▲ This image provided by Netflix shows culinary reality show "Culinary Class War," hosted by Baek Jong-won (R), Korea's widely published culinary expert, and Ahn Sung-jae, Korea's only Michelin 3-star chef. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

 

SEOUL, Sept. 25 (Yonhap) -- South Korean survival reality show Culinary Class Wars dominated Netflix’s non-English TV series category in its debut week, becoming the most-watched series worldwide.

 

According to Netflix on the 25th, Culinary Class Wars accumulated 3.8 million views (calculated by dividing total viewing time by the show’s runtime) from September 16 to 22, securing the top spot in the non-English TV series category.

 

The show features a competition between 80 "Black Spoon" chefs, who are less recognized in the culinary world, and 20 more famous "White Spoon" chefs. These participants face off in various cooking challenges to determine the winner. 

 

Notable judges include Baek Jong-won, CEO of The Born Korea, and An Sung-jae, chef of Mosu Seoul, while renowned chefs such as Leo Kang, Choi Hyun-seok, Edward Lee, Jung Ji-sun, and Oh Se-deuk appear as contestants under the "White Spoon" category. The large-scale set, designed to accommodate 40 simultaneous cooking stations, has also garnered attention.

 

Culinary Class Wars also ranked first among all TV and OTT (online streaming) content in the weekly rankings released by Good Data Corporation on the 24th. In the individual popularity rankings, Baek Jong-won placed 3rd, An Sung-jae 7th, and White Spoon contestant Choi Kang-rok 8th.

 

▲ Baek Jong-won (L), Korea's widely published culinary expert and CEO of The Born Korea, poses for photos with Ahn Sung-jae, Korea's only Michelin 3-star chef, at the media conference for Netflix' culinary reality show "Culinary Class War," held in Seoul on Sept. 11, 2024. (Yonhap)

 

The 12-episode series premiered on September 17 with episodes 1 to 4, followed by episodes 5 to 7 on the 24th. The remaining episodes, 8 to 10, will be released on October 1, with the final two episodes available on October 8.

 

Meanwhile, the romantic comedy Son of Mom's Friend starring Jung Hae-in and Jung So-min ranked second, and the recently concluded drama Family X Melodrama starring Ji Jin-hee, Kim Ji-soo, and Son Na-eun took 10th place.

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