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www.groovekorea.com / November 2014 66 fOOD & DRINK Edited by Shelley DeWees (shelley@groovekorea.com) Story and photos by Haeryun Kang F ourteen-year-old Jung-pil Choi sets his daily alarm to catch BJ Bumfrica’s broadcasts. “It’s not fun eat- ing with family. We don’t talk when we eat. Eating is just for filling my stomach.” Watching the broad- cast jockey’s show online every day, on the other hand, is both entertaining and fulfilling. “I get full just by watching him eat.” The “him” in question, Dong- bum Kim (aka Bumfrica), is a Busan na- tive hosting a popular “meokbang” show on AfreecaTV’s (“A Free Casting” TV) free online channel. Meokbang, short for meokneun- bangsong, is an eating broadcast. But contrary to what Time magazine reported a few months ago, it’s not a new phenomenon in South Korea; even before the movie “The Yellow Sea” (2010), where actor Ha Jung-woo is said to have initiated the desire to see more eating on television, watching people eat has long been a popular pastime for viewers on AfreecaTV. Eating alone with friends AfreecaTV provides the platform for Korea’s meokbang phenomenon Meokbang, short for meokneun-bangsong, is an eating broadcast, but contrary to what TIME Magazine reported a few months ago it’s not a burgeoning phenomenon in South Korea.
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