STUDIO X+U, MBC
In the climate and environment project ‘Antarctica’s Chef’ (produced by STUDIO X+U, MBC), Baek Jong-won, Lim Soo-hyang, Suho, and Chae Jong-hyeop were stranded by an unexpected bout of bad weather and spent the night with members of China’s Great Wall Station, sharing warm camaraderie.
In the episode that aired on the 8th, ‘Antarctica’s Chef’ followed Baek Jong-won, Lim Soo-hyang, Suho, and Chae Jong-hyeop as they headed to China’s Great Wall Station. South Korea’s King Sejong Station and China’s Great Wall Station, both in Asia, are culturally close and, due to geographic characteristics, have maintained a solid cooperative relationship. The foursome visited Great Wall Station to serve a meal in support of the two stations’ future. Captain Wang Jianzhong and administrator Lu Zhuang welcomed them, and together they rang the ‘Great Wall Bell’, which tolls only on special days, to wish for peace and happiness.
Great Wall’s food storage was packed with diverse and distinctive Chinese ingredients, such as American bullfrogs and sheep hearts. After much thought, the four settled on a menu of doenjang-jjigae, Andong jjimdak, osam bulgogi, and rolled omelet. Showing flawless teamwork, they prepped vegetables while thawing frozen ingredients. When it was mealtime and the Chinese crew entered the dining hall, the four waited nervously for their verdict. They soon felt relieved and proud at the rave reactions: “It’s delicious”, “It tastes like mom’s cooking”.
It was time to return to King Sejong Station, but an emergency countermeasures meeting was convened as the weather suddenly deteriorated. The sky that had been clear when they arrived at Great Wall Station had turned into strong winds and a blizzard. Lee Hyung-geun, head of King Sejong Station, reported, “The waves are too high, so boat operations are impossible,” and Kwon Young-hoon, the administrator who had come along to Great Wall, relayed this, signaling that returning to King Sejong Station would be difficult. Suho said, “I was so flustered I couldn’t tell whether it was real or a hidden camera,” and Lim Soo-hyang recalled, “I was scared.” Although many people, including the production team, were suddenly left adrift at Great Wall Station, Captain Wang provided a place to stay, which was a relief. After a white night of blowing snow, the sun rose and, as if it were a lie, the sky cleared. The ‘Antarctica’s Chef’ team parted reluctantly, promising to meet again the Chinese crew with whom they had grown close, and returned safely to King Sejong Station.
Lim Soo-hyang opened a ‘surprise hair salon’ for the winter-over crew. With no salons in Antarctica, those who had been living there for about a year found hair care difficult, and many wore long hair. To prepare, Lim had been practicing hairdressing for months before ‘entering Antarctica’, clocking in and out at a salon. Winter-over crew members, anticipating her ‘hairstylist debut’, arrived one after another at Lim’s salon. Lim showed off confident cutting skills tailored to the styles they wanted, such as a ‘Cha Eun-woo-style see-through dandy cut’ and a ‘Beauty and the Pure-hearted Man Lim Soo-hyang-style bob’. Lim put her whole heart into itso much that hair stuck all over her faceand with Suho finishing with delicate styling, the ‘Antarctic Hair Salon’ was a huge hit.
Next, the four headed to Uruguay’s Artigas Station, where new summer crew had arrived and, so far, only members with no exchange with King Sejong Station were present. At Artigas, Petra Da Costa, the first female station leader since its founding, welcomed the foursome. The Uruguayan station primarily researches the melting of the ‘Collins Glacier’, an important indicator of climate change. The one meal the foursome will present there for the first greeting between King Sejong and Artigas Stations will be revealed in the next episode.
The climate and environment project ‘Antarctica’s Chef’ is released every Monday at 0:00 on U+tv and U+mobiletv, and airs on MBC on the same Monday at 10:50 p.m.
