Who would’ve guessed that a ‘culinary competition’ would become the trend of the K-drama season?
As a die-hard K-drama fan, I’ve explored every genre of Korean shows, especially the romantic ones. I have to admit that this new hybrid of romance and food has definitely captured the attention of international audiences. Even viewers who weren’t interested at first are now binge-watching the drama while it’s still ongoing.
The time-slip scenario where a tyrant king falls head over heels for a Michelin chef is definitely sparking the loudest chatter. Yet I feel many viewers are jumping on the bandwagon only after watching the elaborate and exquisite food sequences on social media. I mean, come on—who wouldn’t be hooked after seeing all those fusion dishes blending Korea’s and France’s culinary richness? As a foodie, I’m quite impressed by the production team’s ability to use cooking scenes and tantalizing dishes to enrich the storyline and enhance the viewing experience.
Last week, every fan was on edge as we watched the Joseon team and Ji Young in an intense culinary battle against the Ming team. Apart from how Ya Fei Xiu stole Ji Young’s ‘gochugaru,’ I feel the entrance of the Ming envoy and his chefs, along with the culinary competition, has added an interesting and spicy layer to the show—and also brought Ji Young and Yi Heon closer!
So, let’s see who ended up taking the winner’s title!
Episode 9
The episode picks up right where the last one ended, revealing the scores for the second round. While Yi Heon gave a fair score to the Ming team, the Chinese envoy gave Ji Young’s ‘Pecking duck’ dish a mere 1. Furious, the king rejects this score and asks the chefs to judge their own dishes, which only results in a tie.
As the third round begins, the team prepares to make ‘ogolgye samgyetang’, a stuffed chicken recipe. Luckily, the inventor arrives just in time to hand over the lid of the pressure cooker to Ji Young. Time is up, and it’s tasting time. While the Ming dish is praised, especially for including rare ingredients, Ji Young’s dish wins hearts. This time, as the opposite teams are asked to score each other, one of the Ming cooks has a flashback of his grandmother as soon as he tastes Ji Young’s dish. In the end, the Joseon team wins with 28 points.
That’s when the rude envoy interferes, claiming that they will take Ji Young as a tribute woman for the emperor. Naturally, the tyrant king intervenes by head-butting the envoy. What could have turned into a huge fight is stopped when the Queen Dowager steps in and reveals that she is related to the Ming Emperor’s second wife. It’s truly satisfying to see the envoy begging for mercy and running away like a coward.
The next day, after a request, Ji Young prepares a meal for both the king and the grand prince, who is just a little boy. And, of course, something goes wrong: Ji Young falls into Consort Kang’s evil plot, and the grand prince is said to have fallen into a death trap after eating the royal chef’s dish.
Amidst the cooking competition and Kang Mok Ju’s wicked schemes against Ji Young, it was nice to see Yi Heon’s tender attitude toward her. Watching him give Ji Young a cup of tea, confide in her, offer her a new uniform, and genuinely show concern was definitely a refreshing change we all wanted to see in Yi Heon.
Episode 10
Every K-drama has one or two episodes (sometimes even more) that you wish didn’t exist, and unfortunately, this was one of those dreaded episodes. On a personal scale, I can’t say which was worse—the few heavy scenes or what these moments foreshadowed. Either way, the direction is clear: these dreaded and emotionally tough scenes are not leading toward a sweet and warm ending for Ji Young in the Joseon era (though I’m not implying that she won’t have a happy ending).
This episode opens with a beautiful scene of Yi Heon practicing how to hug the love of his life, completely oblivious to the fact that she has been arrested and tortured. As soon as he hears the news, he rushes to the prison. When the grand prince’s mother refuses to hand over the key, the love-struck king disappears, and in his place stands the dictator side of him. As he raises his sword to kill her, Ji Young cries out, asking him to calm down and prove her innocence.
During his investigation, Yi Heon finds a pack of medicinal herbs in the grand prince’s room and decides to look into them further. Meanwhile, the Queen Dowager lets Ji Young out and gives her three days to prove her innocence.
Now, make way, ladies and gentlemen, for this year’s best romantic moment. In the middle of this awful and painful episode, we finally get—not just a hugging scene—but a sweet and tender kissing scene between Ji Young and the tyrant king himself, right before he spills his indirect confession to her! I know some might say it’s cringy, but we definitely earned it.
Together, they lead the investigation, and when Yi Heon falls ill on the third day, they realize there is something wrong with the medicinal herbs. When they consult the physician, he reveals that when the medicinal beans are eaten together with ginseng, they become poisonous.
As the antidote is prepared, it is given to the grand prince in the presence of his mother, the Queen Dowager, Ji Young, and the king. As he begins to vomit, the physician notes that he lacks the energy to take the medicine. However, once Ji Young prepares a nutritious meal for him, he takes the antidote and instantly shows signs of recovery.
Later, we see another moment we’d all been waiting for—Yi Heon finally holds Ji Young close, gives her a ring, and asks her not to leave him. My favorite part was when he tried to convince her by saying he would cook ‘bibimbap’ for her every morning.
Elsewhere, Prince Jesan is planning to use the bloodstained cloth of Yi Heon’s mother to manipulate him. He aims to unleash Yi Heon’s rage, which would normally trigger the king’s downfall.
Honestly, there are just two episodes left, and I have no words—no consolation, no predictions. I just hope they end up together, whether it’s in Joseon or modern Korea.
What about you? What would be your ideal ending for this drama?
Written by Diksha Gangadeen
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