[비즈한국] The “familiar flavor” of ‘The Tyrant’s Chef’ is formidable. After recording the highest viewership ratings among all tvN Saturday-Sunday dramas this year with its first episode, it reached 11.1% nationwide by the fourth episode, taking the top spot for the year. Although a rookie actor had to step into the lead role due to an unfortunate issue, it appears to have been a blessing in disguise. ‘The Tyrant’s Chef’ is a survival fantasy rom-com about a chef who time-slips into the past and ends up serving a king who is both a notorious tyrant and a man with an absolute palate. While it is not the first work of its kind, the public is quickly falling for this drama. Why is that?
The chef in ‘The Tyrant’s Chef’ is Yeon Ji-young (played by Lim Yoon-ah). In 2025, Yeon Ji-young wins a top French culinary competition, securing her chance to become the head chef of a Michelin 3-star restaurant. But her joy is short-lived; she is suddenly transported back 500 years to the Joseon Dynasty. It happened while she was on a flight back home, carrying an ancient book called the ‘Mangunrok’ at her historian father’s request, when she began wiping away coffee spills from the book and read a specific passage. Whether it was the book or a solar eclipse occurring at that time, she doesn't know, but she must find a way back.
The tyrant Yeon Ji-young must deal with is Lee Hun (played by Lee Chae-min). Born with the fate of becoming king, he is the ruler of the Joseon period where Yeon Ji-young has landed. He skips rituals during celestial anomalies like eclipses to go hunting instead, and wields absolute power by demanding women from across the country via “Chaehongsa” (royal inspectors). However, deep down, he is filled with longing for his mother, who was deposed and killed when he was a child, and driven by a burning desire for revenge.
Yeon Ji-young’s ultimate weapon is her cooking. Although King Lee Hun, whom she meets under unfortunate circumstances, has a notoriously picky and sensitive palate, Yeon Ji-young wins him over by utilizing modern culinary techniques, ranging from gochujang butter bibimbap to sous-vide steak and haute cuisine. Though he is a king who enjoys all kinds of delicacies, it is only natural for him to be stunned by dishes he has never even heard of in the Joseon era.
What’s interesting is that, apart from the serious depiction of the cooking process, the expressions of those tasting the food are portrayed like scenes from a cartoon, providing much laughter. It’s a given that their eyes glow the moment they eat food seasoned with MSG that explodes with umami; when eating beef tartare made of venison, they hallucinate deer frolicking in a field, and when savoring pea-based *talakjuk* (milk porridge), they are treated to exaggerated CGI of peas ripening under the sun. The direction, which fills the screen with the Chinese character ‘美味’ (tasty) during flashing hallucination sequences, is reminiscent of the popular 90s animation ‘Cooking Master Boy’. You might think it’s childish, but it still draws a smirk.
The comedy derived from the disconnect between the past and the future—a staple of time-slip stories—is also a major pillar of the show’s humor. ‘The Tyrant’s Chef’ is especially flavorful thanks to the actors skilled in comedic acting. Look at the scene in episode 4 where Yeon Ji-young negotiates with the corrupt official Im Song-jae (Oh Eui-sik) and asks him to find her bag. The struggle to explain a ‘bag’ is staged like a game of charades, with Lim Yoon-ah and Oh Eui-sik’s cheeky performances meshing perfectly to trigger laughter. The drama overall benefits from the depth of Lim Yoon-ah, who has honed her lively comedic skills in movies like ‘Confidential Assignment’ and ‘Exit’, and the drama ‘King the Land’.
With 4 out of 12 episodes aired, there is still a long way to go, but the familiar and comfortable narrative flow makes it easy for viewers to get into. It’s obvious that Yeon Ji-young and Lee Hun will transition from ‘enemies’ to ‘romance’. The pace is also fast; the two have already shared a kiss at the end of episode 4. It is also a foregone conclusion that Lee Hun, who carries the inner scar of losing his mother, will be healed by Yeon Ji-young’s cooking. In fact, he already shed tears while eating her first dish, the gochujang butter bibimbap, as it reminded him of his childhood mother. With clear villainous roles like Gang Mok-ju (Kang Han-na) and Grand Prince Jesan (Choi Gwi-hwa), and ally roles like Seo Gil-geum (Yoon Seo-ah), along with clichés familiar from various historical dramas and time-slip stories, there is no trouble in immersing oneself in the story.
Also, unlike the original web novel ‘Surviving as Yeonsangun’s Chef’, ‘The Tyrant’s Chef’ adapts the source material into a fictional historical drama that uses real history and figures as motifs. It is free from controversies over historical distortion while satisfying the curiosity of history buffs. Lee Hun, whom Yeon Ji-young knows as Prince Yeonhui from the future, is the well-known Yeonsangun. The notorious femme fatale Jang Nok-su is varied into Gang Mok-ju, and Grand Prince Je-an, who was set to inherit the throne but was sidelined, is reimagined as Grand Prince Jesan. In historical dramas, ‘history is the spoiler,’ which tends to lower the tension regarding the ending, but fictional history allows for greater creative freedom. Therefore, it stimulates curiosity about how the ending between the tyrant Prince Yeonhui and Yeon Ji-young will unfold. Given cases like ‘Love in the Moonlight’ and ‘Mr. Queen’, which modeled characters after real people but showed a different ending than history, this drama’s conclusion is also highly anticipated.
Once again, there is nothing as formidable as a familiar flavor. ‘The Tyrant’s Chef’ maximizes that familiar flavor so that anyone can comfortably laugh and enjoy it. As it is being supplied overseas through Netflix and is enjoying global success, it is hard to say what records it will set in the future. Following ‘Jewel in the Palace’ and ‘Mr. Queen’, the royal banquet table of the palace might once again be powerfully imprinted on international viewers.
Who is the writer, Jung Soo-jin?
I have worked across various magazines, covering and writing about movies, travel, and pop culture. I don’t want to fall behind on trends, but I have become an “old soul” who watches the latest dramas and predicts the same obvious clichés for every next scene. I am trying to regain my sense while drifting through the vast OTT world, and my current wish is for the release of an integrated OTT subscription plan.