Malicious rumors swirl as ‘Culinary Class Wars’ popularity soars

Anh Sung-jae on “Culinary Class Wars” (Netflix)

As Netflix’s hit cooking competition “Culinary Class Wars” continues to gain traction both in South Korea and overseas, its success has been accompanied by a wave of malicious rumors and misinformation targeting its chefs.

At the center of the controversy is Anh Sung-jae, the show’s viral judge together with Paik Jong-won. Online rumors have falsely alleged that Anh is Chinese, and that he was affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party. The claims gained traction on online forums amid accusations that he showed favoritism toward Chinese cuisine during the competition.

The claims are untrue. Anh has publicly stated that he was born in Korea and emigrated to the United States with his family at age 13. Currently, he holds US citizenship, and has enlisted in the US military and was deployed during the Iraq War.

Separate controversy over another cast member emerged following remarks by Choi Yoo-kang, a former chef at Palsun — the renowned Chinese restaurant at The Shilla Seoul — who appeared on the show as a contestant on the white team. Via a YouTube interview uploaded on 2023, Choi described his experience working at Palsun as deeply hierarchical and isolating, characterizing the kitchen as “a closed-off world.”

According to Choi, Korean staff were often treated as disposable labor and excluded from meaningful communication by the incumbent Chinese staff. He claimed that once service began, staff would switch exclusively to speaking Chinese, leaving Korean employees sidelined.

“Since the Korean employees couldn’t understand what was being said, they would just stand there, stunned, not knowing what to do,” he said.

Online speculation subsequently dragged another white team contestant into the controversy. Rumors suggested chef Hu Deok-juk was connected to the alleged workplace issues at Palsun. Born in Korea to Taiwanese parents, Hu opened Palsun in 1979 and served as its head chef until 2005. Hu has not publicly commented about the rumors.

In response to the growing rumors, Studio Slam, the production company behind “Culinary Class Wars 2,” issued a statement on Jan. 6 via its official YouTube channel, warning that it will pursue legal action against malicious commenters.

“Since the program began airing, there have been personal attacks, malicious comments targeting specific chefs and defamatory messages sent directly to their personal social media accounts,” the statement read.

“These actions severely damage the honor of chefs who have devoted their lives to cooking and leave deep, lasting wounds on cast members who are private individuals.”

The company added that it was actively collecting evidence of defamatory posts and messages and will take “strong legal action without leniency” against those responsible.

Anh’s SNS post warning the public about counterfeit tickets falsely claiming to be for Mosu Seoul (Anh’s official SNS account)

Meanwhile, the show’s popularity has also sparked opportunistic scams. On Saturday, Anh warned the public about counterfeit dining tickets falsely branded as Mosu reservations. With Anh as the owner head chef, Mosu Seoul is currently the only restaurant in Korea to hold three Michelin stars.

“Mosu does not issue tickets like these,” Anh wrote on his personal social media account on Saturday. “I hope there will be no further victims.”

The image he shared showed what appeared to be official dining tickets for Mosu Seoul, which were later confirmed to be fake and not issued by the restaurant.

yoonseo.3348@heraldcorp.com