On the evening of May 11, the Korean drama "The legend of kitchen soldier" premiered its first episode on tvN with an average national rating of 5.8% and a regional rating of 6.2% (according to Nielsen Korea).
Compared to tvN's previous work "Yumi's cells 3" closing with a rating of 2.5%, this is a rating surge of more than 3% - a promising start.
Legendary Kitchener" is a fantasy comedy film, telling the story of military chef Kang Sung Jae (played by Park Ji Hoon). When a mysterious mission window appears in front of him one day, Private Sung Jae begins a surprise journey leading him to the path to becoming a legendary chef.
Episode 1 introduces the process of rookie Kang Sung Jae - who was classified as a "soldier requiring special attention" due to the shock of losing his father and difficult family circumstances - being assigned to Gangrim station and then becoming a " foster brother".
After receiving the new unit, a mysterious "status board" like the interface in the game begins to appear in Sung Jae's eyes. He uses the skills provided from that status board to complete the arrangement of the food warehouse, while receiving recipes and gradually adapting to the job.
However, at the end of the episode, company commander Baek Chun Ik (Jung Woong In) suddenly falls after eating a soup cooked by Sung Jae, making the atmosphere extremely tense, creating curiosity about the developments in the next episode.
Legendary Kitchener" is Park Ji Hoon's first work since playing the main role in the movie "The King's Warden" - a work that has surpassed 16 million tickets and broke the Korean box office revenue record - so it received a lot of attention even before its broadcast.
According to Consumer Insight's OTT content review report in the second week of May, "Chef Legend" ranked No. 1 in the ranking of most anticipated upcoming Korean dramas, with a dominant 19% rate.
Director Jo Nam Hyung also emphasized that the film is different from the original webtoon (comic) in that it presents food more vividly and attractively. The production crew said that the work will bring a new breeze to the military film genre by combining situational comedy with fantasy elements.
Although not yet on duty, Park Ji Hoon said he loves the military theme and especially admires the Marine Corps reconnaissance force. However, he also admitted that the filming process was quite strange because he had never experienced military life.
However, the director deliberately chose a non-enlisted actor to make the character's unfamiliarity with the military environment look more natural. He shared: "I chose Park Ji Hoon because his eyes are very good. The main character seems clumsy, but inside he has a strong will and always moves forward.
