'jinny's kitchen': korean overkill
the reality-food series focuses on actors transforming into chefs overnight in an icelandic pop-up, but after awhile, not even the aurora can save lee seo-jin's frosty, single-minded drudgery
After the first three or four episodes of season 2’s “Jinny’s Kitchen,” I was over the food — and the dickish, money-grubbing boss with zero personality.
“Jinny’s Kitchen” is a Korean show streaming on Amazon Prime, following a group of actors-turned-chefs running a pop-up restaurant in far-off places. This season, they landed in Iceland, serving an average of four dishes, not including chef’s specials: Kkori Gomtang (oxtail soup), Galbi-jjim (braised beef short rib stew), Dalsot (stone pot) Bibimbap (mixed rice and vegetables).
As an actual Korean, none of those were my favorite. I might’ve ordered the bibimbap out of desperation to eat, but without gochujang (chili paste) — or waited for Park Seo-joon’s (“Itaewon Class”) Sundubu Jjigae (spicy seafood tofu stew).
Now, that’s my jam.
My brother loved Ttukbaegi Bulgogi (marinated beef stew) growing up — chef Choi Woo-shik’s (“Parasite”) popular special — but I found the sweet, soft, boiled beef slices gross, until one day, my brother charred the bulgogi meat on a sizzling-hot skillet, and my life was changed.
(That’s our recipe, fyi. Enjoy…)
I might’ve gone for Seo-joon’s Dakgalbi (spicy, stir-fried chicken) and Bibim (seasoned, laver ramen noodles). Otherwise, meh, I didn’t understand the euphoria.
Back in the 1960s-‘90s growing up, we didn’t have any of this stuff. No Westernized cheese gimbap, no dakgalbi, no KFC, no quick kim chee, no bingsu… Army stew? Never heard of it. Nobody could afford to waste meat and eggs. If I ever took dried noodles from their packages to make my own bibim, mom/grandma would’ve torn my hide.
The only food scene we had was grandma’s paper shack of a home, where she buried kim chee out in the back and made-do with Army rations and squeezing blood from a stone. If you tried to find street food, you were most likely eating dog meat with a pile of gummy, ice-cold wheat noodles, slathered with sesame oil and chili paste.
Koreans, up until the turn of the century really, were dirt-poor. What they made from nothing is what the young, trendy kids are enjoying and raving about today.
As one Korean customer said, we used to be made fun of by the very people who are now embracing our food as the greatest thing since escargot. A little overkill, I think.
What added to the overkill was the monotony of watching the actor-chefs do nothing but cook the same dishes over and over again throughout most of the 11 episodes, with barely a break. I’m sure that kind of slave labor pleased their moody boss, who couldn’t find one kind word for the hard-working, goofy, affectionate, and award-winning Woo-shik (“The Witch,” “Melo”).
But for me, it was boring as hell halfway through. I felt as trapped as the chefs did in that kitchen, longing for them to break out and see Iceland for themselves, or at least get a decent lunch.
Hot dogs don’t count, asshole.
I tried to keep a lid on my growing annoyance with the asshole boss and the greedy repeat customers, as well as a preponderance of Asian ones arriving in touristy groups.
There was that one couple who flew in from London just to fulfill their “Youn’s Stay/Youn’s Kitchen/Jinny’s Kitchen” fantasies. Then, the Brazilian mom who came back for another round, hogging up precious space that might’ve gone to an Icelandic native who never experienced Korean food — or the show — at all.
Some reddit users wrote that the hordes defeated the original purpose of the ambassador series.
“…I also was disappointed in the Iceland show. The basis of this show is to bring Korean culture and food to people who have never experienced it. I loved watching people from other cultures being surprised and enjoying the food. Too many Asians already familiar with the food in this series, so it took away some of the enjoyment for me…” — jungle_master_4987, “Jinnys Kitchen, what changed,” reddit, 5 mos ago
I’m not the only viewer who noticed the boss’s dickish behavior toward Woo-shik. At first, I chalked it up to “Jinny’s” shyness and the low-key, teasing Korean way. But he was doing this early on, in previous episodes. Halfway through, it became less about his awkward personality and more about just being unnecessarily mean.
“…I didn't like the way Seo Jin badmouthed Woo-shik and Taehyung from the previous season…” — gmmace80, reddit, 28d ago
On a positive note, I’m going to try Chef Park Seo-joon’s soondubu jjigae, on a smaller scale. He has an “Itaewon Class” recipe up on IG, too, that’s really doable. Seo-joon impressed me with his quick-thinking, creative chef skills. They could drop him in the middle of Manhattan dinner rush hour, and he’d be just fine.
Go Min-si (“Sweet Home,” “Frog”) really impressed me, too, with her charming work ethic and easygoing, respectful nature. Some viewers worried producers worked her to death, and I know why. Call it editing, but I never saw her relax for longer than a minute or two, wolfing down an apple, gulping down an Americano, and, on the first day of service, not drinking water because then she’d have to go to the bathroom every five minutes.
The only people who seemed to care about her welfare were the fellow chefs. Not cute.
Frankly, I wouldn’t have been able to take owner Lee Seo-jin’s Darth Vader act for much longer than the first two services. All he seemed to do was boss the staff around, skulking around with dollar signs in his head. Do this, do that. Nothing was ever good enough for him. Fuck off.
He didn’t seem happy to be there, complaining that he didn’t know what Iceland was like because he was stuck at the restaurant. At the end of the show, when they were all given free time to explore, he stayed at the residence.
I get that Koreans don’t allow themselves to react much, but the guy looked like a robot, refusing to crack a smile — even though everybody around him pretty much kissed his ass, sucking hard at his tight crack.
He couldn’t even get excited about seeing the Aurora. Is he human?
Well, I’m off to watch the first season in Bacalar, Mexico, working backward. Already, boss Seo-jin is pissing me off… Just the sight of his tight-lipped, twitchy-eyed face makes me sick to my stomach, along with all those sugar-encrusted corndogs they’re making…