The second Jeju Food & Wine Festival in Korea concluded Saturday. The event was inspired by and modeled after the Hawaii Food & Wine Festival.
Jeju, an island off the southern tip of the Korean Peninsula, has abundant seafood resources. Local chefs Alan Wong and Roy Yamaguchi both attended the inaugural festival in May 2016, but due to schedule conflicts were not able to attend this year. Chef Vikram Garg from Hawaii has attended the Jeju Food & Wine Festival both years.
South Korea has been making a big push into the fine-cuisine industry as many South Korean chefs have been getting international attention. The Michelin Guide released its first Seoul edition last year with two Korean restaurants receiving three stars.
THIS WEEK’S SYNOPSES
“Perfect Bride”
Episodes 55 and 56
>> Today, 6:30 p.m.: Shi-nae dumps harsh words on Ji-ha, and Soo-jo hears it all as he walks in on them. Soo-jo returns his fury to Shi-nae and Do-geum. Geum-shik and Ddol become friends quickly. Jae-soon’s life seems headed for a rebound to her glory days.
>> Today, 7:45 p.m.: Jae-soon borrows money from Geum-shik to open a side-dish shop. Shi-nae takes her father to the hospital to examine his mental state.
“Whisper”
Episodes 10 and 11
>> Monday, 7:45 p.m.: Jung-il hides his emotions when he sees Il-hwan’s sadness over Yoo-taek’s death. The accident site is set on fire, and all traces of evidence are destroyed. Young-joo and Jung-il chase after Tae-gon to find Yoo-taek’s corpse, which has disappeared. Young-joo, the only witness to the murder, is put in a position where she has to choose between Jung-il or Il-hwan.
>> Tuesday, 7:45 p.m.: Yoo-taek’s body is found in Young-joo’s car trunk. She senses Tae-gon is responsible. Dong-joon urges Tae-gon to tell the truth. Il-hwan and Soo-yun scheme to make Dong-joon Young-joo’s accomplice. Jung-il gives Il-hwan a gift of pottery, similar to what was used in Yoo-taek’s assault. Jung-il makes a remark that leaves Il-hwan wondering.
“Love in Trouble”
Episodes 1 and 2 Wednesday, 3 and 4 Thursday
>> Wednesday, 7:45 p.m.: The encounter between the two main characters starts in a subway. Bong-hee mistakenly pegs Ji-wook as a pervert. Bong-hee realizes that her boyfriend has been fooling around. Bong-hee ends up as an intern for Ji-wook. Then she is accused of murder, and Ji-wook is the prosecutor in her case.
>> Thursday, 7:45 p.m.: Bong-hee calls Ji-wook for help. Bong-hee’s boyfriend, Hee-joon, is the prosecutor chief’s son. Ji-wook gets called by Hee-joon’s father and is pressured to get an indictment against Bong-hee. He’s torn between doing the right thing and his future success. He goes to Bong-hee’s house to search the premises again and finds a potential murder weapon. But then he gets a call that another potential murder weapon has surfaced.
“Band of Sisters”
Episodes 7 and 8
>> Friday, 7:45 p.m.: Dal-hee passes by the accident scene and sees a banner for a witness search. Se-kyung makes an urgent call. She finds out that one of the victim’s family members holds the key.
>> Saturday, 7:45 p.m.: Ki-chan hates Se-kyung and confronts her. She takes his prized chamomile, a special variety he created.
Jeff Chung is general manager of KBFD-TV, which televises Korean dramas with English subtitles. Reach him at 521-8066 or jeffchung@kbfd.com.
