Korean Job Discussion Forums

[cmxc]

I visited the drudgereport this morning and was shocked to see a front page link to this article about a growing trend here in Korea:
'Gastronomic voyeurism' growing trend in SKorea...
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/oddnews/this-lady-earns-more-than--9-000-a-month-by-eating-food-in-front-of-a-webcam-202747866.html;_ylt=AwrBJR6PwuZSUkQA.23QtDMD

Basically, some (attractive) Korean females will set up a web cam and film themselves eating Korean food for 3 hours.
Supposedly one woman is already making close to 10 million won per month using her web cam to show herself eating a ton of Korean food for 3 hours+ per day.

Now, since I first came to Korea a long time ago I have always been slightly grossed out watching Korean TV. They almost always show people eating food on TV in Korea. I haven't watched American TV for a while, but outside of cable TV channels like Food Network, I don't think Americans show nearly as many celebs chowing down big bites on American TV.

On top of that, have you noticed that in Korean dramas, even the ones showing supposedly wealthy and upscale chaebol families, at the dinner table, so many Koreans feel it is completely OK to talk with a mouth full of food?

Why would people enjoy watching a Web cam feed of a stranger chowing down food for 3+ hours? I know that there was a time when Koreans honestly couldnt get enough to eat, which gave rise to the greeting in Korean "have you eaten?" 밥 먹었어? but this seems an entirely different beast.

[optik404]

In the grand scheme of things, watching someone eat food on the internet shouldn't be shocking to anyone.

[goreality]

Who wouldn't pay good money to watch a hardcore vegan eat their first steak?

[happiness]

Korean social mores arent matching up with modern fast paced reality. People arent with their tons of friends, always eating with other, and now getting married by age 27.

I also thinlk theres little intellectual stimulation here, thus the programming on tv reflects that. There isnt much left if people arent demanding vareity and new concepts, even just a little

This is the beginning of a kind of Korean "Hentai" but instead of sex, its their version of what a regular society "should be."

All they have to do is move "a little to the left" but alas....

[young_clinton]

[young_clinton]

[Hokie21]

I'm sure it's only a matter of time before the Korean gov't bans eating sites just like they've done with the porn sites.

[metalhead]

I'd rather watch the actual show than have to sit near Koreans who are watching the show - can you imagine having to sit next to a bunch of people for three hours, where the only (constant) comment they keep making is 'Oh wow, so delicious! Oh, so delicious! Waaah, delicious!' - suicide-inducing stuff right there.

[Mix1]

Most common comment from the guy viewers:
"Can you slurp the noodles again please?"

Seriously, who's watching this stuff? Funny they pawn it off like it's for people who don't want to eat alone. Eating alone? Can't have that! That's weird! I'll pull up a video on my phone of someone eating too so I won't be alone. That's not weird at all...

[joelove]

A maxim sometimes used for the Internet is rule 34 -- if it exists there is porn for it. Watching someone eat doesn't sound like porn, but if guys are paying for it, they want privacy to watch it, and it turns them on. A fetish I guess, and not a bad one. It's not hard to find people eating in public. But the restaurant workers really hate it when you masturbate at their tables. They gotta clean up after the customers, ya know.

[RangerMcGreggor]

As much as I love to go to "lolweird korea," pewdiepie is literally a multi millionaire from screaming over HappyWheels videos on the internet

[Norn Iron]

I've always thought Koreans have a weird psychological bond with food. They can't go 5 minutes without thinking about it.

I wouldn't be surprised if the Korean brain/mindset connects food and sex.

[Smithington]

There are few things more objectionable than watching (and listening to) Koreans eat. Makes me feel nauseous. When I go into a restaurant in Korea I make sure I find a seat as far away from Koreans as possible and sit with my back to them. Unfortunately, even given a distance of twenty feet, I can sometimes still hear them eat. Their eating culture is most unpleasant indeed, and can, in my opinion, only be described as primitive.

[NYC_Gal 2.0]

[catman]

They would probably pay to watch a foreigner eat too. Hmmmmm.........