15 Best K-Dramas About Food & Cooking

Summary

• K-dramas blend food with storyline, building community and showcasing East Asian cuisine.
• Eccentric characters use food to connect and heal, creating engaging and heartwarming plots.
• From time-travel to possession, diverse narratives intertwine with food in popular K-dramas.

K-dramas are often associated with genres such as romance and thriller, but a few series also implement storylines involving cooking. Whether it’s used as a means to bring characters closer together or simply acts as the series’ main setting, food, restaurants, and cooking are present in a few K-dramas. Series such as Mr. Queen and Itaewon Class use food as a way to push the story forward.

Over the years, Korean entertainment has widely increased in popularity, especially when it comes to K-pop and K-dramas. It is within these forms of entertainment that audiences are exposed to parts of Korean culture, including the food. One of the best outcomes of K-dramas centering around food, aside from the mouthwatering visuals, is the exposure and interest surrounding East Asian cuisine.

15 Dinner Mate (2020)

Two Strangers Bond Over Meals

While a lot of the K-drama series that center on food feature characters working in a kitchen, Dinner Mate is different. The focus is, instead, on two strangers who dine together. When they meet by chance, they end up sharing space at a restaurant for their meal. They decide to plan to meet up and dine out together regularly, simply to enjoy new food with new company.

One of the characters is a content producer while the other is a psychiatrist who specializes in topics related to food, giving a unique perspective on the different meals. The series is less about the food itself and more about the sense of community that can come from sharing a meal with someone. Though the two characters know nothing about one another at first, their shared interest in a good meal brings them closer.

14 Dae Jang Geum Is Watching (2018)

Food “Superpowers” Make This Series A Gem

Also translated to Jang Geum, Oh My Grandma, this K-drama offers multiple perspectives on food, a rarity in K-dramas that feature the subject. The premise of the show was to examine how the descendants of Dae Jang Geum, the first known female physician in Korean history who also was an accomplished cook, would relate to her. Three siblings get the spotlight, and each of them has a different relationship with food.

The oldest brother reviews restaurants around Seoul. The middle brother has a cooking video blog. The youngest sister creates unique food combinations out of what she can find in a convenience store. Each of these characters clearly loves food, but they show that love in very different ways through what the show terms their “superpowers.” The result is some interesting recipes and a great showcase of Korean food.

13 I’m Not A Robot (2017)

A Woman Pretends To Be A Robot For A Job

I’m Not A Robot is not strictly about food. Instead, this K-drama is part sci-fi, part romance. The series follows a young woman who ends up taking a job pretending to be a robot that shares her likeness in order to be a companion to a wealthy heir who is believed to have an allergy to physical human contact. The food comes in as a result of her living with him.

Because he’s spent so long isolated from other humans, he has learned how to prepare elaborate meals on his own. Because he believes his new companion is an artificial intelligence unit being tested, there are many scenes of him preparing these elaborate meals and eating in front of her with her having to pretend to be a robot. It becomes a running theme throughout the series and one that will make the audience sympathize with her because everything he makes looks delicious.

12 Mystic Pop-Up Bar (2020)

A Fantasy Series Uses Food As Comfort

Mystic Pop-Up Bar is actually a fantasy K-drama with a focus on making up for past misdeeds. The main character is a woman who must help 100,000 humans before she is allowed to move on to the afterlife as a way to atone for her past crimes. In order to do that, she runs a pop-up restaurant with two other people with supernatural abilities and focuses on helping the customers who visit her.

For much of the series, helping those customers isn’t just listening to their problems and finding a solution, but also providing them with comfort through the food and drink she makes. The food might not be the focus, but it does provide the path for her own redemption in the series, and there are some fantastic-looking dishes that the audience will likely want to try at home.

11 Late Night Restaurant (2015)

A Remake Of A Japanese Restaurant Anthology

Late Night Restaurant is not an original K-drama. It’s actully a remake of a Japanese anthology series that adapted a manga. The Japanese television series was so popular that it prompted both a Korean and Chinese remake, but the Korean remake is much closer to the spirit of the original. The show is about how a restaurant can be neutral ground, bringing even the most disparate groups together.

Late Night Restaurant, as the title implies, centers on a restaurant that is only open late at night. The doors open between midnight and 7:00 AM, seeing a diverse assortment of guests. There is no real menu and the chef for the establishment, known only as “Master,” will make whatever a guest requests as long as the ingredients are on hand. Each episode spotlights a different guest and a different dish as the guest tells their story. Usually, the dishes play a part in the story and are an important memory for them, tying sentimentality to food.

10 Jewel In The Palace (2003-2004)

Inspired By Korea’s First Female Physician

Set during the Joseon Dynasty in Korea, Jewel in the Palace follows Seo Jang-geum, a cook who uses food and medicine to tend to the king. Seo Jang-geum, wanting to cook in the palace kitchen as her late mother did, builds her skills in the medical field and kitchen to achieve her goals. Jewel in the Palace was widely popular and even prompted an animated spin-off series. For its authentic displays of Korean culture, namely its cuisine and traditional medicinal practices, Jewel in the Palace is often noted as boosting interest in Korean cuisine, locally and abroad.

This series can even be thought of as the unofficial prequel to Jang Geum, Oh My Grandma since both shows utilize the same historical figure as their inspiration. The fusion of food and health here is a theme in a lot of the k-dramas that focused on food after this one.

9 Let’s Eat (2013-2018)

There Is Passion For Food In Every New Life Milestone

Across three seasons, Let’s Eat follows Goo Dae-young as he moves through different phases of his life. Whether he’s befriending his neighbors or reuniting with a former college classmate, one thing that’s consistent in Goo Dae-young’s life is his passion for delicious food. Each season of Let’s Eat finds a way to explore this, as he finds a common love for food with those around him. Accompanying the exploration of cuisine are typical storylines audiences can expect in a K-drama, involving romance and comedy.

The series actually begins with a similar premise to Dinner Mate as the four single people are linked by their desire to not dine out alone. It just so happens that one of them is actually a gourmand, so much of the food here is gourmet cuisine, providing a more high-end look at Korean dishes.

8 Wok Of Love (2018)

A Love Story At A Chinese Restaurant

As its name would suggest, Wok of Love is a romance K-drama. Unlike many K-dramas, the focus here isn’t on Korean food, but instead, on Chinese food. A Chinese restaurant, “Hungry Wok,” is run by Doo Chil-sung and his gang and gains two new employees after Seo Poong is fired from his job and Dan Sae-woo goes bankrupt.

Wok of Love is a lighthearted watch and the friendship between the characters is entertaining to see develop. Though there is a romance budding between the two co-workers, the biggest takeaway from Wok of Love is the food. Scenes that take place in the kitchen are the essence of the series, showcasing a variety of savory meals from the preparation to consumption and all of the drama that can accompany that process.

7 My Lovely Sam Soon (2005)

The Food Doesn’t Outshine The Romance

Inspired by a novel of the same name, the series has often been called Korea’s version of Bridget Jones’s Diary. Sam Soon (whose name translates to “third daughter”) is a great baker, but incredibly insecure, and after a series of mishaps, ends up taking a job for someone she doesn’t like as his new pastry chef.

One of the highest-rated K-dramas, My Lovely Sam Soon, is about the titular character, Kim Sam-soon, who gets hired by Hyun Jin-heon to work at his restaurant. Following the popular romance trope in K-dramas of enemies-to-lovers, the two start with an opposing relationship as they are constantly bickering with one another, but this quickly develops into romantic feelings. The restaurant, and Sam-soon’s pastry business, take the backseat in My Lovely Sam Soon, making room for the romance storyline, but there’s still enough food content to satisfy audiences.

6 Itaewon Class (2020)

A Revenge Drama With Food On The Table

Park Sae-ro-yi opens up his own bar-restaurant in Itaewon Class, hoping to overshadow others in the area. His reasons for doing so are rooted in revenge after the son of a CEO causes Sae-ro-yi’s father to be killed. Sae-ro-yi’s restaurant is staffed with a mix of personalities and backgrounds, making for an entertaining watch. It’s no wonder why audiences became invested in the characters’ journeys in Itaewon Class, leading to a finale that left audiences feeling mixed. Itaewon Class hooked audiences from the beginning as the series skillfully balances lightheartedness with revenge.

Time and Forbes both named the series one of the best K-dramas in 2020. Though audiences might have had mixed feelings about the show’s finale, it garnered a lot of attention on the Korean award show circuit. It was nominated for a slew of awards, winning Drama of the Year at the APAN Star Awards and the Asian Television Awards.

5 Sweet Munchies (2020)

A Show About A Cooking Show

One day in Sweet Munchies, Kim Ah-jin walks into Park Jin-sung’s restaurant and asks if he’s able to host a cooking show she’s hoping to get produced. She is a regular customer at his establishment, which specializes in late-night snacks, but she’s got a very specific request. The restaurant she works for wants a gay chef to host a cooking show, so he lies about his sexual orientation to get the job and help pay his father’s medical bills.

Though Sweet Munchies has elements of comedy and romance, especially between Ah-jin and Jin-sung, there’s also a serious tone as the series touches upon societal issues. However, there’s no shortage of food in Sweet Munchies. At his restaurant, Jin-sung is uniquely skilled at creating the perfect dishes tailored to each customer’s cravings.

4 Eccentric! Chef Moon (2020)

Food And Found Family Center This Series

2020 was actually a popular year for food-centered K-dramas. Several series premiered that year that focused on chefs or those who used food as their primary source of comfort, creating a wealth of great shows that would give audience members food inspiration. In Eccentric! Chef Moon, Moon Seung-mo has given up on being a chef following the death of his parents.

A once skilled and passionate chef, Seung-mo made a name for himself, but now lives a quiet life in a small village. That’s until he meets Yoo Yoo-jin and, along with developing romantic feelings, Seung-mo rediscovers his passion for cooking. Resembling other shows centered around food, Eccentric! Chef Moon utilizes appetizing and detailed shots of cooking that appeal to every sense. Eccentric! Chef Moon also has an endearing plot involving the idea of a found family, adding to the series’ overall tone.

3 Oh My Ghost (2015)

A Chef Is Possessed

Combining thriller and romance, Oh My Ghost is about Na Bong-sun, a timid girl working at a restaurant who finds herself always on the receiving end of a reprimand from the lead chef. She also happens to see ghosts, inheriting her grandmother’s supernatural abilities. Her life changes when she suddenly gets possessed by the ghost of Shin Soo-ae.

This completely transforms Bong-sun’s personality as she is now wildly confident. Her newfound confidence gets the attention of her boss, Kang Sun-woo, but is complicated by the love triangle in Oh My Ghost. Although the romance, and mystery as to what happened to Shin Soo-ae, are the main focus of the series, there are still a decent number of scenes in the kitchen. Despite the supernatural elements, the restaurant scenes are mostly accurate to the industry.

2 Chocolate (2019-2020)

Food Is Comfort

Chocolate tells the story of two individuals, Lee Kang and Moon Cha-young, who are reunited years later when working at the hospice. In the past, he became a surgeon instead of following his dream to become a chef, and she became interested in food because of him. While working, the two discover a shared love of food.

A common theme throughout Chocolate is the comfort food brings to each character, especially the hospice patients. The reunion between Kang and Cha-young, as well as their passion for food, contrast the heavy weight of their workplace, making for a tear-jerking drama. Viewers will want tissues on hand in addition to a love of food. Additionally, the scenes of food preparation in Chocolate are nothing short of captivating as the series does a great job of highlighting what goes into the different dishes instead of just the final result.

1 Mr. Queen (2020-2021)

A Time-Travel K-Drama With Food On The Side

Jang Bong-hwa, a head chef, is mysteriously transported back in time after a near-death accident and wakes up in the body of Kim So-yong, a queen in Korea. Bong-hwan’s bold personality as So-yong is a comical contrast to the expectations and rules in place within the palace. The mystery of how this happened to Bong-hwan, and more importantly, how to get back to his own body, is a large focus of Mr. Queen, but there are still elements of cooking, notably when Bong-hwan uses his cooking skills to take the palace chef’s job.

Though the series didn’t make a big splash during award season, Mr. Queen remains one of the most popular K-dramas of all time. It’s one of Korea’s highest-rated television programs ever, ranking among the top 10 highest ratings for cable television in the country.