A mukbang (short for eating broadcast) video of Neukgu, the wolf that escaped from Daejeon O-World and was captured alive after nine days, is racking up views.
On the 22nd, O-World's social media (SNS) showed that a 1-minute, 34-second video posted on the 20th of Neukgu eating food surpassed 1,464,000 views as of 11:30 a.m. that day.
A video that O-World posted the previous day of Neukgu eating on the 21st has also topped 312,000 views as of now. The combined views of the two videos have exceeded 1.7 million. Considering that O-World's previous video views were in the 10,000 to 100,000 range, it is evidence that interest in Neukgu is that high.
Comments on the video include, "Just watching Neukgu eat makes me feel full," "Seeing Neukgu makes a mom's smile appear on my face," and "I want to hurry to Daejeon to see Neukgu."
However, scenes of Neukgu in the video eating raw chicken or ground beef placed on the floor also became a topic of debate. People calling themselves "Neukgu moms" raised sanitation concerns, asking, "Why are you giving it on the bare floor instead of in a bowl?"
O-World issued a press release to explain. Daejeon City Corporation, which manages O-World, said in a press release, "For wild animals like wolves, not providing a separate container is the animal welfare manual." Because wolves are predatory animals that tend to carry food to a safe place and tear it apart, the point is that it is actually appropriate to provide food on the floor.
Neukgu is currently reported to have recovered to about 80% of usual strength while consuming 1.5–2 kilograms of raw meat per day. O-World plans to return Neukgu to the "wolf safari," where companions are, from the temporary isolation space as soon as the animal regains condition.