The Views: How Stephanie Soo combined True Crime and mukbangs

Stephanie Soo is a YouTuber who has mastered the art of turning meals into gripping narratives. Best known for her mukbang videos and coverage of true crime stories, she invites viewers to share in her culinary adventures and unravels some of the most interesting true crime cases. With her vibrant personality and knack for storytelling, Stephanie has created a unique space where food lovers and true crime enthusiasts come together. While it's been a year since her last mukbang video, her mukbang videos played a huge part in the success of her channel.

Handle: The handle for her main YouTube channel is @StephanieSoo, and the handle to her podcasts Youtube channel is @rottenmangopod. Her Instagram account’s handle is @missmangobutt. 

Series: Soo is known for her mukbang and true crime videos. In her mukbang videos, as Soo eats the food laid out in front of her, she interacts with the audience with commentary videos and personal anecdotes. Her true crime videos cover real-life stories as she explains the case to her viewers.

Creators: Stephanie Soo’s YouTube channel and podcast, Rotten Mango, are run by her.

Platform: Stephanie posts her videos and podcast episodes on YouTube. Her podcast can also be found on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. 

Genre/Genres: Her content falls under commentary, mukbang, and true crime. However, her online presence has heavily shifted to mostly true crime.

Subscribers/Followers: As of writing, Stephanie Soo has 4.5 million subscribers and Rotten Mango has 4.12 million subscribers. Her Instagram account has 898k followers.

Known for her Mukbang videos, her online presence has grown since her start. While Mukbang content exploded in the United States in 2015, the content has been popular in South Korea since the 2010s. In these videos creators film themselves eating large quantities of food as they either chat to the audience or silently eat the food.

 In one of her most popular mukbang videos, "There Was An Intruder In Our House (Storytime) + Most Popular Fast Food Vegan Options Mukbang," she eats the most popular vegan food from fast food restaurants as she shares a story of when there was an intruder in her home. The video highlights her talent in pairing light-hearted commentary with serious topics. She tells the viewers about the experience and the fear she and her then fiancé felt during and after the incident. She also reviews the vegan food comparing them to their non-vegan options. The combination of her personal story time covers a deeply unsettling story. 

While true crime content remains controversial for its often sensationalization of real-life events without regard to the victims, the content remains popular. Despite Soo’s start as a Mukbang YouTube, her content has largely shifted to true crime with hours dedicated to single stories. She also covers stories about celebrities and influencers on her main channel. Rotten Mango, her true crime podcast, covers a diverse range of stories, from well-known to bizarre stories. Her videos are characterized by well-researched information covering all the key players of a story. Her content is often seen as one of the most humane true crime channels, however, she was criticized in the past for now deleted combined mukbang and true crime videos which were seen as insensitive.  

For example, the video, “Korea’s Death Mall - 502 Dead & 40 Missing Inside High-End Department Store,” covers the story of the Sampoong Department Store located in Seoul, South Korea. The mall collapsed in 1995 leading to the death of 502 people, and many injuries. Soo covers what led to the collapse such as the building's history of poor construction and safety violations. She continues the story including witnesses and survivors’ statements. She focuses on the human impact and the events.

Audiences interested in Mukbang's videos will be greeted by an authentic and engaging personality and will be delighted by her videos. Her storytelling keeps the audience engaged as they eat alongside her, or just listen along to the video. Fans of true crime will also be entertained by her videos, as she covers a wide group of true crime stories. Her commentary and empathy as she covers the cases help her content develop a unique voice. Her podcast episodes spend hours detailing cases, allowing viewers to become immersed in the story.

Her channel started as a niche content creator and grew to one of the most popular Mukbangers on the site. Her channel growth can be attributed to her consistent upload schedule, on both her YouTube and podcast channel. While many fans started watching her as a Mukbanger, her storytelling skills and personality helped her audience grow. Her thumbnails which often include both a shocking title and photos attract new viewers as long video essays maintain popularity on YouTube. 

In conclusion, Stephanie Soo’s rise to success is a testament to her unique blend of authenticity, creativity, and consistency. By combining mukbang videos with gripping true crime storytelling, she carved out a niche that appealed to a diverse audience, drawing in food lovers and true crime enthusiasts alike. Her ability to connect with viewers through personal stories, vulnerability, and engaging content has helped her build a loyal community. With a growing presence across multiple platforms, including YouTube and her Rotten Mango podcast, Stephanie’s content continues to captivate and inspire, ensuring her place as a leading figure in the world of online content creation.