On her YouTube channel Jung Ji-sun’s Knife Master, the chef posted a reaction video titled “Chinese Version of Culinary Class Wars I Watched It Since They Said I Appear in It (with Delivery Box Chef)” . Joined by fellow Culinary Class Wars alumnus Chef Lim Tae-hoon, she reviewed clips from the Chinese program, which has gone viral for replicating the original’s format, characters, and even signature “random ingredient” challenges.
The duo noted identical staging to the Korean version — from the recreation of Jung’s famous “Bath” scene to the entrance and persona of a “delivery box chef” mirroring Lim’s own concept. “It’s way too similar,” Lim observed, with Jung adding, “It’s so alike that I can’t even say it’s not.”
However, tensions rose when the show featured a pao cai (pickled vegetable) dish that looked identical to kimchi. Jung remarked that the contestant’s attire “looked somewhat like a hanbok,” before firmly stating, “That’s kimchi.” She went on to clarify, “Bath is a Chinese dish. I would never call it a Korean dish. I’m a chef who cooks Chinese cuisine.” Expressing anger over China’s repeated claims that kimchi is theirs, she criticized the mislabeling — even resorting to profanity in frustration.
Netflix confirmed it had never sold the rights to Culinary Class Wars to China, adding to accusations of plagiarism. Meanwhile, Professor Seo Kyung-duk of Sungshin Women’s University condemned the incident as part of China’s long-running “Kimchi Project.” He urged Korea to use this as an opportunity to spotlight China’s “knock-off culture” and promote accurate knowledge of Korean kimchi worldwide.
Netizens echoed Jung’s sentiments, with comments such as: “Copying even the iconic scenes is hilarious” and “No one in the world knows pao cai except Chinese people, yet they insist otherwise.” The controversy now fuels broader cultural debates about culinary heritage and intellectual property in entertainment.
Sources: nate
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