Viewers can now taste actor Park Ji Hoon’s buzzed-about dishes from the small screen at a convenience store near you.
On the 16th, CJ CheilJedang announced it will roll out six hit dishes featured in the TVING original series The Legend of Kitchen Soldier (hereafter 'The Legend of Kitchen Soldier') as convenience-store-exclusive lunch boxes and ready-to-eat meals.
This collaboration brings the drama’s recipes straight to real-life tables, offering trend-savvy consumers a fresh and playful culinary experience.
Noting that the show’s main audience skews young, CJ CheilJedang is leading the project through highly accessible convenience-store channels. By commercializing the menu with its own products and reflecting the drama’s quirky narrative and worldbuilding in the packaging, the company aims to let consumers feel the afterglow—and the fun—of the series while they eat.
Six products are launching in total, with each convenience-store brand offering its own specialties. At GS25: a heartfelt Pork Cutlet (donkatsu) and Mountain-Vegetable Bulgogi Bibimbap (mixed rice with beef and veggies). At CU: a retro-style Korean Burger and Gochujang Ragu Pasta. At 7-Eleven: a convincing Soy-Braised Jjimdak (braised chicken). And at Emart24: the legendary combo Tteokbokki (spicy stir-fried rice cakes) and Tuna Mayo (tuna-mayo rice).
A CJ CheilJedang representative said, "We prepared products that fully capture the story and universe so viewers can directly taste and enjoy the dishes infused with the sweat and passion of the cooks in the drama," adding, "Beyond commercialization, we will lead the synergy between K-food and K-content through AI-driven marketing and online–offline collaborations."
Meanwhile, 'The Legend of Kitchen Soldier' follows an ordinary private, Kang Sung-jae (played by Park Ji Hoon), who unexpectedly gains a special cooking talent, revolutionizes bleak military meals, and rises to become a legendary kitchen soldier. Observers say this collaboration goes beyond simple drama popularity, presenting a new media-commerce paradigm where content meets distribution.