Bon Appetit, Your Majesty Im Yoon-ah is having a hard time today as well.
On the 14th, the tvN weekend drama Bon Appetit, Your Majesty (directed by Jang Tae-yu, written by fGRD, planned by Studio Dragon, produced by Filmgrida, Jeong Universe) featured a cooking competition between Joseon cooks and Ming dynasty chefs.
In that episode, two of the three cooking contests were shown. The first contest was "muyuk," presenting a meat dish never seen before in the world. The topic of the second contest was "region," conducted in a way that presented the cuisine of the opposing country.
The figure who drew attention in the process was undoubtedly Ming dynasty chef Dang Baek-ryong (Jo Jae-yoon). Dang Baek-ryong was the head of Ming chefs with exceptional cooking skills, and when Yeon Ji-young (Im Yoon-ah) and Lee Heon (Lee Chae-min) had not yet arrived by contest time, he bought time for various reasons and spoke in Joseon language, focusing curiosity on his identity.
In the first contest, when Dang Baek-ryong made rayu from chili powder that Abisu (Moon Seung-yu) had obtained through a transaction with Je-san Daegun (Choi Gwi-hwa) and created an "account," he asked about the source of the ingredient. After Yeon Ji-young raised an objection and questioned Abisu, Dang Baek-ryong learned that the chili powder was the opponent's secret seasoning, and even though envoy U-gon (Kim Hyeong-muk) was furious, he declared his side's defeat.
It turned out Dang Baek-ryong had learned cooking in Joseon. While wandering in search of the ultimate taste, he fell in love with food he tasted at a temple and said in Joseon language that he studied cooking in Joseon for about five years, not in Chinese. Through this touching story, the actions he took up to now gained persuasiveness.
While Dang Baek-ryong showed he cared for Joseon, Je-san Daegun and Kang Mok-ju (Kang Han-na) showed their presence as villains in the contest who wanted Joseon to lose. Je-san Daegun handed over chili powder to the Ming, and Kang Mok-ju bribed Maeng Man-su (Hong Jin-gi), who was helping Yeon Ji-young, to interfere with the contest.
When Je-san Daegun was identified as the person who handed over the chili powder, he claimed, "Gochujang and chili powder were being smuggled in without my permission as the manager of Saongwon," and said he discarded them to protect the royal household's health. During the disposal process, he met Abisu and falsely shed tears while saying he only passed a small amount and expressing his grievance, which made viewers cringe.
True to her reputation as the "evil woman of the century," Kang Mok-ju showed jealousy and hostility toward Yeon Ji-young. She gave Maeng Man-su an "emergency" to mix into the food and, saying Joseon must lose this contest, repeatedly threatened Maeng Man-su's mother. Troubled, Maeng Man-su cut his own palm with a knife and pretended to be nervous and make a mistake to withdraw from the contest. Fortunately, because Yeon Ji-young knew this background, attention turns to how she will exact punishment on Kang Mok-ju in the future.
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