from time to time), Mommy Tang is a classic mukbanger to watch!

HungryFatChick: This YouTuber is very controversial, due to being a morbidly obese mukbanger who films herself eating large quantities of junk food. While some see her as a body-positive representation of the fat acceptance movement, others feel she is a bad example for young people, and is glamorizing poor health habits. Whichever side you fall on, her subscriber count continues to grow.

Morpheus ASMR: Brand new to the YouTube game, Morpheus AMSR’s subscribers have nicknamed him “Grandpa,” as he is considerably older than the usual mukbanger. As an ASMR channel, Morpehus (a.k.a. Tom) whispers throughout his videos, and eats normal-meal quantities of food (sometimes homemade, sometimes take-out), giving the feeling that you are eating at the dinnertable with your grandfather. His subscriber count has recently blown up as viewers have realized how sweet and enjoyable his videos are to watch.

Veronica Wang: Veronica is controversial in the YouTube community. On one hand, her subscribers enjoy her “cookbang” format: first, she cooks the food, then, she eats it, with a focus on big bites. She also eats a lot of creamy pasta, which is widely enjoyed by mukbang viewers. On the other hand, Veronica is known for her bad attitude, often complaining in a way that sounds very entitled. She is also known for allegedly making legal claims against other creators who have criticized her, which gives her the appearance of being spoiled. humorless, petty, and closed-off to criticism.

OUTSIDE U.S.

Shugi: A very old-school mukbanger, Shugi (also known as Shoogi) has been filming mukbangs since before they were popular in the states. This Seoul resident typically eats Korean junk food such as ramen or tteokbokki (also spelled ddukbokki). Shoogi livestreams, then uploads the livestreams to YouTube, giving her videos an interactive and very personable feel. She is also simply amazing to watch – she eats a huge amount of food for someone as petite as she is! If you want to get a feel for what a real mukbang looks like, check out Shugi. (You will only find English subtitles on a few of her videos, but in our opinion she is entertaining to watch whether you speak Korean or not.)

Dorothy: Eats similar food to Shugi, with more focus on noodles. Most satisfying to many people is the South Korean mukbanger’s eating style – she has a very specific way of chewing very large bites of food that is satisfying to many. She also has an extremely high spice tolerance, and will often film “spicy challenge” eating shows where she reacts very little to extremely spicy food. A very popular South Korean mukbanger, she emanates the spirit of Seoul, typically has no English subtitles (but “delicious” is a universal language!) and is a great mukbanger to watch if you’re getting a feel for the traditional format.

Peggie Neo: This ultra-positive mukbanger from Singapore is a joy to watch. She has an extremely happy attitudes, and eats huge quantities of food – generally takeout or fast food. You can watch her eat entire pizzas followed by sushi and multiple burgers, without batting an eye. It’s also very interesting to see the differences between American fast food, and Singaporean – for example, you won’t believe what flavors Pizza Hut makes in other parts of the world that we can’t get here!

Beard Meats Food: Like Erik the Electric, Beard Meats Food is a competitive eater. However, there are two major differences: #1, Beard resides in the UK has a thick accent. #2, Beard’s strength is speed, meaning he can eat large quantities of food in a very short amount of time. He’s done 5-figure calorie challenges in under an hour, and typically times all of the challenges he takes on during his video. At times, it appear Beard Meats Food does not even chew. This is very interesting to watch – not to mention, Beard seems like an extremely likeable guy. (Bonus: He also sometimes posts “post-challenge” videos that show how much weight he has gained after a large mukbang… very interesting to watch!)

SAS-ASMR: This mukbanger from Thailand has an English-speaking ASMR mukbang channel. She eats “trending” foods that lend themselves to satisfying chewing sounds (like honeycomb or candied strawberries), along with traditional Asian mukbang foods like noodles – with very loud chewing and whispering sounds, without ever showing the top half of her face. If you are truly interested in a visceral, involved eating experience that appeals to all of your senses, check out SAS-ASMR. While there are many who imitate her, she is the undisputed queen of this format.

Hong Sound: Much like Shugi, South Korean Hong Sound gravitates towards popular, modern Korean street foods, such as noodles, fried chicken, and tteokbokki. Hong has a particularly satisfying way of slurping his food which makes many people enjoy watching him eat. He also often does spicy-food challenges, wherein he sweats and laughs while the spice takes him over. With his very positive personality and delicious-looking food, he’s a strong recommendation.

Prumir: Perhaps the most comical creator on our Non-U.S. list, Prumir talks very little throughout his Korean mukbangs, but his face speaks a thousand words. His mic is turned up for strong ASMR eating sounds, and he often eats large quantities of spicy food, through which he shows a mixture of enjoyment and pain on his face. This comedic eating routine is gaining followers quickly, and is worth taking a look at.

Do you enjoy watching mukbangs? Leave a comment below and let us know if YOUR favorite mukbanger made the list!