Jeon Hyun-moo, 'Hebbuljjuk' after being diagnosed with obesity

《Kim Ji-won’s KakaoTalk》
‘Today’s story that is open and harsh’. Reporter Kim Ji-won of Ten Asia harshly criticizes entertainment and broadcasting industry issues from a difficult perspective.

---

Appetite and gluttony are different. Mouth-watering mukbangs have positive effects such as visiting delicious restaurants, sharing information such as introduction of cooking methods, and providing vicarious satisfaction. However, recent broadcasts show mukbang at the level of gluttony rather than appetite, taking it for granted. This is at a level that encourages binge eating.

Recently, MBC's 'I Live Alone' is pushing the 'Famuse' episode as its main content. 'Famuse' members Jeon Hyun-moo, Park Na-rae, and Lee Jang-woo act as if 'gluttony and obesity' are virtues. In the last broadcast, the three people who went for a health checkup were all diagnosed as obese as a result of a body fat percentage test. Lee Jang-woo said, “Immune cells are all fat,” and spoke of praising fat.

The palm oil line disclosed their body fat percentages to each other. The body fat percentage was 26.5% for Lee Jang-woo, 28.6% for Jeon Hyun-moo, and 34.1% for Park Na-rae. According to the obesity index, Jeon Hyun-moo needed to lose 12.9 kg. In an interview with the production crew, Jeon Hyun-moo laughed and said, "I was worried that someone would feel hurt, left out, or ostracized, so all three of them came out as obese. No more, no less, all three of them are obese." Na-rae Park, who watched the interview video, said, "Someone should come out as a standard. That's sarcastic."

In last January's broadcast, Jeon Hyun-moo, Park Na-rae, and Lee Jang-woo held a 'palm oil seminar' in Dalat, Vietnam under the name 'Palm Oil Expedition'. Although it was only a seminar in name, they ate for 20 of the 30 hours spent over 2 days and 1 night and ate 28 different foods. The three people even bought 120,000 won worth of sauce at the supermarket. While eating, Park Na-rae cut part of the dress she was wearing with scissors with the help of Jeon Hyun-moo, saying, "The seam becomes a blade and cuts into the flesh." Jeon Hyun-moo also self-evaluated the ‘Palm Oil Seminar’, saying, “The level of conversation we had was high.”

In KBS2's 'The Boss's Ears Are Donkey Ears' (hereinafter referred to as 'Donkey Ears'), 'overeating' was portrayed as something worthy of praise. In the recent broadcast of 'Donkey Ears', three mukbang creators with a total of 4.6 million subscribers engaged in a food battle.

Shanghaigi, who usually eats 25 hamburgers, invited other mukbang creators as guests and prepared a mukbang competition where the person who eats the most beef tripe in one hour wins. The people invited by Shanghaigi were Nareum with 2.31 million subscribers, who ate 14kg of tripe (72 servings) by herself, and Woongi with 1.21 million subscribers, who is called the vacuum cleaner of the ramen world. Woong-i said, “I will eat more than Sanghae-gi,” and he ate competitively and ordered more, saying, “I will eat more than Woong-i.”

As a result of the competition, Na-raum ate 24 servings of tripe, Shang-gi ate 40 servings, and Woong-i ate 40 servings of tripe. Kim Sook was impressed, saying, “Three people ate 104 servings in one hour.” It ate the equivalent of four cows. The three of them ordered ramen again after eating 104 servings of tripe.

‘I Live Alone’ is presented as if the process of overeating and becoming obese is a beautiful process of protecting friendship. ‘Donkey Ears’, which praises those who win by eating a lot.

Obesity increases the prevalence of various diseases and complications, including diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. Obesity is a type of disease that requires treatment. Overeating or binge eating are wrong eating habits. If you repeat overeating and binge eating, you will not be able to feel fullness or hunger properly, and eventually your body's balance will be broken. We must be wary of the mistakes of overeating, gluttony, and glorifying obesity as if it were a virtue.

Kim Ji-won, Ten Asia reporter bella@tenasia.co.kr