'Mukbang' Content on TikTok Reaches 5.8 Billion Views
Popular Mukbang Influencer Has 6 Million Subscribers
"Backdoor Advertising Effect Is Huge... Regulation Will Be Difficult"
[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Saeng-hye] Starting September 1st, the Fair Trade Commission's regulations on undisclosed advertisements (advertisements not disclosed as such to consumers) related to YouTube "Mukbang" (eating broadcasts) are set to begin. However, YouTubers are showcasing Mukbang content on TikTok, a regulatory blind spot, without sponsorship disclosures, sparking anticipated controversy. To make matters worse, the Fair Trade Commission's guidelines on undisclosed advertisements remain unclear, further increasing confusion.
As YouTube's undisclosed ads are blocked, TikTok rises= On the 18th, Mukbang content uploaded on the Chinese video-sharing app TikTok reached an astonishing 5.8 billion views. Various genres of posts are gaining popularity, from Mukbang ASMR (Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response) maximizing sound effects to Mukbangs centered on specific foods like chicken, ramen, and salmon, as well as quirky Mukbangs. Popular Mukbang influencers on TikTok such as Meoksna, Dona, Suni Eomma, and Ttidonggap-hyung have subscriber counts reaching over 6 million.
The problem is that, like YouTube, it is difficult to determine whether TikTok Mukbangs involve undisclosed advertisements or product placements (PPL). Most influencers only mention specific brands as hashtags, with no explicit sponsorship or advertisement disclosures. Since TikTok channels are based on short 15-second videos, Mukbangs are intense and brief. The increasing use of various soundtracks and augmented reality (AR) filters has made it even harder to identify advertisements.
The impact is enormous. TikTok currently operates in 150 countries and supports 75 languages. It has approximately 800 million users. According to app data provider Sensor Tower, TikTok was the most downloaded app globally in the first half of this year with 620 million downloads. Especially popular among Generation Z (young people born from the mid-1990s to early 2000s), TikTok allows video creation without professional editing skills and features a user-friendly interface that records videos vertically without rotating the smartphone. According to TikTok, Korea's Mukbang has become a new culture recognized worldwide by the media as a proper noun "Mukbang."
Growing undisclosed ads exceed 10 million KRW per case= Given this situation, the dining industry has already jumped into PPL and undisclosed advertisements targeting TikTok. A dining industry official said, "Recently, many dining companies have been sponsoring TikTok influencers," adding, "Sponsorship fees on TikTok easily exceed 10 million KRW, similar to YouTube."
Another dining industry official stated, "Although the government has announced regulations on YouTube undisclosed advertisements, undisclosed ads are expected to continue covertly on similar SNS platforms like TikTok where regulations do not apply," and added, "Since paid promotional content reduces consumer interest and trust, both influencers and companies actually suffer from diminished promotional effects." Recently, even Facebook's subsidiary Instagram launched a video-sharing service called "Reels," similar to TikTok, making regulation of Mukbang undisclosed advertisements even more challenging.
Meanwhile, the Fair Trade Commission's revised "Guidelines on the Review of Indications and Advertisements Regarding Recommendations and Endorsements," set to be implemented next month, is causing confusion among users due to ambiguous guidelines. According to the revision, in live broadcasts, the fact that payment is received must be verbally mentioned every 5 minutes during reviews, but an example states that "if a 30-minute broadcast mentions sponsorship or advertisement only once in the middle, it is not allowed," making the standards unclear. It is also ambiguous how to define internet celebrities and influencers. There is no clear criterion on the scope of celebrities who influence consumers and should be subject to sanctions.
A distribution industry official said, "Especially, it is difficult to apply domestic laws and sanctions to global companies headquartered abroad such as YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook," adding, "Unless specific guidelines related to Mukbang are established, undisclosed advertisements in the dining industry are unlikely to disappear."
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