Hongseong Gwangcheon Caves Salted Shrimp and Seocheon Gizzard Shad Fishing... Korean Cuisine and Dining 15th Anniversary Part 2

Episode 770 <Korean Cuisine and Dining>

Korean Cuisine and Dining 15th Anniversary Special 'Connecting the World through the Affection of Food' Part 2 - Part 2: Learning a Full Table

Choi Soo-jong, Lee Chan-won, and Yun Ju-mo embark on a journey to discover the true taste of Korean food with foreign guests.

Lee Chan-won fishes for gizzard shad in the Seocheon sea → Gizzard shad grilling mukbang; a great performance in the 15th-anniversary special.

Broadcast: Thursday, September 10, 2026, at 7:40 PM on KBS 1TV

Part 1 of the <Korean Cuisine and Dining> 15th-anniversary special concluded by showcasing the "Affection of Food" (Bab-jeong), where guests are treated as precious connections and given generously. Having felt that each bowl filled with sincerity was like a treasure, the foreign guests now set out themselves to find the true taste of Korea.

Koreans have cooked various ingredients provided by nature in many different ways. Within that lies the story of Koreans who overcame harsh times through the power of a meal. To find this, actor Choi Soo-jong, Robert (62) and Saeri (21) head to the caves, singer Lee Chan-won, Hwang Jin Yi (49) head to the sea, and chef Yun Ju-mo (Yun Nara) and Melinda (55) head out to learn the hand-tasting skills of seasoning vegetables from a village elder. In these vivid scenes, they learn a depth of affection that goes beyond mere recipes. In this second part of the <Korean Cuisine and Dining> 15th-anniversary special, a full table unfolds for the foreign guests who have become immersed in the atmosphere of Korea.

Gwangcheon Caves in Hongseong, Chungcheongnam-do, containing Korean history

In the area around Gwangcheoncheon in Hongseong-gun, Chungcheongnam-do, there used to be a port. It was a place where boats carrying small shrimp caught along the West Coast gathered to form the largest salted shrimp market in the country. Although the port has disappeared, the meal-keeper actor Choi Soo-jong and Robert and Saeri, a father and daughter from the United States, visit this place where stories of the past still remain. The Gwangcheon Caves, which ancestors carved by hand with affection, were developed as mines during the Japanese colonial period and now play a major role as storage for salted shrimp. The temperature in the caves is maintained between 14–15°C all year round, making it an ideal place to store salted shrimp, a fermented food.

Robert, who came from Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, tastes salted shrimp, a core Korean seasoning and representative fermented food. He shares that Korean food, which uses various seasonings, provides a new experience every time. It is a time to learn how to eat salted shrimp, which is delicious on its own, even more tastily. They present seasoned salted shrimp, which is a perfect match for pork mixed with minced garlic, Pepper, perilla oil or sesame oil, and red pepper powder, using Yukjeot, the king of salted shrimp, which is exceptionally large and has a strong savory taste.

Learning about life in the West Sea, which contains the lives of Koreans

At Wolhaseong Port in Seocheon-gun, Chungcheongnam-do, boats are moored in a parking lot rather than a pier. Because there are no docking facilities, they say the boats must be pulled out to the sea by tractors. Lee Chan-won, who always wanted to ride a fishing boat while watching <Korean Cuisine and Dining>, is excited, and Hwang Jin Yi, who flew over 50 hours from Argentina, also has time to enjoy the true taste of the Korean sea. Only the Dragon King knows what will be caught, but this time, the product provided by nature is 'fresh gizzard shad,' which is suitable for sashimi because the bones are soft and the flesh is tender.

Captain Kim Eui-sung (63), who personally prepares the sashimi, rolls up his sleeves, saying he will teach how to properly eat gizzard shad sashimi. Instead of red chili paste, they eat a "gizzard shad sashimi samhap," where the sashimi is placed on top of aged kimchi (mukeunji) and topped with homemade soybean paste (doenjang). They pour out praise, calling it the best samhap ever. The sea is a rough workplace where one must head out to catch fish according to the season. The reason they overcome such sea work positively is that the work provides food for their families. Through the captain's story, Hwang Jin Yi reflects on the mindset of Koreans who pioneer the vast ocean.

A time to learn the hand-tasting skills of Koreans

Yun Ju-mo and Melinda, who came from New York State, USA, head to Sanjeong Village in Seocheon-gun, Chungcheongnam-do, wearing traditional work pants (il-baji). Having grown perilla leaves in New York since appearing on <Korean Cuisine and Dining> 14 years ago, he chose seasoned vegetable dishes (namul) as the food he definitely wanted to learn in Korea. For Melinda, the village elder's association president, Jang Hyeon-sun (80), willingly offers vegetables from her garden. Furthermore, she steps forward to teach Melinda, an enthusiastic student, namul dishes filled with the hand-tasting skills of Koreans.

For the amaranth (bireumnamul), whose young leaves and stems are seasoned and eaten in summer, the elder passes down the secret of "Amaranth with Tofu," which is mixed with seasoning and her secret ingredient, mashed tofu. Melinda learns the hand-tasting skills of Koreans from the sight of a mother adding seasoning somewhat intuitively. Our mothers fill the table even with nameless wild grasses that are easy to overlook. It is a time to learn the wisdom of life, adding their own hand-tasting skills to ingredients available according to the season.

Becoming 'Bab-pawons' (Food Reporters) to convey the heart learned from <Korean Cuisine and Dining> to the world

The group of seven reunites with the products they each obtained. They begin to grill the oil-filled gizzard shad whole over charcoal. The foreign guests are surprised to see Lee Chan-won eating the grilled gizzard shad whole, starting from the head. For those who grill fish like a steak, the Korean way is entirely new. However, once they taste it, even the guests who were afraid fall in love with the taste of gizzard shad.

Thanks to the diverse tastes of Korea, Robert's heart opened to foods he wouldn't have even tried before. Melinda expressed that through the two days of meals, she learned not only the taste of Korea but also its warm heart, and she intends to widely promote Korean food after returning to the United States. The foreign guests spent time where life becomes deeper by sharing the Affection of Food. The special broadcast vividly shows them becoming 'Bab-pawons'—food reporters who will return to their home countries to spread the food they learned in Korea and convey Korea's affection to the world.

<Korean Cuisine and Dining> is broadcast every Thursday at 7:40 PM on KBS 1TV.

(Photo provided = KBS 1TV 'Korean Cuisine and Dining')

◆ At a Glance

· Publishing Institution: KBS

· Category: Korean Cuisine and Dining

· Distribution: September 9, 09:48

Source: KBS Press Release

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