"Doing Anything to Make Money"... Mukbang Featuring Dogs as Main Characters Instead of Humans Emerges in China

Xi Jinping, President of China, Ordered to Eradicate Food Waste Last Month

Dog mukbang scene of China's 'Dawiwang'. / Photo by Weibo capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] In China, where mukbang (eating broadcasts) have been regulated following President Xi Jinping's directive to prevent food waste, a new type of broadcast has emerged featuring dogs, not humans, as the main characters eating food.

However, controversy over animal abuse has arisen as the dogs involved in these animal mukbangs are forced to eat enormous amounts of food and even suffer torment such as being given chili powder.

On the 12th, on China's social networking service 'Weibo,' some pet owners conducted so-called 'Daewiwang' mukbangs starring their dogs. 'Daewiwang' means having the largest stomach.

Videos posted by these pet owners show dogs being fed over 100 different snacks or being given a 1.5 kg beef heart to eat, as well as piles of chicken legs stacked high for them to consume.

They even force-feed more food to dogs already suffering from a full stomach, and sometimes forcibly put chili peppers into the dogs' mouths.

Some Chinese netizens who saw these broadcast scenes pointed out that it was 'animal abuse.' Netizens criticized, saying, "Do they have any conscience to do this to dogs?", "They do all sorts of things just to make money," and "What are they doing to creatures that cannot speak even when in pain?"

Meanwhile, in China last month, President Xi Jinping's directive to eradicate food waste sparked a crackdown on mukbangs. This was due to concerns that mukbangs promote a culture of food waste. Video sharing platforms such as 'Douyin' (the Chinese name for TikTok) and rival platform 'Kuaishou' have launched strong regulations, banning or deleting mukbang videos posted on internet communities.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.