Sweet Munchies Episode 1 Thoughts

The first half of this episode was quite boring. It felt like it was trying to go along the lines of “Midnight Diner”—but not doing so as well. A restaurant that is open from late in the evening to early in the morning to cater to people who work or are awake during that time. There is only one chef who does not have a set menu but rather cooks things he thinks his customers may enjoy depending on the moment—and in this drama’s case, what pairs well with drinks. Usually, “the moment” is heavily influenced by the customer’s story or what they’re going through at the time. In this case it’s Kim Ah Jin, a contract PD who has a hard time at her work place.

Not only does being a contract worker make her work life difficult in terms of access to resources and the tasks assigned to her, but it also causes difficulty in the way her coworkers treat her. One of her hoobaes is very disrespectful towards her. Some tasks that should be assigned to him are assigned to her instead because she is a contract worker. What’s worse is that he is the one who is sent to assign the task to her. To add insult to injury, one of Kim Ah Jin’s sunbaes looks down on her work/initiative/being a contract worker and treats her like an assistant. I assume that her coworkers are giving her a hard time because she is a contract worker, but you can’t ignore Kim Ah Jin’s intersectionality here as she is also a woman.

Like Chef Park Jin Sung who I will get to shortly, we have a character we are supposed to root for. But that becomes difficult when she submits a proposal for a show on the network and it quickly becomes clear that she didn’t put in as much thought or research into the project as she should have.

To start of, I have problems with the concept of the show itself and her intentions behind creating the show. “Midnight snack made by a gay chef.” Kim Ah Jin states that she wants to use the shows as a platform to show that the gay people are no different from those who are straight and to break though the ignorance when it comes to how the LGBTQ+ community is perceived. One can assume that she had good intentions, but as her boss rightfully said, the concept is something that would receive criticism from both sides—the LGBTQ+ community and everyone else who is watching. She did not even know something as basic as how many other cooking entertainment shows were on air—although her pesky hoobae did. I get that her boss sprung the short notice casting on her and gave her only 24 hours to find a gay chef for the rose, but this also shows that she gave no consideration to who might want for the role should the show be green lit. Did she even consult with anyone in the LGBTQ+ community, even in terms of research?!

This part of the storyline reflects one of the biggest problems I have with LGBTQ+ content that is produced in Asia. The BoyLove (BL) genre which focuses on gay love is oftentimes written by women for women and more often that not, not for the LGBTQ+ community. The result is that you end up with the sexualization and romanticization of gay characters.

Then we have Park Jin Sung, the chef who can’t catch a break. His father gets into a car accident and does not have car insurances to cover the bills. His hyung who owns the space his restaurant is in without warning puts the space for sale. Park Jin Sung is a desperate man. His father is in hospital and he is out of a job. He tries going to the bank but is unable to get a loan. He then goes to loan sharks, but the interest is too high. When he is trying his luck at scratch-offs, he encounters his regular Kim Ah Jin who is desperately in need of a gay chef. Kim Ah Jin asks him if he knows any gay chefs and when he hears how much money the role can make, it peaks his interest. So long story short, he shows up at the casting call—where we see only one other chef show up —and auditions.

This is where I have the biggest problem with episode 1. “From now, I am not me.” “I must hide my identity completely.” “No problem, I can do it once.” “Right now this is my only way to make a living.” I’m sure this show was trying to be clever in trying to show that the act that Chef Park is putting on right now is similar to the act that many gay men have to put on to hide their identities to make a living. That it’s about survival. But I’m sorry show. There is a huge difference between the two. Gay men are oftentimes compelled to dawn a straight persona for most if not all of their lives in order to conform to and survive in a society that actively discriminates against them.

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    I tried commenting on the recap but it wasn’t going through. Are comments being screened or something?

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    Thank you, you summed up the issues that I have with the concept behind this show as well.

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