By now, you've probably heard tell of South Korea's considerable muk bang viewership. This unusual online craze, in which nationally famous foodporn stars can earn thousands of dollars a month by stuffing their faces in front of a webcam, seems to be going strong.
Now, however, South Korea has stepped it up a notch by creating its first-ever cat muk bang, in which viewers tune in to a streaming broadcast of stray cats eating, reports Jezebel.
By bringing together two of the most popular things on the internet – food and cats – 35-year-old Koo Eun-je has managed to attract an average of 110,000 viewers a month to his livestreaming channel, not to mention cash donations and food for its feline stars. Nowadays, the former web designer routinely goes fishing to feed the cats.
Eun-je's cat channel began when he was visiting his mother in southwestern Korea and came across a stray. Wondering where the cat got its meals, Eun-je left a plate of fish out for the animal and the rest is history. Eun-je has since created a proper set and now has 17 regulars who frequent his colorful “cat restaurant”.
“We started the channel simply for me and my wife to watch, but other viewers also started watching it,” Eun-je told AP. “We guessed that there would be one or two cats, but now it turns out that 17 cats are coming to eat food.”
The only catch here, however, is that instead of human muk bang, in which fans tune in to a star's broadcasts at a given time, you never know when the cats will turn up for a meal. Instead, viewers must watch and wait. For some, this adds to the appeal.
“They are like unexpected joy suddenly visiting you,” 33-year-old viewer Park Tae-kyung told the newswire. The graphic designer leaves Eun-je's cat broadcast on her computer screen all day at work; when the felines come, Tae-kyung and her coworkers stop what they're doing to watch the animals eat.
[Video via AP]
