TV DINNERS
Lee Chang-hyun lives in Seoul, the capital of South Korea, and he has a very unusual job. He starts work at midnight. He sits in front of his computer, connects to the internet, and starts to eat. He doesn't eat quietly – he makes lots of noise! While he eats, people can watch a live video of his meal online. And every day, about 10,000 people watch him. These viewers send messages to him. The messages appear on his computer and he answers them while he's eating. And all the time, he is earning money.

Watching people eat is a popular online activity in South Korea. You can also watch on a special TV channel. The name of the hobby in Korean is mukbang. About 3,500 South Koreans take part in it and a small number of them are famous. For example, Park Seo-yeon is well known online as TheDiva. She earns $9,000 a month from her viewers and it is now her full-time job.

But why do the viewers pay? Park Seo-yeon believes that health is the main reason. People love dishes with lots of fat and sugar, but they don't want to eat them, so they ask her to eat them – and they watch! But can you really enjoy watching a meal but not eating it? Or is there another reason for the popularity of mukbang?

Perhaps there are social reasons for its popularity. These days, a lot of South Koreans live alone. When you eat dinner alone every evening, it's easy to feel sad. But with mukbang, you can eat with others. It is a kind of online dinner party. And when you visit the website often, it is almost like visiting friends.

At the moment mukbang is only popular in South Korea, not in other countries. But perhaps it just needs some time …