Riding a three-project hot streak, singer-actor Park Ji-hoon is shocking viewers with outrageously funny scenes that have taken over living rooms.
In episode 3, which aired on the 18th, a North Korean resident is so moved by protagonist Kang Seong-jae’s (played by Park Ji-hoon) donkatsu (Japanese-style pork cutlet) that they even decide to defect. In a sudden, over-the-top twist, a full-on rock band set explodes onto the screen, and Kang—bandana on, guitar in hand—shreds like a man possessed, instantly stealing the spotlight.
The directorial madness continued in episode 4, released on the 19th. In this broadcast, Kang Seong-jae boldly cooks up ‘gamjatang’ (pork backbone stew) right in front of those who used to look down on him. During a taste-describing set piece staged on a soccer field, he blows a “harmonica” made from pork backbones and “plays” an accordion out of dotori-muk (acorn jelly), delivering a truly jaw-dropping visual feast.
Once the scenes dropped, netizens went wild: “Is Park Ji-hoon getting 10 billion won per episode or what?”, “The comedy level gets topped every week”, “I’m literally speechless—this is insane”, and “The acting is incredible, and the CG and editing are next level.”
On the back of Park Ji-hoon’s career-defining turn—cleanly shedding the image from the film The King’s Warden—‘Cookhouse Soldier: Becoming a Legend’ is surging. According to Nielsen Korea, episode 4 recorded a 7.852% rating, once again breaking its own best.
Meanwhile, ‘Cookhouse Soldier: Becoming a Legend’ airs every Monday and Tuesday at 8:50 p.m. KST on TVING and tvN.