Tzuyang — From Seven Viewers to the Table of Ten Million Subscribers

The first day was quiet for Tzuyang, who began personal broadcasting in October 2018. Looking back later on Park Myung-soo's Radio Show (KBS), she recalled that the first broadcast had at most seven viewers including herself. At first no one came in, so she waited five minutes before eating, just staring at the food in front of her.

Becoming Known for Ramen and Tonkatsu Mukbangs

The turning point came about a month after she began broadcasting. On Knowing Bros, Tzuyang recalled that at the time she had planned to eat about eight to ten packs of ramen, but as viewers kept coming in, she gained momentum and ate up to fourteen packs. The broadcast that day drew 1,400 live viewers.

In November of that same year, she made a name for herself with a broadcast in which she devoured a giant tonkatsu in 18 minutes. Videos followed of her eating huge quantities of familiar foods such as sweet-and-sour pork, cartoon-style meat, and ramen, and in 2019, about seven months after launching her YouTube channel, she surpassed 1 million subscribers.

Scenes often appeared in Tzuyang's mukbangs in which she spoke matter-of-factly while the people around her were astonished. In January 2020 on MBC's My Little Television V2, she filled one large bowl with three servings of jjajangmyeon and ate it. When Kim Gura asked the most she had ever eaten, Tzuyang answered that it was not her main category, so the maximum was seven servings, and that she could not eat very much.

Expanding Filming from Home to Restaurants and Markets

But even Tzuyang was an introvert off camera. In a 2023 Newsis interview, she said that eating broadcasts in which she turned on the camera at home and read chat were comfortable, but that she was still shy in restaurants crowded with customers. She also said that as her scope of activity expanded outdoors, she could no longer do the live broadcasts she enjoyed as often.

In March 2021, she joined the traditional local markets segment 'Cheer Up, Traditional Markets' of KBS's 6 O'clock My Hometown and toured markets with Song Jun-geun. Tzuyang explained that whenever she filmed an eating broadcast, she received cooperation and help from restaurants, and that she wanted to return that help to small business owners struggling because of COVID-19. Her new role was to convey not only food but also the stories of merchants and visitors and the atmosphere of the markets.

Finding the Next Restaurant and Menu

Finding a restaurant to film took legwork. She looked at Naver Maps, blogs, and food apps, and added search terms such as 'old restaurant' or '40-year tradition' to the name of a region to find candidates. Before visiting, she said, she checked reviews one by one.

She also kept thinking about what to eat in the next video. Tzuyang said the popular menu items were widely liked foods such as ramen, jjamppong, jjajangmyeon, and meat, and that these menus performed well in views. The task was to satisfy viewers who liked familiar foods while keeping menus from overlapping from video to video.

The stage for her table also expanded to the United States. Tzuyang cited as memorable experiences the time the chairman of Wolfgang's Steakhouse appeared in person and the time she filmed an eating broadcast alone on the terrace of an empty Major League Baseball stadium. Foreign-language comments increased on the New York filming video, and Tzuyang said she wanted to film in countries that people do not easily visit.

Income from Views and Money Spent on Eating

The money earned at this table became a topic early on. In January 2020 on MBC's My Little Television V2, Tzuyang revealed that during her highest-earning period, her monthly income reached 80,000,000 KRW. She explained that to earn that much, videos recording 1,000,000 views had to keep coming out over a month. At the time, she added that even after subscribers increased, her income six months earlier had actually been better.

When Tzuyang appeared on MBC's Radio Star on July 30, 2025, she had 12.2 million subscribers. That day, when asked about income from YouTube views, she recalled that in the early days she earned more than 100,000,000 KRW a month. She explained that revenue rates differ by the country where viewers are located and that there are months when income declines.

She also spent a considerable amount on eating. On the same show, Tzuyang said she uses three delivery apps and that in one year she ordered 43,000,000 KRW worth from just one of them. There were also times when she ate 3,000,000 KRW king crab in a single meal, and at home she had four refrigerators and a snack pantry filled with food.

Filming with Colleagues and Sharing Subscribers' Love

Even though Tzuyang appears to eat alone on screen, there were long-time colleagues on the filming set. In August 2025, MBC's The Manager featured her manager Oh Soo-bin, a friend of 12 years, and a PD who had worked with her for seven years. At the conveyor-belt sushi restaurant, they filmed while taking care not to disrupt the restaurant's business, and Tzuyang ate 101 plates of sushi. After filming, she moved to another restaurant for a staff dinner with the two people who had worked hard.

Her relationship with viewers began in the comments and sometimes extended beyond the screen. In 2019, after seeing supportive comments from subscribers in hospitals, Tzuyang became interested in hospital donations and donated 10,000,000 KRW to the National Cancer Center for low-income cancer patients. It was her way of celebrating 1 million subscribers.

In July 2024, celebrating 10 million subscribers, Tzuyang and channel sponsor companies together raised 200,000,000 KRW and delivered it to World Vision. Tzuyang contributed 100,000,000 KRW, and companies including The Misik, Myeongnyun Jinsa Galbi, and Sempio added the remaining 100,000,000 KRW. The donation was delivered to support domestic children in need of meals and overseas food crisis response. That day, Tzuyang personally packed and delivered lunches for children.