This study investigates how habit, PSI, and advertising disclosure influence product attitude in the context of Korean YouTube mukbang content, focusing on Chinese college students. Drawing on media habit theory, parasocial interaction theory, and the persuasion knowledge model, a structural research model was proposed to test the mediating roles of immersion and content attitude. Survey data were collected from Chinese university students who frequently watch Korean mukbang channels on YouTube. The results show that habit significantly enhances both immersion and content attitude, which in turn positively influence product attitude. Parasocial interaction also had a significant positive effect on immersion, indicating that viewers’ perceived intimacy and connection with mukbang hosts increase their immersive engagement with the content. Furthermore, immersion directly influenced both content attitude and product attitude, while content attitude also positively affected product attitude. Advertising disclosure exerted a significant positive impact on content attitude, suggesting that transparent sponsorship labeling strengthens viewers’ trust and evaluation of mukbang content. These findings contribute to cross-cultural media and advertising research by demonstrating the influential role of parasocial interaction in enhancing immersion within Korean mukbang content. Practically, the results suggest that marketers and content creators should foster habitual engagement and parasocial connection with audiences, ensure transparent advertising disclosure, and enhance immersive viewing experiences to promote favorable product attitudes among international viewers.
Park et al. (Wed,) studied this question.