'Culinary Class Wars' has transformed South Korea's fine dining scene

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — When South Korean chef Jun Lee opened his restaurant SOIGNÉ in Seoul 13 years ago, explaining what fine dining meant was part of the job. Customers would ask for à la carte items at his "modern Seoul cuisine" restaurant, which only serves a tasting menu, or question why a meal took so long. Today Lee finds himself answering different questions — queries about flavor combinations, cooking techniques, and the philosophy behind his dishes. "Many people either didn't know this culture existed or weren't particularly interested," said Lee, whose restaurant name means "well-made" in French. "But now they're becoming interested, and when they come to dine, the questions they ask — the style of their questions — have more depth." Chefs and culinary experts say part of the shift is driven by Netflix's cooking competition series "Culinary Class Wars," where Lee recently appeared in the second season. The unscripted series pits acclaimed "white spoon" chefs — including Michelin-starred restaurateurs — against underdog "black spoon" challengers. The second season of "Culinary Class Wars" debuted at No. 1 on Netflix's Global Top 10 (Non-English TV) list in December, and has remained on the chart for five consecutive weeks. Netflix has officially confirmed a third season. Booking requestsTei Yong, CEO of CATCHTABLE, South Korea's leading restaurant reservation platform, said the show's influence far exceeded entertainment value. "I never imagined a single TV show could generate this level of interest in gastronomy," Yong told The Associated Press. In November 2024, after Season 1 aired, Seoul's Metropolitan Government hosted a pop-up event featuring fine dining chefs from the Netflix series. When CATCHTABLE opened 150 reservations, nearly 450,000 people attempted to book — roughly 3,000 people competing for each spot. Yong said the interest in gastronomy has "sustained" after the first season. The average booking and waitlist registrations per participating restaurant jumped approximately 303% in the five weeks following Season 2's premiere compared with the five weeks prior, he said. Personal transformationsChef Kim Sung-woon, of Table for Four in Seoul, said that reservations have tripled after the show. His staff receives roughly 100 phone calls daily — so many they can barely answer while working. But Kim said his life has changed in other ways, too. "Customers ask for photos constantly now — I feel like a celebrity," Kim said. "I've received more letters than at any time since my military service. Young fans, even children, write to me." Born and raised in Taean, a seaside town south of Seoul, Kim grew up farming and once dreamed of becoming a baseball umpire before stumbling into the restaurant industry. Despite decades in the culinary world, he said he was speechless when he arrived at the Netflix set and saw legendary chefs he'd idolized. Lee has seen similar changes. Walking down the street, people now ask for photos. Requests for international collaboration have increased significantly. "Before the show, foreigners made up the majority of our reservations," Lee said. "Now South Korean customers book so quickly that foreign visitors often can't get tables." Modern Korean CuisineThe show has proven particularly significant for chefs serving Korean cuisine with fine dining techniques — a category gaining international attention. For Lee, simply adding Korean ingredients doesn't make a dish culturally Korean. "If you just put kimchi in a dish and say it's inspired by Korean food, does that make it Korean?" he said. "Korean food culture isn't about specific recipes — it's the accumulated lifestyle habits people have created." Beyond the familiar Korean barbecue and bibimbap that have come to define Korean cuisine globally, chefs like Lee are reclaiming a more nuanced cultural identity. He draws on French, American, and other techniques learned in New York kitchens. "But because I'm expressing them as a South Korean person living in Seoul, Korean elements naturally come through," he said. Rather than translating concepts into Western terms, Lee keeps them in Korean — beginning with his signature dish, Hanwoo and Banchans — top-quality beef with an array of seasonal Korean condiments and vegetables. "Side dishes in English suggest something optional. But in Korean culture, without banchan, a meal feels incomplete. The number of banchan signals whether it's an ordinary day or a special occasion — emotions shared by those who live this culture." Broader contextThe show's success builds on years of groundwork — the South Korean government has actively promoted Korean cuisine globally since the late 2000s. Jihyung Andrew Kim, a professor in culinary arts and food management at Hanyang Women's University, said entertainment content proved particularly effective in reaching younger audiences. "The government made genuine efforts for a long time," Kim said. "But Netflix and cultural content — like BTS gaining international recognition — accelerated globalization of Korean food." The academic observed that fine dining interest has grown particularly among diners in their 20s and 30s, driven by social media culture where dining experiences become shareable content. Persistent challengesDespite the enthusiasm, challenges remain. Chef Kim pointed to service staff shortages following COVID-19 as a critical industry obstacle. "For fine dining to truly develop, we need service teams to grow alongside chefs," Kim told the AP. Lee said Korean fine dining chefs now face intense competition in a thriving market. "If the market hadn't broadened through Netflix and the show like this, it would have been a much more difficult environment," he said.