earticle

영어

These days, mukbang (internet-based eating show) is popular, using the medium of the internet to broadcast content to the world. Mukbang is one of the emerging internet cultures for young people. On YouTube, mukbang is one of the most popular viewed content, alongside kids’ content and video games. The popularity of mukbang is especially high among youths in their 20’s in Korea and China. However, some people share concerns about mukbang, because watching mukbang content that repeats binge eating can negatively affect users' eating habits and health. Meanwhile, there are not much critical research on the negative effects of mukbang on these youths. And even these few criticisms have the error of underestimating the critical thinking ability and autonomy of users. So, our study aims to underscore how users perceive mukbang as having negative effects in their daily lives. In other words, this study will investigate the relationship between ‘mokbang viewing motivation’ and ‘use behavior’ and how they negatively affect 'users’ schoolwork', 'offline interpersonal relationship' and 'self-management'. Furthermore, the researchers included "others’ approval" and "competition", among self-worth concepts as major psychological independence variables, considered as characteristics of 20’s youth in Korea and China. "Others’ approval" reflects the traditional collectivism of Eastern cultures. And "competition" reflects the characteristics of 20’s youths in the region whose daily lives are lived amidst fierce education competition between Korea and China. In conclusion, this study observed the following differences between 20s youths in Korea and China. First, in “viewing motivation" and "use behaviour" there is a recognizable negative impact on "users’ schoolwork" "offline interpersonal relationship" and "self-management" for both Korean and Chinese 20s youths, with statistically significant explanatory power. However, for South Koreans 20s, the control factors and self-worth factors did not have significant explanatory power over all of their dependencies. But, for those in their 20s in China, control factors and self-worth factors showed significant explanation for all dependencies. The significance of these results and the limitations of the study are discussed together in the conclusion.