[CULTURE] Increasing Interest in Cooking in Korea

A ccording to the April 3, 2015 issue of The Chosun Ilbo, in a survey by market researcher GFK of 27,000 people in 22 countries, Korea ranked lowest in hours spent cooking per week, knowledge and experience of cooking, and passion for cooking. Recently, however, there have been increasing numbers of chefs on TV and Korean TV shows on cooking, such as Chef & My Fridge and Zipbob Baek Seonsaeng. According to the TNMS Research, the average ratings of these shows recently rose to 6%. This shows that Koreans are starting to be very interested in cooking. In these TV shows famous chefs introduce their special recipes to the viewers. One of such chefs is Paik Jong-won, also known as “Sugar Boy.” He currently hosts Zipbob Baek Seon-saeng, a cooking show of tvN. His first broadcast was on May 19, 2015, and the show is still being aired every Tuesday night. Paik Jong-won is the CEO of “The Born,” a restaurant franchise with more than 150 branches all over South Korea. He is also well-known for his unique cooking style. Most of his recipes only require basic cooking skills and simple ingredients. Therefore, viewers can easily follow his recipes. Although his recipes were first thought to be only for beginners because of their simplicity, they have become well-known for their wonderful taste. Paik focuses on daily recipes with ingredients that we can easily find in our houses. Thus, most of his recipes are for home cooking. For example, according to a survey conducted by Naver, his most beloved recipe is the “Ultimate Soy Sauce,” which can be used in many different ways in home cooking.