Currently Waiting for “Kang’s Kitchen” Where The Boss Eats More… (premiere Dec. 5)

As the Journey continues with its spin-offs, the premiere of “Kang’s Kitchen” draws near. And at last, a preview and trailers.

I couldn’t help getting excited when I saw the trailer for ‘Kang’s Kitchen’ after ‘Winner’s Youth over Flowers’ concluded on November 28. Finally.

How Did We Get Here?

Anyone who follows and watches anything Na PD does must have remembered those fateful moments when Min-Ho’s fingers created miracles in ‘New Journey To The West’ season 4.

In a game of Wheel of Fortune, Na Yeong-Seok PD owed the ‘Journey’ members Porsche and Lamborghini (worth $650K). Trying to wiggle his way out of potentially bankrupting tvN, Na PD dangled tempted them with dreams of doing more wonderful things together. Instead of money, “whether ‘Kang’s Kitchen’ or ‘Youth Over Flowers’, let’s aim for dreams,” he had said.

So when the team succeded in collecting the last dragon ball (in part 1’s finale worthy of the final round of World Cup), thanks to Min-Ho’s deft hands once more, there was no way out this time for Na PD. Along with the usual prizes of wishes granted by the Dragon Ball god, these dreams must happen.

And Where Do We Go?

In early November, tvN had comfirmed that the team had been filming ‘Kang’s Kitchen’ on Jeju Island at an undisclosed location. Snippets of the show were also included in ‘Winner’s Youth Over Flower’, suggesting the filming had wrapped up before ‘Winner’s Youth Over Flower’ started. By the end of November, a seven minute preview and trailers showed up.

The preview and trailers showed that the restaurant seemed perfectly situated by the beach, with the kitchen windows giving beautiful views of the ocean. The warm colours of the interior was a contrast to the colder weather outside. ‘Kang’s Kitchen’ looked hip and got swag — they’ve got fancy uniforms, coffee machine, and done latte art!

Meanwhile, the ‘Journey’ members took on their roles and responsibilities trying to run a restaurant — hopefully a profitable restaurant (“I think we’ve spent 38K and gained 22K!”). Kang Ho-Dong (“I have only ever eaten in my life. I never cook. I can’t even fry an egg!”) took charge of the kitchen, visibly relying on Ahn Jae-Hyeon for cooking and Lee Soo-Geun for various chores. Eun Ji-Won and Song Min-Ho took care of orders from costumers whose reactions to the food (a supersized Kang-Ho-Dong-Katsu or a warm and delightful looking omurice) and the restaurant crews (they are the main attraction!) must have been colourful and priceless.

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I am thrilled by ‘Kang’s Kitchen’ setup. While the original ‘Youn’s Kitchen’, which took place in different country and simpler arrangements, delighted with its serene, charming, and harmonious operation, with members like the ‘Journey’ team, riots and laughs are bound to ensue. I couldn’t help imagining what will happen if they also invade other Na PD’s shows like ‘3 Meals A Day’ or ‘Dictionary of Useless Words’. They did say let’s aim for dreams, right?

‘Kang’s Kitchen’ will premiere on Tuesday, December 2 2017, at 10.50 pm.

Trailers from TvN channel on Youtube: [1], [2]

• Kang’s Kitchen, Fifth Episode (part 2)
• Kang’s Kitchen, Fifth Episode (part 1)
• Kang’s Kitchen, Fourth Episode (Part 2)
• Kang’s Kitchen, Fourth Episode (Part 1)
• Kang’s Kitchen, Third Episode (Part 2)
• Kang’s Kitchen, Third Episode (Part 1)
• Kang’s Kitchen, Second Episode (Part 2)
• Kang’s Kitchen, Second Episode (Part 1)
• Kang’s Kitchen, First Episode

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