Xi Jinping’s government is imposing restrictions on videos of “influencers” – like the famous South Korean “Muk Sna” – who make a living making videos where they eat large plates of food. Soon these videos will be totally banned in China
The Korean influencer known as “Muk Sna” or “a.bite” ‘has won fans around the world for the way she presents and eats beautifully decorated dishes. But your business and that of many others may have its days numbered. President Xi Jinping, who had already announced a campaign against food waste, wants to ban the release of these videos in China soon, reports the BBC.
For the famous “Muk Sna”, this prohibition would represent a big breach in his business of self-promotion and sponsorships that arise from it. Almost daily, her more than six million followers (TikTok only) can see her eating beautiful meals on huge platters. “I started posting on TikTok over two and a half years ago,” she says. “And I created and ate dishes in 270 videos in the past year and a half.” Interestingly, the South Korean influencer is in shape, as if she had only eaten lettuce.
Muk Sna is part of a growing number of influencers from two major Internet trends, called Mukbang and ASMR. Mukbang originated in South Korea and can be freely translated as “transmission of eating”. ASMR (or, in free translation, “autonomous meridian sensory response) are videos with noises and sounds that provoke a physical response in viewers.
For some people, the idea of watching and listening to someone eating large quantities of food in front of the camera may seem repulsive. But the trend, which started about 10 years ago, has become extremely popular in Asia.
It all started with a comment from the President, Xi Jinping, who asked everyone to “fight against food waste”. Food scarcity is a growing concern in China in the face of the continuing trade war with the United States and the recent floods that have affected local crops.
The campaign was launched after Xi stated that Covid-19 sounded the alarm “about food waste.” Xi Jinping added that China had to “maintain a sense of crisis in relation to food security”. Chinese state-run media channels quickly came into play. The CCTV news network started reporting on critics of the mukbangers, casting a critical eye on these “influencers” who consumed mountains of food in live broadcasts.
