The origin of mukbang.

1. Records related to large meals of Koreans

Ernst von Hessebartek (1854-1918), an Austrian nobleman who traveled to Joseon at the end of the Joseon Dynasty, also recorded the following. 

"In that Koreans were big eaters, there was nothing comparable. When I went to Japan, the Japanese told me that their neighbors ate about three times more than they did, but later when I came to Jemulpo Port, they really did. While Chinese and Japanese eat at a certain time, Koreans eat at any time, incredibly large amounts of rice and a handful of red peppers disappeared in an instant."

Similar content is found in the travelogue of Isabella Bird Bishop, a British-born traveler, and Griffith John, a missionary, as follows. "Koreans usually eat three to four servings per meal, and when three to four people sit down, 20 to 25 peaches and oriental melon are often removed."

Lilliers Horton Underwood (Horace Grant Underwood's wife) wrote this. "Koreans eat incredibly much when they go to a feast. I sometimes starve the day before to eat a lot on the feast day. On the other hand, the Japanese line up fancy dishes on feast days, but they actually give them food like a rat."

The records of Bishop Antonio Davlü, who stayed in Korea around the end of the Joseon Dynasty, show anecdotes of Koreans eating a large meal. 

"There is no distinction between a minister and a commoner when it comes to voracity. Joseon people regard eating a lot as honorable, and value quantity rather than quality of meals. Joseon people never chat while eating. Koreans have to catch cows and no one is afraid of plates full of meat when beef is served to their heart's content. When a host serves fruit to a guest, for example, the person who is most restrained when serving large peaches eats about 10, and often eats up to 30, 40, and 50. When eating oriental melon, they usually eat about 10, but sometimes they eat 20 or 30. The mothers of Joseon pat the child's stomach with their hands and fill the stomach to the end. They sometimes pat a child on the stomach with a spoonful and stop feeding him when he is full. Koreans serve a whole chicken when they need to treat someone well. No one is afraid of it, and needless to say, each eats it up. Especially, gopchang and fish are the favorite dishes of many people. However, Koreans rarely put them on the table and eat them as soon as they see them. Because Koreans don't know how to control themselves. In addition, there is no stock food in the houses of Koreans, and they are eaten as soon as they are in their hands. Of course there is a reason for this. Food cannot be stored because there is no cupboard or food storage. In addition, food decomposes quickly in this country because the climate is very humid."

 

2. Introduction

According to historical evidence, the size of the rice bowl currently used is 350 grams, but 690 grams were excavated during the Joseon Dynasty, 1,040 grams during the Goryeo Dynasty, and 1,300 grams during the Goguryeo Period.

There are many interesting records about the huge amount of food eaten by Koreans. Let me introduce the results of a study on why they ate a lot of rice.

 

3. Protein deficiency theory

Since Joseon was an agricultural country and its staple food was especially rice, carbohydrate consumption may have been okay, but it is argued that it lacked protein intake compared to other nutrients. Wheat contains about 70 percent more protein than rice, so rice-eating countries are also disadvantageous to protein consumption even if they only consume grains, which are the staple foods. In fact, Europe had relatively good protein intake despite its lower population density compared to land, its strong dependence on developed cities and commercial networks, and the combination of livestock and agriculture. Opinions on the amount of meat consumed by Koreans are divided into two. Books containing claims that meat intake was high include the Seonghoseol of Yi Ik, the writings of Dasan Jeong Yak-yong, and the Bukhakeui of Bak Je-ga. The books say that it is a problem because Koreans eat too much beef, and that if you want to eat it, you should farm cows, so don't eat it, eat pigs and sheep like Chinese people. For reference, Koreans rarely ate pork. According to Kim Dong-jin's book, "Fell in the Taste of Korean Beef," it is said to have eaten a lot of cattle throughout the 500th year of the Joseon Dynasty. The average annual consumption of beef by People of Chosun Dynasty was about 4kg, but the consumption of combustion meat by modern Koreans was 15kg, and it was not until 1985 that Koreans consumed more than 4kg of beef annually. Those who oppose this opinion argue that the Joseon scholars' record that it is a problem because people eat a lot of beef is literally just scholars left their impressions, but there is no statistical basis.

 

4. Culture

The king's daily routine shows that he ate five to six meals a day. Yeongjo of Joseon is a long-lived wage thanks to doing not eat much, which was a balanced diet based on modern standards, reducing the number of meals from five to three a day, and adding vegetarian side dishes and high-protein meat. However, people around him expressed great concern that King Yeongjo was too doing not eat much. Yeongbin Lee, the concubine of King Yeongjo and the birth mother of Prince Sado, said she was worried that "it was too harsh to eat on his own, so he would definitely get sick when he got old."

The French missionary, Father Charles Dalle, wrote: The Korean people's gluttony and gluttony are a common phenomenon that occurs regardless of the rich and poor. The biggest flaw of the Joseon people is the big meal.

It was said that it was polite to break the table leg when a guest came, and it was polite to eat because the owner or the guest burst.

 

5. Parasite

Some argue that parasites are the reason why Joseon people ate so much. In East Asian culture, tea brewing is related to Buddhism. As the Joseon Dynasty encouraged active Confucianism and suppressed Buddhism, the culture of boiling water and boiling tea disappeared, Koreans drank wells and valley water without any treatment.

 

6. Others

Another hypothesis is that the storage period of rice was not long and the distribution network was not evenly distributed, so there was a widespread tendency to store calories while food was available. However, in the days when it was an agricultural society, the majority of people, regardless of gender, often worked hard, and they quickly became hungry, so it may have been natural to eat that much.

In fact, the reason why Korean food is so salty is because it is based on a food culture for people who were engaged in manual labor. In fact, in the past, the salt content of food was significant regardless of the world. Salt was the best way to preserve food for a long time because it was the best way to preserve it. The Korean Peninsula, which had to self-sufficient food ingredients within the limited territory of the Korean Peninsula for a long time, still maintained its salt content in modern times as the food culture of that time remained the same. In the Joseon Dynasty, when manual labor was the majority, it was less problematic because it was all gone as much as it was eaten, but the problem grew as it consumed the same amount of salt even in modern times when manual labor was reduced.

 

7. Modern times

According to the 2018 statistics, Korea's annual seafood consumption remains the world's No. 1 with 78.1 kg. Japan, which is known to eat relatively much seafood, weighs 58 kilograms and China weighs 48.3 kilograms. In addition, consumption of meat such as beef, pigs and chickens is 52.5 kilograms per year in Korea, less than 96.8 kilograms in the U.S. and 63.4 kilograms on average in OECD, but is larger than 49.8 kilograms in China and 35.6 kilograms in Japan. In other words, Korea ranks No. 1 in marine product consumption and meat is also among the top in Asia. And meat consumption is steadily increasing.

 

8. Finish

It may be due to the influence of such a big meal, but Koreans are larger than Chinese or Japanese. In the Joseon Dynasty, the remains of Koreans excavated from Dongnaeeupseong Fortress, the battle site of the Japanese Invasion of Korea, showed that the average height of Korean men in the 16th century was about 164 centimeters and the average height of women was about 153 centimeters. In Japan, however, the average height of Japanese men was only 155 centimeters and that of women was 144 centimeters. British geographer Isabella Bird Bishop, who visited Joseon at the end of the 19th century, said, "Koreans do not resemble Chinese or Japanese, they are large and much better-looking," and noted that the average height of a Korean man at that time was 163.4 centimeters. Based on this, the average height of men throughout the Joseon Dynasty was approximately 163 to 164 centimeters. In addition, according to the 1937 Japanese conscription inspection data(The Japanese conscripted Koreans and used them in World War II.), the average height in Hamgyeong-do is close to 170cm. On the other hand, the 1937 conscription data showed that the average height of Japanese men was only 158–162 cm. The average height of Chinese people is not detailed because they lack data and vary widely by region, but all Westerners who visited Korea, China, and Japan recorded that Koreans are larger in physique than Chinese and Japanese. Currently, Koreans have the largest average height in Asia, except for the northern Han and Manchuria. Perhaps there will be some effects of edacity.

In addition, some argue that the Korean people still ate a lot when missionaries entered Joseon before industrialization, and that the Western countries may have recorded that Koreans eat a lot because the extent of the food has already been eased. In the West alone, Irish farmers ate about 8 pounds (3.6 kg) of potatoes a day, while British farmers in the Middle Ages ate 3,500 to 4,000 calories a day. Native Americans ate 5kg of meat a day, which surprised white people.

I joined the army on 26 December 2011 and was discharged on 25 December 2013. When I was training in the training camp, I did physical labor for 10 hours a day. At that time I had a huge meal. I experienced how much more energy consumption increases. Personally, pre-industrial people had to do a lot of physical labor every day, which was probably the cause of a large meal. And Koreans are very diligent. It is said that Koreans who have moved abroad open stores from dawn to evening, do business, and even open stores on weekends, surprising people around them. There are many 24-hour restaurants and convenience stores in Korea. Considering these two things, I guess Koreans needed a lot of energy because they worked hard.