KBS2 variety show ‘Problem Children in the Rooftop Room Season 2’

The ‘Chinese cuisine goddess’ Park Eun-young showed off her confident, candid banter.

On the 308th episode of KBS2 variety show ‘Problem Children in the Rooftop Room Season 2’ (hereafter ‘Okmuna’), which aired on the 2nd (Thu), Chinese-cuisine chef Park Eun-young and Korean-cuisine chef Kim Si-hyeonwho drew attention through the variety series ‘Culinary Class Wars’appeared and, together with Song Eun-yi, Kim Sook, Kim Jong-kook, Hong Jin-kyung, Yang Se-chan, and Joo Woo-jae, waged inventive quiz battles and enjoyed flavorful talk time.

In the opening, Park Eun-young joined Kim Jong-kook’s new ‘Anyang little brother’ line, drawing attention. An Anyang native, Park said, “Kim Jong-kook was really famous in Anyang,” making him proud. She then added, “There’s a rumor you had a huge fight at a pork cutlet place on Anyang First Street. I even heard you won 100-to-1,” reviving the ‘Anyang Kim-Dokki’ rumor and prompting laughter. Kim responded, “It’s just an oral folktale,” waving it off, yet he smiled with satisfaction at the spirited showing by his ‘Anyang little brother’ Park Eun-young.

Park Eun-young also sparked laughs with her trademark hunger for popularity. When Kim Si-hyeon explained the origin of the ‘Baby Beast’ nickname, saying, “The ‘ang~’ pose was something I struck naturally without realizing the camera was rolling,” Park joked, “The ‘Baby Beast’ was so cute. If I had known I had something like that, I would have prepared a pose in advance.”

KBS2 variety show ‘Problem Children in the Rooftop Room Season 2’

Also the star of the ‘meatball Queencard meme,’ Park brought up the dance that made waves. “It was actually something I learned. When I was in Hong Kong, I learned it from Annie of ‘Tashannie,’ and she told me, ‘It’s nice to see you working hard, but you don’t have to say you learned it from me,’” she confessed, provoking laughter. Then, after showing the viral ‘Queencard’ dance and even the ‘NOT CUTE ANYMORE’ choreography she’s been practicing lately, Park said, “Just from dancing, more than 10 ad casting offers came in. I think I’ve gotten a taste for dancing,” radiating charm. Delighted by the continued exploits of his ‘Anyang little brother,’ Kim Jong-kook added supportive words: “As expected from AnyangI love it. So refreshing.”

Meanwhile, the episode featured cooking-related questions such as “the number of pleats on a xiaolongbao,” “how to remove leeches attached to minari (water dropwort),” and “Korean-style service at a Manhattan drivers’ diner that New Yorkers line up for,” adding to the fun. In addition, the two shared stories of their culinary lives, heightening interest.

Now in her 14th year in Chinese cuisine, Park Eun-young surprised everyone by saying, “I actually had no intention of becoming a chef. While debating college, I simply chose the culinary arts department.” She added, “I chose a Chinese-cuisine major because they said they sent students on local exchange.” Though she started as a complete cooking novice, she explained that she later became “top of the class,” impressing the cast. By contrast, Kim Si-hyeon shared how she found her aptitude while preparing for art-school entrance exams and switched to cooking, along with episodes brimming with passion. In particular, she revealed, “I wanted to work at a Michelin restaurant, but no job posting appeared, so I just went there with a portfolio and a letter and got hired,” drawing further surprise.

The two chefs also shared injury episodes from the rough-and-tumble kitchen. Park Eun-young said, “I once hurt my hand in a noodle dough machine. My hand was in shreds and blood was pouring out, but with service time approaching I couldn’t even go to the hospital, so I wrapped it tightly in box tape and kept working,” while Kim Si-hyeon added, “I got scalded while moving hot water and was hospitalized for a month. It covered about 25% of my body surface area. As soon as I took off my chef’s jacket, chunks of skin fell off my arm.”

Finally, Park Eun-young and Kim Si-hyeon presented ‘Rooftop Room’s super-simple 10-minute recipes,’ offering plenty to see. Park unveiled the Chinese-style jjajang ramen ‘Gobeojja,’ while Kim introduced the seasonal-greens-packed ‘Daechung-namul jeon.’

‘Problem Children in the Rooftop Room,’ a chatter-and-quiz war that unleashes dopamine from the rooftop, airs every Thursday at 8:30 p.m. on KBS 2TV.