Gourmet: Episode 24 (Final)

48 September 29, 2008January 24, 2016

by javabeans

Instead of another foodpr0n montage, I thought it would be fitting to do something a little different for this last episode.

Gourmet really has been, all along, more about execution than inventiveness (ordinary events, but depicted well), and this is once again exemplified in Episode 24. To wit: I could sum up the episode in about two sentences — and nothing in those two sentences would surprise anybody, since we could have predicted this all far in advance — but that didn’t stop the episode from being satisfying.

SONG OF THE DAY

Gourmet OST – “새로운 세상” (New world) by Kim Rae-won. [ Download ]

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EPISODE 24 RECAP (FINAL)

Sung-chan looks like he’s on the verge of a panic attack when Bong-joo enters and takes charge, taking the team aside for a last-minute strategizing session. Sung-chan’s team has been preparing a lobster and squid dish for days (weeks?), but Bong-joo looks at the ingredients and doesn’t think this will win them the competition. Instead, he says they need to do a different entree.

This meets with incredulous looks all around, because the team has spent a lot of time perfecting this dish, and swapping out a recipe mid-competition is risky at best. But Bong-joo is sure he’s right, and pulls out a recipe of a dish he’d spent a lot of time preparing for the Napa Valley event.

Bong-joo reminds Sung-chan of the beef battle, saying that Sung-chan’s bulgogi dish had been excellent, but he still lost to Bong-joo, who had more experience thinking of Korean food on a global scale. Sung-chan looks a little relieved to give up leadership to his brother, who acts swiftly and surely.

Bong-joo praises Sung-chan’s earlier concept of making common ingredients taste expensive, and utilizes the same idea for its lobster ddukbokki (will discuss the food below).

While Team Oonamjeong does their two entrees and dessert (pictured above), Team Matsumoto continues to wow this easily impressed audience by mixing traditional Korean food elements with Japanese (their dishes pictured below), such as mixing Korean soy sauce with Japanese liquor.

Such incredibly! ingenious! fusion techniques are the stuff of great consternation to the purists at Oonamjeong; they recognize the “innovativeness” and know they’re up against tough competition. Toward the very end of the cooking portion, Bong-joo tastes their sauce and is dissatisfied, telling Sung-chan to wait as he runs out. With time ticking, he barely makes it back in time to use the jar left by Chef Oh — the sauce representing Oonamjeong itself.

And then it’s time for tasting (as though we didn’t know what the outcome would be).

The scores for creativity, market value, and taste for the entrée round — Matsumoto: 10-10-9.5. Oonamjeong: 10-10-10. This means that combined with their appetizer scores, Oonamjeong is now just trailing by half a point.

In the dessert round, the tide shifts in the other direction, with Oonamjeong winning three perfect tens. Matsumoto, however, earns a 10-10-9.5. The Korean dessert tea and the kiwi-flavored pounded-rice cake (dduk) embodies the essence of Korean cooking in a new way, but on the other hand, Matsumoto’s flower cookie and sherbet is deemed lovely, but cold (both literally and in spirit) for a Korean palate.

But the problem is, now they’re tied.

To break the tie, it is announced that the international ambassadors in attendance, who have been sitting behind the judges and tasting all the dishes (but eating without the pressure of judging), will now be put to a vote. Perhaps they found something the judges missed or have a different overall impression of the food.

The scores come in — Matsumoto: 9.7. Oonamjeong: 9.9

Like we didn’t know this would be the outcome! Ha. The only thing in question was the numbers that would be given, not the end result. Still, it’s enough to bring a smile to your face to watch the Oonamjeong team rejoice, ecstatic. Even though WE knew they’d win, I suppose they didn’t know that, so we oughtta allow them their celebration.

And then, sometime not too much later, it’s business as usual at Oonamjeong. With reputation and peace restored, Joo-hee presides over a busy dining room while Bong-joo (and Sung-chan) are both back to lead.

Even Director Yoon apologizes to Bong-joo, who owns up for his own responsibility in Oonamjeong’s recent troubles. It’s nice to see that rather than holding a grudge, Bong-joo welcomes Yoon back into the fold and asks for his continued help in the future. However, Yoon takes this as his cue to retire, and removes himself from the everyday workings of the restaurant. He feels most sorry for causing problems in Joo-hee’s relationship with Bong-joo, but she doesn’t hold him responsible.

Similarly, Sung-chan doesn’t harbor hard feelings against Matsumoto, which I’m relieved to see because Matsumoto wasn’t really ever a proper villain in my eyes. He’s a shrewd businessman, but he wasn’t out to screw over the restaurant in a vindictive spirit.

So now, Sung-chan remakes the shrimp stew for Matsumoto, who actually eats the dish this time. This is the taste he’d been wanting to recover, the dish he had eaten with Chef Oh back in the day. Chef Oh used to take Matsumoto on trips with him and made the stew whenever Matsumoto was feeling down, knowing it was his favorite. Matsumoto admits, “I was blind to cooking — I couldn’t learn his spirit, of caring for someone sincerely.”

Matsumoto tells them that if they ever need his help, he will be happy to provide it: “I think I’ve finally repaid the debt to Chef Oh for rejecting him.”

Gourmet has never focused on its romantic storylines, which is a change of pace since it allows Sung-chan and Jin-soo to just be a normal couple, like normal people. It’s not all about drama and passion and dire tragedy, which isn’t to say it’s not love, either. Just a more realistic iteration.

So Jin-soo cooks dinner for Sung-chan (noting the difficulty in cooking for a top chef), and after dinner, Sung-chan compliments her domestic skills: “You’re all set to get married.” She retorts, “Like anyone gets married all by themselves.” Sung-chan returns: “What about me, then?” She looks up in surprise, and he laughs that he was just joking, so she grumbles that he jokes too much. So he says, seriously, “What do you think of Lee Sung-chan as husband material?”

Startled, Jin-soo looks at him and asks with some nervous anticipation, “Are you proposing?” and his face crinkles into laughter again, “I was joking again.”

Sung-chan shares his main concern with Jin-soo, which is being unsure of his place at Oonamjeong. He recalls Matsumoto’s words to him: “The battle’s not over yet. Have you considered that I may return sometime? One victory doesn’t make for eternal victory. When I return, let’s battle it out again. What I mean is, don’t let your guard down.”

And then, the team works together preparing new batches of jang, as if to mark their new start.

At their father’s gravesite, both sons ask pay their respects and tell their father of their plans. Bong-joo wants to resume his plan to expand Oonamjeong to a world audience, but done right this time. This means he’ll leave the day-to-day operation of Oonamjeong as he conducts business, entrusting the restaurant’s daily management to his team: Sung-chan, Min-woo, Joo-hee.

Meanwhile, Sung-chan assures his father that Oonamjeong is safe. He adds that he’ll bring Chef Oh’s “daughter-in-law” along with him next time.

At the airport, Bong-joo says his goodbyes to Sung-chan and Joo-hee, then takes a moment alone to ask his former fiancée, “When I come back, if there’s nobody in your life, could you consider taking me back?” Joo-hee, who has been missing their relationship, looks up at him happily and tells him she’ll always be there for him.

Meanwhile, Sung-chan comes to the decision that it’s not yet time for him to settle down and run Oonamjeong; he still has a lot to learn. When he asks Ja-woon to foresee what he should do with his life, he gets back a cryptic response: “The answer is on the road.”

That jibes with Sung-chan’s belief that he’s got more to see and take in, and he tells Joo-hee he’ll be leaving Oonamjeong, too — not permanently, but for now. While traveling and operating out of his truck, he came to realize there are a lot of places he still doesn’t know.

When she sees that he’s serious, Joo-hee asks him to take care of finding ingredients for Oonamjeong — that way, at least he’ll have a reason to keep in touch.

And so, he sets out again. The first place on the itinerary: a food festival, with Jin-soo tagging along. On the way, they get hungry and stop off at a remote restaurant, despite hesitating when they don’t see anyone there.

The proprietor is a little brusque, but the instant Sung-chan tastes the dish — chicken kalbi — he’s amazed at the intriguing taste. It’s unusual, and immediately his stubborn curiosity rears its head. He absolutely must figure out what went into it.

He snoops around the building, finding his way to the seemingly empty kitchen, rooting around for clues of the mystery ingredient. The owner sees Sung-chan and Jin-soo poking around and shoos them away, but that isn’t enough to deter Sung-chan.

Determinedly, he heads outside and even digs through the trash to find clues. By now we know Sung-chan’s not going to give up until he has his answer, but this just may be cut short, because the indignant owner comes out wielding a broom to chase them from his property…

(…and, The End.)

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

The same themes are in play as the previous episode, which emphasizes Matsumoto’s team’s creativity in fusing their Japanese ingredients and techniques with Korean cuisine. For instance, they prepare a squid soondae (a type of stuffed sausage) using Japanese umeboshi (pickled ume/plum), which has been steamed in the Japanese style. They also prepare pork belly meat with Korean doenjang paste, but mixed with Japanese liquor.

Like I said in the previous episode, this kind of argument is overly simplistic for my taste, but I suppose they needed to jazz up the tension during the food battle since we all knew how it would end. Hints are given that Matsumoto, while formidable, is making a few judgment errors, such as with his kimchi bossam (wrap) dish. He explains that the kimchi’s spiciness has been tempered to match international palates, but Ja-woon mutters that that ruins the essence of kimchi.

I suppose Team Oonamjeong, then, has the role that is easier on one level — pure Korean food is their forte anyway — but also more difficult. After all, when you’re cooking using traditional techniques and ingredients, it’s more difficult to come up with innovative spins.

For instance, ddukbokki is an everyday dish — and a cheap one at that. Bong-joo takes a new twist on this ubiquitous food (as exotic as chicken nuggets, which is to say not at all) and jazzes it up with lobster, combining something high-class with something low, and coming up with an altogether new creation. Later, they work with rice — can’t get much more basic than that — but combine three different kinds and arrange them in the pattern of the yin/yang of the Korean flag. They also prepare a kind of stuffed pumpkin beef dish along with their own version of (non-watered-down) kimchi bossam.

When Oonamjeong is awarded the higher mark for the entrée course, Judge Ted Oh explains that the difference was in the jang sauce. The Matsumoto team made theirs Korean-style, but the water used — and the conditions of its brewing — couldn’t compare to the rich, tradition-steeped sauce used by the other team. Or, if we’re being symbolic here, Matsumoto can’t compare to the combined efforts of Chef Oh, Bong-joo, and Sung-chan working together (for once).

OVERALL COMMENTS

You know, at some point it occurred to me that we don’t often see a drama where the end mirrors the beginning — peace restored, balance reset. Oonamjeong was harmonious and successful in the beginning, and now returns to its “rightful” state. So all this fuss was over — what, exactly? The difference is in the leadership, with Chef Oh now gone and both brothers sharing the responsibility of management, albeit in different ways (and without strife). I know this might be stretching the whole metaphor thing a bit, but it reminds me of regime changes we hear of so much in history books — you may have a long, prosperous time while one ruler is on the throne, but the minute succession becomes an issue, all hell breaks loose and it’s every man out to further his own interests. And then when order is re-established (and the disgruntled settle down and stop plotting their coups), stability returns. Or something.

(Then again, absolute monarchies are generally a thing of the past, which perhaps isn’t the best model for Oonamjeong to be following. Luckily, since both brothers are sharing the responsibility, maybe there’s hope for a better future. Also, I presume that with Bong-joo and Sung-chan both leaving, Min-woo has taken command of the everyday administration. How ironic that he should get exactly what he wanted after he’d given up his attempts to steal it through unscrupulous means, isn’t it?)

Gourmet has been a pleasant series for me to watch, with some notable highs but mostly comprising a stable run. It’s had nothing too terribly dramatic or thrilling, but has been consistently well-performed and well-executed. I think there’s an element of unrealism — surrealism? nonrealism? — that enabled me to enjoy this drama despite some stretches of credulity, such as the way they attributed so much drama to a restaurant. Yes, a very high-profile, high-class restaurant, but still, a restaurant. Or how a food competition was given life-or-death battle treatment.

But in the long run, I put those issues aside, perhaps because I knew the series had been adapted from a manhwa, where such exaggerations are embedded into the storytelling style. I’m not sure how accurate or true-to-life the food discussions were, but I appreciated that this series really was about food — well, food as metaphor for the human condition. (Beethoven Virus could do more what Gourmet did by actually incorporating the music to its storyline, because that’s the whole reason I found Gourmet so compelling. After all, without the layers of meaning added by the food/life parallels, the story is somewhat mundane. Or rather, I should say understated.)

But Gourmet‘s biggest asset is, of course, Kim Rae-won. If not for him, I probably wouldn’t have been interested enough to continue the series, because his ability to make Sung-chan so real and compelling is not one you see in everyday lead actors.

In fact, it has occurred to me regularly that Gourmet might have seemed insufferably cheesy if not for the subtle but strong acting of Kim Rae-won. His acting is strong in that he conveys every bit of Sung-chan’s weaknesses and fears palpably, but subtle in that he never makes the acting feel labored. It’s like he IS the character, perfectly transparent, perfectly natural.

For instance, take the beginning of this episode, when Sung-chan gives up hope. We KNOW Bong-joo’s going to come through, we KNOW Sung-chan is at the end of his tether, and I don’t think I am the only one to say that everything happened just the way I expected it to. And still, you feel Sung-chan’s fear — we know he’ll win, but we also believe that he doesn’t know that and is genuinely terrified — and we’re excited for Sung-chan when he does win.

I don’t know what it is that made Kim Rae-won in Gourmet particularly good, because I’ve seen him act before and liked him, but tended to forget him after I was done watching. Now I want to go back and tackle his earlier stuff, maybe even do a “classic recap” series. Who’d be up for that? (Note: It will NOT be Love Story in Harvard or What Star Are You From. What do y’all think of Attic Cat?)

Thanks for reading along, and till next time!

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Tags: Gourmet, Kim Rae-won, Nam Sang-mi

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1 Eve

September 29, 2008 at 5:27 PM

I liked Attic Cat, but it gets a little repetitive. I would love to read your recaps of it though!

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2 Lucille

September 29, 2008 at 6:01 PM

Thanks for the recaps and if you're serious, Attic Cat would be great. I loved how his character did not learn his lesson in that series but you loved him anyway.

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3 JD

September 29, 2008 at 6:25 PM

Hi Sarah, thanks for the recap. Attic Cat is my second favorite after I watched Full House. I liked it because of the rom-com formula and not so much on Kim Rae Won's acting. But you can see from there the makings of a great actor (too bad that he has to do military duty this year). However, like all other award-winning actors today, I think Rae Won started with a porn-themed movie "Plum Blossom". I assume that he wanted to depart from it so much, which led him to honing his acting skills. Have a wonderful day.

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4 choram

September 29, 2008 at 6:28 PM

Do a classic recap by all means! I actually had the urge to go back through some of his filmography too.

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5 urbanscrappy

September 29, 2008 at 6:33 PM

Thanks for recapping this.
Freaky, I just rewatched Attic Cat last weekend for the first time in 3 years and still love it. Although I forgot he was such a pig in it. Either that or My Love Patzzi, which are both great light fun, would be great for a classic series recap.
I know I'm in a minority of about one, but I actually like Love Story in Harvard, I just mute the screen everytime he speaks English and it works a lot better.

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6 Airajuliafor

September 29, 2008 at 6:43 PM

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THE GOURMET RECAPS!! THEY'RE HIGHLY APPRECIATED!!

I really love the ending of this series, which proved it was more than worthy of being watched. :)

And Attic Cat would be great! It's one of my favorites!

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7 teokong

September 29, 2008 at 7:00 PM

Thanks for the summary. Interesting reading on Food For Thought and your overall comments.

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8 nozomi

September 29, 2008 at 7:03 PM

I liked Kim Rae Won on Attic Cat. I think it was the 3rd K-drama that I watched that made me more interested in K-dramas. It was a fun series to watch. I abhorred Love Story in Harvard... the english was terrible and the plot was weak BUT i liked What Star Are You From. You didn't like it? How come?

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9 docmitasha

September 29, 2008 at 8:00 PM

For some reason my comment got reposted after editing. Weird. Anyway, I hope at least one of the two comments shows!

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10 docmitasha

September 29, 2008 at 8:01 PM

Attic Cat was THE drama that roped me into korean dramas, it wasn't the first drama I watched, but it was the one that sealed my affair. So I am in more than one way indebted to KRW. I agree with everything you said about him: he becomes his characters, and his acting is so natural and free that you believe it completely. While Which Star may not be on many's favorite lists, and it was definitely not the best drama, I still enjoyed it because I enjoyed watching the transformation of KRW's character in the series, done so excellently. He managed to act ten years older, but without make up or anything, just by the way he carried his character. Amazing. He makes me cry in poignant scenes, and when he laughs, you just have to laugh too!

I will so join in on Attic Cat re-watching. Invisibelle and I were recently talking about it and thinking of going back and reliving those episodes. It would make me miss Jung Da Bin, though. But KRW was fantastic in the series, especially when you realize that it was a big jump for him to play a role so different from his own personality.

Thank you for recapping Gourmet! You are awesome, and I really enjoyed your additional comments with every episode! :)

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11 doozy

September 29, 2008 at 8:03 PM

Thank you, Sarah for your hard work and dedication! Your insightful and witty summaries are always a pleasure to read!

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12 Angela

September 29, 2008 at 8:34 PM

Thanks so much for the recaps, Javebeans! I'll probably never watch this series, but it was fun reading along and getting to experience the drama in that way. Attic Cat was one of the first dramas I ever saw, so it would be lots of fun if you chose that to recap. It would be pure nostalgia. ^_^

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13 syl

September 29, 2008 at 9:27 PM

Love Attic Cat. He is wonderful in Snowman, too, though. I've seen all his dramas going way back to the teen dramas Me (Na) and School 2, and Attic Cat and Snowman are still my favorite works of his.

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14

September 29, 2008 at 9:41 PM

My love patzzi is my favorite of all his dramas. Its short (only ten episodes) and fun and also has Kim jae won and jang nara!

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15 coco

September 29, 2008 at 10:23 PM

Thanks for the recaps I really enjoyed reading your take on the drama. I just love KRW full stop! Attic cat is a favourite of mine epecially when I'm off work sick!
I would like to see Snowman and Life is Beautiful. Any one know where I can view these?
Your blog is the best! It's a must view for me every day. Thanks for your time and hard work, it's much appreciated.

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16 Jessica

September 29, 2008 at 10:25 PM

Thanks for the recap!

I think My Love Patzzi was my favorite of his series as well. Such a sweet storyline :)

Attic Cat was great too because you really do go form detesting him to adoring him.

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17 twing

September 29, 2008 at 11:26 PM

I'd go for my love pattzi, thanks for the recaps. This is the 2nd drama i've finished solely by relying on your recaps. The first was chilwoo, then this. When the dvd's with subs come out, i don't even know if i'd bother watching, you've given such nice recaps that I wouldn't really mind not watching the drama itself (except perhaps if its Kang Ji Hwan). Thanks again.

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18 anonymous

September 29, 2008 at 11:55 PM

naa, I didn't like attic cat

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19 Marzy

September 29, 2008 at 11:57 PM

i agree with the KRW comment, i think he made Sung Chan his own here. i really felt it. it was believable, enjoyable and something to look forward to. one of KRW's good stuff id say.

for me, i really enjoyed gourmet of how it infused the food theme, cooking theme into the stories. how it relates to everything, love, family and friendship.
it felt real because i hear these stories about how food is important to people.
their everyday lives. i like that. as much i love food too. looking it at different perspective makes it even better.

one thing, i saw is that the drma showed me was how important preserving the essence of the culture through food. keeping the traditions of korean cuisine and such which can be applied to most cuisines actually.

coco, snowman is up on my aigoo. im trying to watch it too

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20 Rong

September 30, 2008 at 2:42 AM

i really really enjoyed Gourmet, like Javabeans mentioned, due to KRW's acting. he really didn't come out so strongly when i saw him in which star are you from? and love story in harvard. (i survived the former but not the latter due to the english.) BUT i truly like Gourmet. it sorts of make you anticipate something even though you know what is going to happen. the feeling is strange but yet comforting.

however, i do feel that the unfolding of relationship btw KRW and NSM is awkward at some times even if their acting do make up for the strangeness once they are interacting on screen. but i guess we can't have the best of both worlds.

of course, the one i liked most is the interaction of KRW with Chef Oh. goodness, those are just so good. seriously good. nothing much i can say about.

really hope for good production when he's out from army in 2 yrs' time? \^_^/

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21 ML

September 30, 2008 at 8:56 AM

thanks and enjoyed reading the recaps for this drama!
i liked love story in harvard, just bear with the bad 'engrish' in the first few episodes (or put it on mute) and the series gets better after that. my love patzzi was cute and fun but i think it didn't stretch KRW's acting muscles much (it was the same for the movie My Little Bride). i didn't finish watching What star are you from? as i wasn't drawn into the story. i prob should give it another try.
krw has such a honest, natural and wholesome air about him; whatever character he plays, he doesn't just do that but he IS the character. And that makes you root for him all the way! :)

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22 Sevenses

September 30, 2008 at 9:13 AM

Thank you for the recaps!! (Aww, no more food pron?)

The only other series of KRW's I've watched is My Love Patzzi, but it's not the best out there. I'd go with Attic Cat, myself. (Love Story in Harvard? Oh my god. Sometimes the titles end up turning me away from a drama.)

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23 Astralyz

September 30, 2008 at 2:49 PM

Attic Cat is one of my all time favorite K-Dramas...It was the one that made me like KRW and the late Jung Da Bin.Both of them were so good here..Although it was sad that in some forum I read some people posted comments saying JDB was not pretty enough to pair up with KRW.
I love Attic Cat but couldn't finished watching FULL HOUSE, which based on the novel with the same author of Attic Cat, despite its huge popularity.

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24 TC

September 30, 2008 at 11:00 PM

Hi! Sarah, I'll save your recaps of Gourmet and read it when I finally start watching it. I loved Attic Cat and will certainly look forward to reading your recaps.

But the drama I'd really love for you to watch (if you still haven't) and recap is Say You Love Me. Please, pretty please... ;-)

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25 lime9

September 30, 2008 at 11:15 PM

loved love patzzi since that was my first drama with KRW. loved the movies MR. SOCRATES and SUNFLOWER because of KRW.

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26 vrosemarie

October 1, 2008 at 12:11 AM

Attic Cat was one of the first few Korean dramas that I watched that got me addicted to the genre!! I loved Kim Rae Won and Jung Da Bin in that one, may she rest in peace... But are you sure you'd want to recap a drama where the actress has passed away? I'd find it a little uncomfortable but Attic Cat is definitely one of my most well-loved kdramas of all time...

Thanks for recapping this drama!!! It was great while it lasted! =)

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27 Bored..

October 2, 2008 at 5:08 AM

I am so gonna watch this show now :D

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28 katy rose.

October 3, 2008 at 1:47 PM

thanks for the recaps :0)

I loved My Love Patzzi. It was my first KRW drama :] then I watched.. Say That You Love Me (I think thats the title, lol) and it depressed me. So much. [they started off so happy! ahhhhh] But I so hated his character in that show. Because all he did was cry...and it pissed me off. haha. I never got to finish attic cat. When I started watching it, after episode like, 3 it was removed from the internet. And I couldn't find it ANYWHERE. [with english subs, i mean.]

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29 ...

October 28, 2008 at 3:47 PM

thanks for the recaps... loved the pictures of the food though! hahahaa...

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30 kdrama fangirl

November 10, 2008 at 12:24 PM

Thanks for the recaps!!! I currently can't find the streaming videos online but I have pre-ordered episodes 1-12 of Gourmet on Yesasia, haha. Your recaps helped soothe the process of waiting for it to arrive in the mail. I think the writers, casting department, etc. did right when they paired Nam Sang Mi and Kim Rae Won together to play the parts of Sung-Chan and Jin Soo. They were believable as a couple and I love their little moments together. LOVE LOVE LOVE this drama all thanks to DRAMABEANS recaps :)

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31 Gigi

November 11, 2008 at 8:14 AM

You should watch Attic Cat.
Kim Rae Won performed a sensitive, self-centred, jealous but kind-hearted young man. His performance is superb, marvellous, very appealing and lovely. Though sometimes we find the story a bit repetitive, but Kim Rae Won is so funny in the drama, he attracts us to chase episode after episode. Both Attic Cat and My Love Patazzi were two of his best dramas. I like him acting in light comedy since I can see more of his sunny smile. In the Love Story in Harvard, I more like what he performed in the first 8 episodes in the Harvard University. Both KRW and Kim Tae Hee looked great in the first part of the drama. Both stars' running postures are nicely shot.

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32 jameela

November 20, 2008 at 12:58 PM

kim rae won acting is always compelling... i like all his drama

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33 swtstuff

March 17, 2009 at 6:59 AM

first time to listen to his song here & KRW isn't bad at all with his singing! this is the only drama i didn't see of him, i dunno i guess i get tired of dramas dealing with cooking albeit i love to see the colourful entrees let alone i love to cook & of course eat. this drama genre just didn't play well with my passion for Kdramas.

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34 jeans_

March 17, 2009 at 2:27 PM

SURE!!! I love Attic Cat!! ^_^

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35 Enjoy kdrama

March 25, 2009 at 3:21 PM

Contrary to a lot of posts, I actually loved Which Star Are you From? I thought Kim Rae Won's rapport with Jung Ryu Won was very convincing. The once serious and self-centered director is softened by the naviete and sun-bursting attitutide of a country girl. Through all the joy, laughter, anger and tears, the audience is able to step into the series and root for the couple to finally walk down the aisle together.
After that show, it's really hard for me to envision Kim Rae Won being romantically involved with any other actress. Thank goodess, Gourmet is not focused on that aspect of human life.

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36 Dream

April 2, 2009 at 8:26 PM

Thank you so much for the recap. KRW is such a superb actor. I didn't know that until I recently start watching some of his old drama. I just finished Attic Cat, Which Star, Gourmet, and LS at Harvard. I actually enjoyed everyone of them. He really depicted the character so well and natural.

Please by all means do the classic recap! I am sure I am not the only one that is for it!

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37 yubikiri

April 5, 2009 at 12:53 PM

im sad about the love story in here...oh well....

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38 proudmommy3

April 13, 2009 at 10:38 PM

Hi.I really appreciated this gourmet recaps.i understand more fully the drama.since Im from the Philippines, DVD copies here were not properly subtitled.Ive'd seen alot of movies and dramas of Kim Rae Won like Love Story in Harvard,Sunflower,Attic Cat,Which Star are you from,My love patzzi.Among those titles he my favorite is Sunflower.Because his acting is different from the rest kinda manly and matured.In this drama Gourmet He also portrait a good character not just a matinee idol with lots of sweet stuffs.At the moment I am dying to watch this titles Say You Love me, Snowman,Mr.Socrates,Plum Blossom and his Upcoming Insandong Scandal.wheew, wish I live in Korea so I can be updated on all the movies,dramas and news ablout Kim Rae Won.Honestly Im an avid Fan. Oh by the way because of your site I was able to download and listen over and over again the OST of Gourmet and Sunflower sung by Kim Rae Won...Thanks to you.I hope you'll continue featuring feedbacks about him...Thank you.

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39 summer.sun.happy

May 4, 2009 at 8:37 PM

ATTIC CAT was what started my love for Kim Rae Won. ~

After reading your post on him on Insadong Scandal and read that he was going to military service soon, I kind of panicked. I needed to watch him all over again! Just finished watching Attic Cat a week ago. It was my second time to watch the series since I first did about 5 years ago. Kim Rae Won is just SO adorable. And he had such great chemistry with Jung Da Bin in that series. Would love it if you do a recap of Oktapbang Goyangi ^^

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40 Maria

May 29, 2009 at 10:48 PM

Thank you so much for the recap I was trying to look for the ending of Gourmet but could not find it anywhere almost all the sites where one could watch Korean dramas kind of stops at episode 21.
I am beginning to be a big fan of Kim Rae Won he is truly a good actor he is so natural.
Again thanks and more power to you.
God Bless.

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41 goldlilys

June 6, 2009 at 12:38 AM

Finally finished Gourmet with BonFansubs subs. I loved how they focused on the "Food Contests" instead of Romance. It reminded me so much of Yakitate Japan anime. The characters especially Sung Chan makes you want to root for him all the way and feel sad for him when he was thrown out of his home. Like what you said, Kim Rae Won acts so naturally like Kimura Takuya of Japan.

If you want his older stuff, the ones I recommend from him are My Love Pattzi and Attic Cat. I didn't like Love Story in Harvard (particularly because of the deep accent couldn't stand it) and not Which Star Are You From (it bored me and still can't finish it)

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42 Meeboo

June 16, 2009 at 9:31 AM

To be honest, I'd like to say Gourmet is the best drama I have ever watched!

I don't know why but I cried every single time Sung Chan cried!

Believe it or not! I cried ... a lot! So many emotional scenes were there!

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43 Nast

September 9, 2009 at 7:48 PM

I liked this drama becuase it was dfferent. It was not about romance for a change. Also, I really like Kim Rae Won. I think he is great actor. And I loved what star are you from. It was great drama. In fact I watched it twice. This actor might nott seem cute to others, but I think he is very cute. He is what I call down to earth cute, not a prince like cute :)

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44 oozzeee

November 18, 2009 at 12:14 AM

,I haven't watched this yet actually...I don't have the time yet plus my dvd player isn't working...:(...
...I wonder why people don't like LS in Harvard?..For me, it is one of the korean dramas I have watched...it's also my favorite KRW's work....Yeah, the english is bad but that isn't something I was frustrated about considering that it's a Korean drama after all.....
...I have a hard time memorizing Korean actor/actresses names and faces..Mostly, I refer to them as: the character on this show, the one who had a hair cut like this, the one who often wear fur jackets, blah blah blah.....But in Kim Rae Won's case, I easily memorized his name plus his face....
..but what I noticed about his shows, more often than not, there is always a scene where they show him running......:)

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45 izuyam

November 30, 2009 at 8:39 PM

I've always been in love with Kim Rae-Won and his acting.. I can always feel the depth and genuine potrayal of his characters that it made forget he was actually acting his part.. and his smile melts my heart every time.. I will definitely be watching gourmet very soon...

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46 amktsy

December 14, 2009 at 1:44 AM

i still remember last year i'm a bit fan girling over krw and i'm having a major exam in less than 1 or 2 months(and i haven't start to study , so i'm not free to watch back than) and i happen to find your blog through gourmet this drama.
So that time i'm interested in this drama.
so i read your recaps on this drama......

i dunno why but i keep forgetting to watch.........
sigh.......holidays going to be over in 3 days and i haven't do my that pile of homework. :(

i need to start watching .. ><

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47 laraffinee

November 4, 2013 at 10:31 PM

Kim Rae Won totally made this drama! He was so great in this role! He and Nam Sang Mi were wonderful!

Kwon Oh Joong was absolutely unbearable to watch. His tight, open shirts were so pathetic - only once in 24 episodes did her wear a tie- styling as a "Too Cool Narcissist" was gag-worthy. I wish they had cast a better actor for the role.

Still was a very enjoyable drama!