YouTube channel ‘One Mic’ screen capture

Chef Cheon Sang-hyeon, who appears on ‘Black & White Chef 2’, revealed that he is battling cancer.

On the 21st, a video titled ‘On-site Mic. Appearing on Black & White Chef 2 while undergoing chemotherapy.. The first confession from the presidential chef at Cheong Wa Dae’ was uploaded to the YouTube channel ‘One Mic’.

In the video, Cheon Sang-hyeon explained, “The person who recommended me as the presidential chef at Cheong Wa Dae was Master Hu Deok-juk. I trained under Master Hu Deok-juk,” adding, “At the time, Chinese cuisine at The Shilla Hotel was well known, so I asked him to recommend someone. I received two candidates and reviewed their resumes. After two months of background checks, I was finally selected.”

He continued, “I told Chef Hu Deok-juk, ‘I will serve the president well for five years and return.’ He said, ‘When the time comes, you can return to your original post. I’ve arranged everything. Just don’t cause trouble and work hard, then come back,’ and that’s how I went in.”

Regarding facing his master Hu Deok-juk in a mentor-disciple showdown on ‘Black & White Chef 2’, he said, “To be honest, I find Master quite intimidating. When I joined, his position was department head. Later he became executive director and then director,” adding, “It wasn’t that he was harsh with us; it was that his very presence was hard to approach. He had a gentle charisma.”

Cheon Sang-hyeon said, “The team competition was also a first. Even though I’m nominally the presidential chef, it was really tough,” adding, “I felt like a student. I came across like a very young disciple, and the teacher appeared like a towering tree, which looked beautiful. It was fun.”

Then, about the one-on-one match that followed the team mission, he said, “I never imagined the two of us would be competitors. I felt choked up,” adding, “Master often said ‘it’s hard.’ I worried about his health. Whether I liked it or not, I competed against him, and I’m relieved that I lost to him.”

He said he had previously been approached for Season 1 of ‘Black & White Chef’: “I was thinking of appearing in Season 1, but I actually had health issues. My cancer had recurred and I needed another surgery, so I couldn’t film Season 1,” adding, “I’ve now had surgery and I’m taking medication. Chemotherapy. So I had two surgeries. They resected my lung twice. After cutting it out, I’ve been taking anticancer drugs.”

He went on, “While doing that, they said there was also a tumor in my head and suspected a meningioma. I underwent radiation treatment and surgery,” adding, “On top of that, I also have noise-induced hearing loss, so I don’t catch what people are saying very well. Even though I won the first round, didn’t I blatantly do that? I don’t catch things well.”

YouTube channel ‘One Mic’ screen capture

YouTube channel ‘One Mic’ screen capture