In a dark corner of the Internet, people are recording themselves eat and people are loving it.

Mukbang is a mashup of two Korean words: “mukja,” or “let’s eat”; and “bang song,” meaning "broadcast."

The act originated in South Korea — people live-streamed themselves eating huge platters of food while their viewers derived some sort of pleasure from it. It went on to garner international attention, drawing huge follower base for these stars on YouTube and other video streaming platforms. Mukbang fans get pleasure from watching ordinary people consume extraordinary amounts of food.

However, some of these Mukbang stars have taken it a step further by adding Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR). ASMR is the physical pleasurable tingling you get from head/scalp, down the spine and through your limbs. People who practice ASMR on Youtube usually use relaxing sounds like whispering, gentle lip smacking, nail tapping, etc.

However, Mukbang ASMR combines the pleasure of watching people consume large quantities of food with the relaxing feeling of eating sounds. The videos are characterised by large platters, gentle whispers and very loud chewing and smacking — everything your parents taught you was bad table manners.

Mukbang ASMR is a huge thing now, with big food brands sponsoring the platters and paying to be featured on the videos.

Sometime in 2018, 47-year-old Spirit Payton went viral for her ASMR artistry while eating pickles, hence the nicknames "Pickle Lady" and "Queen of ASMR". Many are captivated by the videos, which is telling by the millions of views on her YouTube channel, ASMRtheChew.

There are also other really popular Mukbang ASMR Instagram accounts such as @moxiebeast.

Turns out a lot of people love watching other people eat, while others are making thousands of dollars off it!