Culinary Class Wars 2 production team explained and apologized over spoiler controversy.
On the morning of the 16th at a cafe in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, a Netflix variety show "Culinary Class Wars: cooking class war season 2" finale interview was held. The interview was attended by director Kim Hak-min PD, PD Kim Eun, and winner Choi Kang-rok chef.
"Culinary Class Wars: cooking class war season 2" is a cooking survival program depicting a fierce culinary class war between hidden master 'Black Spoon' chefs who try to overturn class by taste alone and Korea's top star chefs 'White Spoon' who try to protect it.
Earlier, in the interview scene of episode 9 released last month, the real name name tag of Black Spoon chef 'Culinary Monster' was spotted, sparking a spoiler controversy. For Black Spoon contestants, real name name tags can be revealed only if they advance to the final.
As a result, viewers were unintentionally exposed to spoilers, leading to criticism that it reduced the tension of watching the later rounds. In response, Kim Hak-min PD apologized, saying, "What I want to say about the spoiler is that the primary issue was the name tag related to chef Lee Ha-sung (Culinary Monster), which many people talked about. To be clear, it was a production mistake. It was an oversight and an error. I am very sorry and regretful for the part that clearly harmed viewers' immersion. I want to apologize again."
He bowed his head and said, "I watched it dozens of times, and during the process involving 50 to 100 people, it's painful and upsetting to wonder why that one cut was missed. It's true. Nevertheless, regarding what happened, the responsibility lies with the two people, Kim Hak-min and Kim Eun, not anyone else. They watched it the most. That responsibility is ours. I want to say sorry, and if this harmed the immersion or caused damage to chef Choi Kang-rok or chef Lee Ha-min, I feel regretful and apologize."
Regarding the controversy over stitching together interviews conducted after advancing to the final, PD Kim Eunji apologized, saying, "People may misunderstand that the lines themselves were pieced together out of context because the timing was the final interview, but that's not the case. Since the final is the last interview, there was a question asking them to recall past missions and how they felt. I want to say that the mistake occurred in the process of moving lines that were said during the review of round 4 into that question, and without excuse, I am very sorry."
Kim Hak-min PD added, "It's impossible for the production team to manufacture an image; we ask chefs about their honest feelings and have them talk about their impressions rather than telling them to answer in a certain way. There is no persuading them with 'please do it like this.' However, from the beginning, when 100 chefs start and shooting time is limited, there are times we couldn't ask certain questions or the chefs couldn't respond then. We follow up on unfinished interviews in the final by asking additional questions in retrospect. In follow-up interviews we always ask things like 'why did you add this sauce then' because that's the last chance to see the chefs. It's not forced image making or adding lines; it's asking for missing comments, and it happens because interview time is limited."
He also mentioned the 'Choi Kang-rok wins' spoiler issue that circulated in communities before the broadcast. This raised suspicions that Choi Kang-rok was the predetermined winner. Chef Choi Kang-rok drew a line, saying, "If there had been any predetermined winner, I wouldn't have started at all. That makes me feel bad. I probably wouldn't have been able to sleep. It would feel dishonorable. There was absolutely none of that."
Kim Hak-min PD also emphasized, "There can never be predetermined winners. From the production side, what we told all the chefs was that we cannot guarantee results to anyone. But we always promise to make their departure look beautiful. We also did not disclose the rules at the start. We have to get agreement from both people. That caused confusion. There is absolutely no promise made when we bring them in."
On the spoiler issue, he added, "The editing mistake happened due to an error and is regrettable, but separately, if spoilers were intentionally planted, we need to respond firmly. The production team has officially launched an investigation into the initial spoiler comment author to determine how such spoilers spread, how they were discovered, and the sequence of events. We are investigating the leak process and how it proceeded. There will be more 'Culinary Class Wars' and such spoilers undermine viewers' immersion in other survival programs, so spoilers for the sake of spoilers are an obvious harm and we will deal with them firmly."
Choi Kang-rok also confessed his feelings, saying, "After hearing the rumors I thought I should keep things more tightly sealed and hidden. I expected it to be revealed soon, but I didn't expect it to take six months." He said he did not reveal to chef Kang Leo, with whom he had linked up on 'MasterChef Korea 2' before Culinary Class Wars 2 was released and who had appeared with him on YouTube, that he had won Culinary Class Wars 2. He admitted, "The penalty is quite severe. I didn't even tell my spouse. I was naive. I really thought I'd have to pay the penalty."
In response, PD Kim Eunji said, "The contract system includes penalty clauses that performers and staff all sign," adding, "Because this spoiler came out, we are taking time to reexamine how we can better prevent spoilers when doing the next season." (Continued in interview②).<
[Photo] Netflix
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