The drama, already loved for its wildly inventive and fresh directing every week, shocked viewers again by taking an audacious, expectation-defying turn that instantly became the talk of the town.
In the episode of tvN’s Monday–Tuesday series The Legend of Kitchen Soldier (hereafter 'Kitchen Soldier') that aired on June 8, Kang Sung-jae (played by Park Jihoon) fought tooth and nail to serve a five-star dish at the officers’ mess.
After nailing a braised pollock fillet, Kang was immediately called to the officers’ dining hall and handed a special mission: win over the notoriously picky palate of Regimental Commander Bae Won-young (Ahn Gil-kang).
To elevate the dish’s quality, he sourced top-tier ingredients, then tore wild matsutake mushrooms along the grain to amplify their aroma, perfectly executing a 'Wild Matsutake Japchae'.
The scene that went viral arrived the moment the commander tasted the japchae. The mood suddenly flipped to a courtroom set: the commander sat on the judge’s bench while Guard Post Chief Cho Yerin (Han Dong-hee) prosecuted, claiming, "Matsutake mushrooms have addicted people with their scent." The outrageous yet hilarious fantasy sequence ended with a 'Matsutake Japchae' guilty verdict, sending viewers into fits of laughter.
Right after the broadcast, online communities and social media lit up with reactions: "Who twirls japchae with a fork like pasta?", "That sudden switch from a mukbang to a courtroom drama is insane", "Park Jihoon’s diction is so good that I couldn’t look away", and "This show is unpredictable, which makes it even more fun."
Meanwhile, the military cookbang-style fantasy drama 'Kitchen Soldier' follows Private Kang Sung-jae, who trades a rifle for a chef’s knife and a cartridge belt for an apron as he becomes a 'legendary cook'. It airs every Monday and Tuesday at 8:50 p.m. KST on tvN and TVING.