Why Food Is The Secret Love Language In Kdrama-Land

Chocolate

Sometimes, the show itself is overtly food themed. For example, in the K drama Chocolate, the male and female leads meet as children. The little boy is a budding chef working alongside his mum in a seafood restaurant and the little girl is forced to be a commercial model and child star by her ambitious stage mother, and so the little girl is perpetually hungry, both because family finances are tight and also so she won’t get too fat and lose her potential jobs. The little boy even promises to make the little girl chocolate truffles, hence the title. But he has a kitchen mishap and the little girl’s mother drags her away. Fast forward a few years, and the little boy, is not a chef, but celebrated neurosurgeon Lee Kang (played by enigmatic Yoon Kye -sang) . The little girl is promising chef Moon Cha Yeong (Played by the relatable and sympathetic Ha Ji-won) who has to give up a plum posting in Italy to watch over her delinquent brother. Of course, they don’t recognize each other and Lee Kang is particularly cold to Cha Yeong. But when he finally lets his defenses down, and confesses to her, they end up cooking Mapo tofu together in the hospice kitchen. Cha Yeong’s work in the hospice means that she cooks many “Last Meals” for the patients, and the entire show isn’t just about how romantic food can be, but also how it can heal our inner wounds, physical and emotional.

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Mystic Pop Up Bar

Mystic Pop-up Bar is set in a pojangmacha, and combines literal soul searching and narrative redemption. Female lead Weol Ju experienced a tragic and forbidden love story and the love of her life Choi Woo assists her in a supernatural pojangmacha (pop up eating and drinking tent) where they save souls and help them live out their regrets in their dreams via a magic potion. But Choi Woo always knows when Weol Ju needs some comfort food (or soju) and even before she asks him, he gets it for her. They end up finding their long -lost unborn baby’s soul and live in the afterlife as a family.

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But many , many times, the drama doesn’t even have to have a food theme to include those heartwarming , skin tingling romantic cooking/eating/drinking moments.  Just like in the Philippines, food is such a central pillar of Korean daily lives, with both family and friends; and the preparing, sharing, giving and any kind of partaking in nourishment and sustenance goes way beyond the actual act of eating and drinking.  We all know that asking ,”kumain ka na ba?” is actually code for , “I’m thinking of you and I care for you.”  And the same is true in k drama. Korean food , though, in particular , has three principles that are echoed in the sparking and full flowering of love and romance.  The first principle is nature and time.  It is seasonally driven and is also seen as a commitment of time.  The second principle is “yak sik dong won”; which can be literally translated to “food is medicine.  The third principle is balance.  While the common perception is that Korean food is spicy , it is actually more about the layering of flavors, texture , colors and context.  So just like food, love does take time and commitment, and it is essential to our nature.  Love heals us in all possible ways.  But love also needs to be balanced by logic and clear thinking.

Something In The Rain

In some shows, the characters share food right away, from episode 1. The show Something in the Rain’s Korean title is actually Pretty Noona Who Buys Me Meals, and the very beginning of the series shows noona (older sister) Yoo Jin-ah (the flawless Seo Ye Jin), a manager in a coffee chain, runs into the adorable younger brother of her childhood best friend, Seo Joon Hee (the infinitely lovable Jung Have In), and he teases her that she should treat him out to lunch. This begins a series of shared meals, and at one such meal, she suddenly takes his hand, underneath the table. She also offers to fix him up some coffee in her office, which is also in the same building as his office. But since she is ten years older, a seemingly innocent cup of coffee ends up with them both hiding and shooing away their office mates.

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Encounter

In another noona romance, Encounter , carefree backpacker Kim Jin Hyuk (charming and smiling Park Bo Gum) shows uptight and stressed hotel executive and political scion Cha Soo Hyun(the luminous Song Hye Kyo) a classic Havana cafe and a salsa joint. When they end up back in Seoul as boss and employee, Jin Hyuk shows Soo Hyun an intimate and well hidden tea shop where rare and expensive teas can be blissfully enjoyed, with a secret film lab in the back.

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Crash Landing On You

Coffee can also be a bright spark to a romance. In Crash Landing into You, taciturn and seemingly imperious Captain Ri (the statuesque Hyun Bin) lovingly takes out his pour over coffee equipment so that fashion magnate and heiress (again, the amazing Seo Ye Jin) Yoon Seri can have a taste of luxury in her suddenly more Spartan setting. In the very controversial Snowdrop, young and naive Eun Young Cha (the idol Jisoo of girl group Blackpink in a spectacular acting debut) falls head over heels at first sight when she meets North Korean spy turned hostage taker Im Soo -ho (a more buff and even more phenomenal Jung Hae in). When their hostage scenario becomes a collaboration with the North Korean spies and the South Korean intelligence officers, they become more free to get to know each other. Young Cha prepares special coffee that her mom loved,and she claims that this coffee “erases memories” so that the young lovers can rewrite their tragic love story. The ill-fated young lovers share the special coffee and soon after, their first kiss. Ah,the Romeo and Juliet story never gets old.

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Hometown Cha Cha Cha

It is far more common, though, for food to be part of a slow burn plot twist. In the recent blockbuster hit Hometown Cha Cha Cha, male lead “Chief Hong” (former stage actor turned heartthrob Kim Seon Ho) and “lady dentist” Yoon Hye Jin (K drama female icon Shin Min Ah) are constantly at each other’s throats; but their hearts begin to melt when Hye Jin offers to help Hong Du Sik with the remembrance meals for his beloved grandfather’s death anniversary. She herself lost her dear mother at a young age, and she can’t bear the thought that he has to do the rituals by himself. Of course, she soon realizes that the whole town will come out and help him mark his grandfather’s passing , but the meticulous and tender way that he laid out the accouterments for his grandfather was the first chink in her armored heart.

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Legend of the Blue Sea

The romantic comedy Legend of the Blue Sea also features a very roundabout way of falling in love. Mermaid Heo Joon Jae spots conman Shim Cheong and literally swims across the seven seas (and maybe more!) to find him. Of course, she does, and when their feelings start to deepen, he shows his devotion by cooking pasta, her favorite. Even when his fellow con men prefer Korean dishes, he lovingly whips up her faves. Of course, it certainly doesn’t hurt to see Lee Min Ho get all chef-like as he plates the pasta, complete with that perfect basil leaf on top of the tomato sauce.

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My Love From The Star

In the K drama classic My Love from the Star, two giant stars of K drama cross paths as a literal man from the star, an alien; and a movie star. Korea’s highest paid actors, Kim Soo Hyun and Jun Ji Hyun . Movie star Cheong Song-Yi is the victim of a murder frame up so her career is stalled. Her neighbor university professor Do Min-joon is forced to hide her from the press. Their first few encounters are all contentious and conflict-ridden. Since she is always dieting, she can never have her favorite fried chicken and beer, or chimaek. The stoic Do Min-joon finally takes pity on her and buys her fried chicken and beer and this starts their action packed but ultimately touching romance.

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It's Okay To Not Be Okay

In another classic Kim Soo Hyun drama, It’s Okay to Not Be Okay, the two main characters bump heads and exchange many heated confrontations . But when psychiatric nurse Moon Gang Tae and his autistic brother Moon Sang Tae (by the award winner and absolute chameleon (Oh Jung -se) clean the kitchen, do the marketing and cook a full breakfast for children’s book author Go Moon Young (fashion darling and perfectly cast Seo yea-ji), it is a turning point in all their lives , and the symbolic start of healing for all three characters. It is both a romantic and pragmatic scene, showing that love doesn’t have to mean a literal romantic dinner; it can also mean, making sure your kitchen works.

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Romance Is a Bonus Book

But sometimes, using someone’s kitchen can also be a surprise. In Romance is a Bonus Book, the down on her luck Kang Dan-i (beautiful and determined Lee Na-Young) secretly lives in her best friend’s house. But when wunderkind editor and writer Cha Eun ho (former model and dreamy Lee Jong Suk) discovers her secret, he fully supports her struggle to rebuild her life. One of their first shared meals as a couple was tteokboki, and they eat it by biting the opposite ends of each piece and then ending each mouthful with a sweet and spicy kiss.

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Our Beloved Summer

In the recently concluded hit, Our Beloved Summer, Kook Yeon-Soo (spunky and quirky Kim Da-mi) and Choi Woong (chill and charming Choi Woo Shik) take the long and winding road to love, starting off as high school cat-and-dog students, who then become college sweethearts, who then have a traumatic breakup. All their high school shenanigans were captured in a popular documentary that becomes a viral online sensation. They then have to revisit the toxic dynamics of their convoluted relationship, When Woong becomes close with an idol who is also a collector of his art, Yeon-soo wends her way back into his life, pretending to renew their friendship by insisting on regular sleepovers. On their first sleepover, she cooks him breakfast, which begins the thawing of their cold war.

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