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It’s a wrap for Three Meals a Day: Fishing Village

javabeans: You know, despite my early misgivings, Three Meals a Day: Fishing Village turned out to be a lot more interesting than I’d thought. And also, way more entertaining than the farmhouse edition, which was fun in a boring way, or maybe boring in a fun way.

girlfriday: Yeah, for starters, there’s Chajumma. That’d be Cha Seung-won’s ajumma alter ego. He chops, he slices, he bakes his own bread, makes his own liquor. He even makes his own condiments!

javabeans: The show starts off at a somewhat normal-level of difficulty and then gradually amps it up, so at first you’re thinking, “Huh, pretty good.” But he just keeps going and going, and by the time he’s picking fresh tomatoes from his garden and turning that into ketchup, my jaw was permanently dropped.

girlfriday: Then the show becomes Let’s See What New Challenge Chajumma Will Top Today.

javabeans: That was definitely the name of Na PD’s game. You got the sense that he didn’t know if it was possible but would demand impossible things just to see Chajumma’s reaction, and then got the thing he asked for anyway. With anybody else, if you said, “Make me fresh ketchup,” the reaction might be, “Screw you, who knows how to make that?” But with Chajumma, it was, “Screw you, that’s so much work, I should start right now.”

girlfriday: I think Na PD was shocked as much as anyone. I was pretty sure that he was half joking when he said, “For breakfast, I would like some french toast and orange marmalade. Easy, right? We’ll give you milk.”

javabeans: Yoo Hae-jin surprised me too, and did his share of work by jerry-rigging everything from scrap parts. He made the baking rack, the trash-can-cooking-stove, the rain tent, the sushi wheel, the outdoor stools — basically, he was Dad and Cha Seung-won was Mom, and it was adorable.

girlfriday: I did love the running narrative that they were a little family. Especially when Sohn Ho-joon joined them and became their little kid. He would just stare open-mouthed at Mom and Dad, half-starstruck and half-afraid.

javabeans: He was really so cute, and his raw earnestness just makes you (and everyone) want to root for him.

girlfriday: And feed him.

javabeans: This worked well on that show.

girlfriday: You could actually sense the pleasure on Chajumma’s face when he waited for Hojoonie’s reaction after taking the first bite of every meal. He was always asking with so much anticipation, “It’s good, right? It’s really good, right?” But it really did look good, even to my untrained eye. I have no idea how Cha Seung-won knows how to cook all of the things, but even my mother started writing down his recipes while watching the show.

javabeans: That’s so cute. And your mother is a good cook! She’s picking up tips from Cha Seung-won!

girlfriday: Last weekend, I went home and she announced with a huge grin, “We’re having spicy pork stir-fry! It’s Cha Seung-won’s recipe!” And then we ate it while watching the newest episode of Three Meals.

javabeans: The funniest-saddest moments for me were when Hae-jin, whose main job was to fish, came home empty-handed every night and couldn’t face the wife in shame, and then Wife-jumma kept telling him it was all right, they would make do with vegetables.

girlfriday: That was so hilariously sad. They would play sad music like they were a poor drama family that couldn’t make ends meet.

javabeans: And Hae-jin would interview that he felt so grateful for all the delicious food he was getting that he felt he had to pull his weight, and so being unable to do that made him embarrassed to face his “family.” Literally, he would pull up his turtleneck over his mouth and pull his hood closed to hide his face, and then arrive in the yard and try to say as casually as possible, “Sorry, nothing today.” I just wanted him to catch a fish so bad.

girlfriday: He was the epitome of the hard-working dad who felt the weight of his incompetence every single day. They would’ve starved without those fish banks he kept on the side — nets containing fish to be used in times of emergency.

javabeans: And then Chajumma found the bank and used it all in one dinner without knowing what it was for! Hae-jin looked so panicked, because basically the wife used his emergency savings account for a regular dinner.

girlfriday: I think that was the secret to Fishing Village’s success — there was a clear sense of peril because they would starve if they caught nothing.

javabeans: And also, there was a natural narrative that formed. The farm version was okay, but basically it was just a day in the life, without necessarily a story pushing things along. Here, the situation unfolded like an actual dramatic storyline, and the realness of the reactions made it more compelling. Like when Chajumma left the island for a night and Hae-jin and Hojoonie were left to fend for themselves — they were simultaneously giddy with freedom and anxious about how to feed themselves.

girlfriday: It was exactly like a mom leaving a dad and teenage son home alone, and telling them not to eat pizza all weekend. And as soon as Mom leaves, they’re jumping around making a mess and calling for pizza. Only on the island, they can’t order pizza, so they had all the excitement but none of the quick and easy solutions.

javabeans: I loved Hae-jin’s attitude, where he needed to prove to Chajumma that he could take care of himself without him, and that, more than the primal need to fill his stomach, drove him to cook adequate meals. All the while, he’d grumble, “I can’t prove him right. I’d never hear the end of it.”

girlfriday: I began to believe they were really married.

javabeans: Hojoonie was super sweet and minimally helpful — he didn’t know how to do anything, but if you gave him instructions, he would do the hell out of it. It made him so endearing, and I think that’s why Chajumma loved him so much. He couldn’t praise him enough.

girlfriday: It was very different with Jung Woo, who came overnight for a short visit. He was so useless. SO. SO. Useless.

javabeans: It was the most hilarious thing, because he made Hojoonie look like an expert. He came all confident, saying that he could cook decently, just not as well as Cha Seung-won. But the moment he had to do anything…

girlfriday: He became Taecyeon?

javabeans: More than just being useless, he was so overwhelmed that he just malfunctioned. Like, he would stand there gaping, in everyone’s way, not knowing what to do or where to start. I loved how Hojoonie was showing him the trash-can cooking stove in the front yard over an open fire, and Jung Woo just asked, “Why don’t you just use the gas stove?”

girlfriday: Cue crickets.

javabeans: There were blank looks all around, as if to say, I can’t even. And then he’d be so at a loss that he would be fanning the flames, only his fan was pointed in the wrong direction and six feet away.

girlfriday: He managed to screw up every single task he was given. Chajumma once asked him to pick a vegetable from the garden, and he and Hojoonie plucked every single vegetable until they got to the right one.

javabeans: You actually got the sense that in that cramped space, Hojoonie and Jung Woo were physical impediments. There was no place they could sit to be out of the way, so more than just being unhelpful, they were actually obstacles.

girlfriday: I loved some of the running gags on the island, like the local market ajusshi who never opened his shop.

javabeans: It seemed like his perpetual absence stoked Chajumma’s stubbornness, to the point where he just HAD to buy something from that market, he didn’t care what, just as long as he won. He kept going back to the store repeatedly, and every time it was closed, and finally when he got the ajusshi to open up, he bought some random chips and went away happy.

girlfriday: Well, there wasn’t actually much to buy other than chips, since there was about two shelves’ worth of food in total.

javabeans: Didn’t you feel like the ajusshi didn’t answer his door because he wanted to keep everything for himself? “My precious Coke!”

girlfriday: Then he should really take down the market sign on his door.

javabeans: Na PD must have a thing for animals, because there were two more on this show, and they were so cute. There was a tiny mini-dog named Sanche, and his nemesis, the tiny kitten Beol, and they would fight for Hojoonie’s affections.

girlfriday: I know they obviously wrote that narrative into the dog-cat relationship, but it really did seem like they were jealous if Hojoonie ever pet the other one longer.

javabeans: I laughed when a PD asked which one Hojoonie preferred, and he said the dog because the cat wasn’t affectionate enough, “like somebody I know,” meaning Yoo Yeon-seok.

girlfriday: I died laughing. His love for Yeon-seok is single-minded and all-consuming.

javabeans: He just wants Yeon-seokie to love him ALL THE TIME, forever, is that so hard? But I did really like to see how close he is with Yunho (of DBSK/TVXQ/XKCD), because that’s a friendship that seems unlikely but also really sweet. There was a point when Hojoonie got stranded on the island two extra nights due to rough water, and he was worrying about it over the phone to Yunho, and Yunho just burst out cackling so loud you could hear it without a mic.

girlfriday: That was adorable. Ever since Youths Over Flowers, I still picture Yunho feeding Hojoonie when he’s away and calling to make sure that he’s eating and stuff.

javabeans: Maybe this is a pattern with Hojoonie.

girlfriday: He just brings out the mama bear in everyone.

javabeans: Don’t you have the image where each of his mama-bros is relieved to hear about the others, so that somebody’s always got him covered? They say it takes a village.

girlfriday: A fishing village!

javabeans: *groaaaaan*

 
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Awww. Where can i get subbed epis of this??? I want to watch this so bad. Dramafever and Viki are not working in my country (in case each or both of them got the license for this)

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Please... let me know too

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Only available subs are watching through Channel M or hulu for streaming....

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Where is it on Hulu? I can't seem to find it there...

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it's actually airing right now on Mchannel with english subs. :)

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Hi nefertwiti. Do you have the link to that?

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@revlow: I think nefertwiti talked about cable channel (M-Channel). Maybe you can check your local cable provider.

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Oh, now I get it. Thanks annflln. Darn, don't have here. :-(

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I'm so keen to find this with eng subs - but its NO WHERE - so gutted. HEARRRT BREAAAK hehe. (Just watched all The Greatest Love episodes over the weekend.)

Please someone help!

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Naww this sounds adorable! I want to see this but I already have a gazillion dramas waiting to be watched x.x TEACH ME YOUR SECRET TO THE FOURTH DIMENSION Javabeans and girlfriday ㅠㅠㅠ

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I really thought Na PD even cast animals for his shows but it turns out that the animals used in this edition is one of the staffs. I was hoping that Yoo Yeon-seok would drop by to visit or even Yunho but maybe next time if there is one. I love watching this show and also hate it. I get hungry watching the food that Chajumma cooks even after I have eaten. I never thought he would really make ketchup and orange marmalade! I mean like how does he know how to do all those things? I remember Taecyeon always calling his mom for tips on how to cook what but Chajumma is like a walking cook book. I really wanted to taste those bread and that pizza! I was eating pizza hut but looking at what they ate made me think theirs is more delicious.
The moment when they cleaned up the house and even sprayed perfume in preparation for Chajumma's return after being away for the night was so adorable. They wanted to show that they at least didn't make a mess while he was away.
Jung Woo was just... *sigh* all I remember was him backing away because of a bug then Ho-joon had to take care of it and Jung Woo was in his fluffy jammies, in the island where they use firewood to cook!
This was fun! I think this would mean trouble for Seo-jin when he goes back to the farm since Na PD would be requesting things hoping that he could whip up things like Chajumma did.

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"But I did really like to see how close he is with Yunho (of DBSK/TVXQ/XKCD)"

XKCD, haha!

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Hahaha laughed so hard when i saw xkcd

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:D I missed that joke! My eyes kinda glaze over and get confused at all the kpop names.

*joins in the nerd giggles*

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OK, enlighten me on the joke, please! Don' t know much about Yunho. Tried Google-fu but nothing.

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Yunho is the leader/one half of the korean pop group DBSK. They also operate under the name TVXQ (originally for the chinese market) and Tohosinki (for the japanese market). After the group split into 2, the two remaining members are mostly marketed as TVXQ, however some still just call them DBSK.

So basically the joke is just that their group name is an abbreviation making it seems like the name is just random letters stringed together. (which is quite popular in kpop: MBLAQ and U-KISS are abbreviations as well)

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XKCD is the famous nerd-ish comics by Randall Munroe, former robotics consultant for NASA.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xkcd

You've probably seen one of his comic strips somewhere in a meme. It's very widespread.

This was the first strip I saw shared by a friend (on love and angular momentum)
https://xkcd.com/162/

He also has lots of comics about common programming problems. Sometimes, in prog help forums, instead of lengthy answers people would just post a copy of the relevant strip to explain things.

--

The comic's name XKCD was specifically chosen because it was totally random and didn't stand for anything. Ergo, it will always be relevant because of its non-relevance.

Like Manin said, I think JB tacked that on to the TVXQ/DBSK thing because all these many kpop acronyms are confusing her.

I have trouble keeping up with kpop names too. But then, my kpop friend is confused when I say JGS, CSW, LMH, TWDR, FTLY, HITTG in normal convo. So fair's fair. :D

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@Manin & Mary, thanks for your answers. I knew what DBSK and TVXQ were so that wasn't the problem; I was just confused by XKCD - knew that wasn't just random.

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I just love this show! Now i cant ever think of cha seung won without remembering chajumma. He slays the screem and kitchen. Ha haejin is truly dad like. Hoojoonie, just so endearing.

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Aww this was a great article. This show sounds lovely, funny &, heartwarming. I enjoy watching Cha Seung Won cook!

I didn't realize there were 2 little pets on the show. They're so TINY! *-*

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Where can I watch it with sub? Please!

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Is there any site just streaming it? I am too lazy to download the series.

I am basically curious to see Chajumma do any cooking.

If any of you know the marmalade and french toast episode- I would jump straight to it.

Thank you.

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it s ep 5.

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Thanks.

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Chajumma is really great! Everyhting he cooks looks really good and mouthwatering!

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I want Chajumma as a husband. I will never ever starve.

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Luckily I can watch it on channel M. I missed a few earlier episodes but I did watched the french toast n orange marmalade ep. My reaction was the same as Haejin's. Orange what??? And Chajumma made bread using that 'thingy'. Seriously. I even need to read and reread my 4 ing. bread recipe while making it. T_T
Trash oppa is mostly useless but at least he can makes fire?? And show us his abs?

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I swear this is the best way to learn to cook, cos CSW makes it look effortless, and the results so tasty and satisfying.

I re-watch these eps; the 2nd time around, I FF to where CSW is cooking just to pick up cooking tips. And then I watch the puppy play w the kitty, and Ho Joonie doting on them both. 1st part makes me feel like I can cook too 'since it's that easy'; 2nd part gives me all the cute warm fuzzies. Then I go to bed w a smile on my face, and dream of good food, w a side of CSW's famous abs. Ha ha ha. It's satisfying in a way that no K drama can be. ?

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hey there,..do you know where to watch it ? i've already search 3 meals a day fishing village season 1 but i got zero result. :(

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I seriously need eng sub for this :(

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Loved this show. I watched this show on my cable, have to wait for a couple days for the broadcast...but it worth every single second. Never imagined that Cha Seung-won have this Chajumma-side before. He's amazing!!

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"Cue crickets."?

Such a missed opportunity!

CUE GOAT SOUND!

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ha ha ha ha ha!

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Wow now I really want to watch this.

From which episode does the fishing village start?

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You girls are awesome, javabeans and girlfriday. This sounds so much fun in your words! I'm looking into how to watch this show.

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I wish someday in the future Na PD will release the first few episodes with Jang Geun Seuk.
You know just secretly, maybe he can just give the streaming link to people who want to watch it. Or just make a director's cut, and sell it as a dvd. I would totally buy it.
I still feel a little regret about him. I really want to watch JKS struggling and ruining his Asia Prince image. Lol
Its just a wish though.

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im with you lol haha

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Totally agree.
I'm neutral about JGS as an actor, but I've watched his interviews and he just seems 4D, diff. I'd love to see how he interacts w the sundaes, and be unusual.
Also feel bad for him re the way K netizens react to his tax scandal.

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I'm still bitter about this show erasing and abandoning JKS just like that. If K-ent will just give him a chance, what's wrong with his quirky and playful attitude? at least he's honest and not double-faced. If he was still on the show, you wont complain where to find an Eng. subbed site.. Eels are more than willing to share it with you..

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Javabeans, do you seriously think Chajumma can cook and make ketchup and orange marmalade? I would believe so if I didn't read your article before about how JSK was completely edited from the show by Na PD. After reading that article, all my faith in the so-called reality show has vanished. If Na PD could edit to completely cut JSK out of his show, he'd definitely be able to make Chajumma a miracle chef by editing. I can say I'm a fairly good cook, but if I follow a recipe on the internet, sometimes the result is terrible. Now, they tryy to make me believe an actor who can go to a remote village and turn into a chef?! Please! Na PD and his miracle in JSK's incident make me lose the truth in the real of the reality show.Now I treat reality show like a typical comedy type of drama where actors just act as themselves based on a script they're provided.

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I'm sorry, I was talking about JGS, Jang Geun-seok.

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Now I treat reality show like a typical comedy type of drama where actors just act as themselves based on a script they’re provided.

Variety shows are actually slightly scripted.

But CSW is confident+inventive+stubborn. You know how some people can make things happen just by willing it? Don't you know people like that IRL? (I'm one. I'm not good, I just "do" things based on some guide, but somehow it ends up okay most of the time.)

I get the same vibes from CSW when he guested in FO and battled with Kim Sooro and Hyori. He doesn't always win, and he doesn't know everything, but he can make do with what he has. (Example, when asked to cook stir-fried octopus, he bluffs his way through it and just adds seasoning to taste, and it turns out alright though not the expected recipe.)

You're right that real Chajumma isn't probably THIS perfect. What we saw was a Na PD-enhanced version. But at the same time, I think CSW is part Chajumma too. Maybe 60% Chajumma? Add Na PD's variety show genius for creating storylines and characters, and you get something fun like this show.

BTW, I don't think the food he cooks is extraordinary, but the conditions in which he cooks them is what makes it entertaining. Plus they're tired and starving, so when they eat, everything probably tastes extra delicious to them. So we see them raving about it on-cam. :D

I felt the same watching FO. They'd just literally put gochujang and chicken and veggies in a pot, but by the time it's boiling, you're so tired and cold for them that you can totally taaaaste the yumminess of the food they're eating.

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Pretty much this.

Chajumma's spontaneous cooking battle with Hyori on FO was hilarious, in part, due to Chajumma's cool demeanor and "confidence."

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I was sad he didn't win! Hyori totally hogged all the nice ingredients. And she's used to the Family's preferred taste.

I think Fishing Village was the Variety Gods' way of correcting that injustice. (Though I still love Hyori, of course. :D) I hope I can watch FV with subs someday. *sigh*

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Is there a streaming site w eng sub for this show?
dont have access to hulu or viki or dramafever....or m channel

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This part "Hojoonie was super sweet and minimally helpful — he didn’t know how to do anything, but if you gave him instructions, he would do the hell out of it." made me say: WHATTTT?
Sorry to say that, but all the miracles shown by him doing chopping or preparing the food were fake! 90% of them were made by Jang Keun Suk!!! He was there, people! Cha SW said in an interview (before the editing, of course) that JKS was a big help for him, preparing all the nessesary ingrdients ad copping neatly the vegetables. He even cad him 'Chef Jang". The boy came as a guest, he wasn't doing almost nothing in the episodes, that were edited. After the PD erased JKS, Hoonie suddenly became a cook!

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Uhm, wasn't JGS only there for the first episode? (except he was edited away of course). But as far as I remember it, he didn't actually film the rest of the show with them, due to the tax scandal?

I highly doubt that

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manage to cut myself off:

I highly doubt that they would keep JGS around just to have him do stuff and get edited out. That does not seem effective in any way and would have been noted upon. It just seems unlikely

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Actually Jang Geun Suk & the whole original casts finished shooting 2/3 (that means equivalent to 6 to 7 episodes) of the show already before that unfortunate decision of editing him out. He was scheduled for the last leg of shoot to complete 10 episodes, sadly he has to step down.

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Can't get enough of CSW so many clips/interview of him i want to understand like the win win episode but seem to be unavailable if any of you can redirect me lol! but this one is sure to be on my list of things to watched when subbed!. thanks to the Goddess of Dramabeans for makin us somehow understand it. :))))

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Whoever came up with the moniker "Chajumma" was a genius! Thanks for the wonderful read guys :)

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i so love watching this program. too bad i missed the tomato ketchup episode =(

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I love Sanchae and Bul so much :D

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Would some kind soul tel me where to watch a subbed version (CRIES)

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srsly we need an en sub for this show , beside what happened to JGS where is he ?

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I love 3 Meals A Day like so much because of Cha Seung Won & Hye Jin & Ho Joon. CSW really showing good skills of cooking on the other side still looking masculine. He really made the show meaningful, i mean by using limited ingredients and turned it into delicious food. Hoping PD Na making another season of it. Pleaseee

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been trying to find this with eng subs as well ugh X_X

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What's the breed of sanchae? I want to know cause he is really cute

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Me and my wife Hannah missed watching Seong Won, Heijin and Hojoon in 3 Meals a day. You dont know how sad we are when we learned that it was the last episode last December(We luckily have Channel M here in the Philippines). Before, i really dont care about anything Korean but this show opened up a lot of things to us. That show made me learn to make my own Kimchi(which both of us are crazy of) and cook Korean dish like Japchae, Beef Bulgogi, and Spicy Braised Chicken. I hope the producers would make another 3 meals a day starring the 3 crazy but wonderful characters we mentioned.

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I forgot to add how we love Sanchae and Bul...Bul!!! ???

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