Meet the Cast of 'Culinary Class Wars': Here's What to Know About the Contestants on the Korean Cooking Show

In September 2024, Netflix released Culinary Class Wars, its latest Korean reality show in a series best described as "Squid Game but [insert competition]." Following hits like Physical: 100, The Devil's Plan, and The Influencer, Culinary Class Wars is an intense cooking challenge that Westerners might see as MasterChef or Iron Chef if the intensity was cranked way up. The show sees 100 chefs compete to earn bragging rights as South Korea's most-skilled chef. For its class-evoking twist, the series' cast is split into the White Spoons, a.k.a elite chefs who have already made a name for themselves in Korea, and the Black Spoons, the underdogs who are only known by nicknames (as their real names have to be earned.)

Similar to its predecessor Physical: 100, Culinary Class Wars has won over Netflix viewers around the globe with the contestants' talent and great sportsmanship. Ahead of the show's October 8 finale, read on to meet some of the standout cast members from Culinary Class Wars.

The Hosts

Ahn Sung-jae

Acclaimed chef Ahn Sung-jae was born in South Korea and grew up in California, briefly serving in the U.S. Army. He apprenticed at fine dining establishments in San Francisco, including Urasawa and The French Laundry, before opening his restaurant Mosu, which focuses on French haute cuisine incorporating Korean fermented ingredients. In 2017, he relocated Mosu to Seoul, where it became a three-Michelin-star establishment in 2022.

In an interview with The Chosun Daily, Ahn said of his time on Culinary Class Wars, "I was trained traditionally and hold strong beliefs, but some contestants completely challenged those beliefs. The dishes were exceptional, and I realized there are many different ways to approach food."

Instagram: @sungmosu

Paik Jong-won

Chef Paik Jong-won (sometimes spelled Baek Jong-won) is an acclaimed restauranteur, author, and TV personality whose YouTube channel has over 6.4 million followers. Culinary Class Wars isn't his first collaboration with Netflix; he also hosted the cooking shows Paik's Spirit and the Rhapsody series (i.e. Korean Pork Belly Rhapsody, Hanwoo Rhapsody, etc.). He's the CEO of Theborn Korea, which sports dozens of restaurant franchises including Paik's Noodle, Paik's BBQ, and Hanshin Pocha in the U.S.

Instagram: @paikscuisine_official

The White Spoons

Ahn Yu-seong

Chef Ahn Yu-seong is known as the 16th culinary master of Korea, specializing in Japanese cuisine. He's the owner-chef of the restaurant Gamae in the city of Gwanju in southwest Korea.

Bang Ki-su

Chef Bang Ki-su owns the restaurant Gitdeun, which specializes in pork BBQ and traditional Korean dishes.

Instagram: @gitdeun_bang

Cho Eun-ju

Cho Eun-ju is the owner and head chef at Touch the Sky, a high-end French restaurant in Seoul's famous 63 Building. She's also the first female chef to secure two gold medals in top culinary competitions.

Choi Hyun-seok

Choi Hyun-seok is a chef and TV personality who first rose to fame as a regular cast member on Please Take Care of My Refrigerator in 2014. He currently runs Choi Dot, a Korean-European fusion fine-dining restaurant in Seoul that focuses on unique, playful interpretations of traditional dishes. He also opened a second restaurant, Central Reducer, in 2020.

Instagram: @crazypenne

Choi Ji-hyung

According to his Instagram, Chef Choi Ji-hyung's restaurant Lee Buk Bang specializes in Korean-style sundae (blood sausage) and North Korean dishes. It has also been listed in the Michelin Guide Seoul for five years.

Instagram: @leebukbang

Choi Kang-rok

Chef Choi Kang-rok is the winner of the second season of MasterChef Korea. His restaurant Neo specializes in Japanese-style meals, and he also shares cooking tutorials and vlogs on his YouTube channel.

Instagram: @roi_choi

Edward Lee

Edward Lee is perhaps the most familiar face to Culinary Class Wars viewers in the U.S., as he was previously the winner of Iron Chef: America. The Korean-American chef was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, and moved to Louisville, Kentucky, in 2002. He's been nominated for several James Beard Awards—his book Buttermilk Graffiti won the 2019 award for writing— and he owns the restaurants 610 Magnolia, Succotash Prime, and Nami.

Instagram: @chefedwardlee

Fabrizio Ferrari

Fabrizio Ferrari, known as Chef Fabri in Korea, is an Italian seafood chef who worked at several Michelin-starred restaurants, including Noma and Piazza Duomo, before running his family restaurant Al Porticciolo 84 in Lake Como. The establishment has held a Michelin star for 15 years. In 2016, he won the Global Taste of Korea competition, and, in 2018, he began appearing on Korean variety shows. He now works as a culinary lecturer at Sejong University in Seoul, per Korea.net, while running his YouTube channel.

Instagram: @fabrilicious

Hwang Jin-seon

Hwang Jin-seon is a chef and YouTuber who specializes in Korean-style Chinese cuisine. His restaurant Jinjin has been featured in the Michelin Guide Seoul.

Instagram: @jinseon.hwang

Jang Ho-joon

Jang Ho-joon is the CEO and head chef of the restaurant chain Negi, which specializes in Japanese fine-dining cuisine. He also recently started his own YouTube channel.

Instagram: @fly.hojoon

Joseph Lidgerwood

Joseph Lidgerwood is the Australian owner and executive chef at Evett, a fine-dining restaurant which boasts one Michelin star and "reinterprets Korean cuisine from a foreign perspective." In an interview with The Chosun Daily, he told the outlet, "There are many great dishes and ingredients in Korean cuisine that are still not widely known. I find this very regrettable."

Instagram: @josephlidgerwood

Jung Ji-sun

Chef Jung Ji-sun is known as the "Queen of Dim Sum," and is a protégé of renowned chef Lee Yeon-bok. Her restaurant chain Tian Mimi focuses on Sichuan-style cuisine and dim sum dishes.

Instagram: @chef_jisunjoung

Kim Do-yoon

Chef Kim Do-yoon is the chef behind two restaurants: Yun Seoul, a fine-dining eatery which has received a 1-star Michelin designation for three years in a row, and Myeon Seoul, which focuses on housemade noodle dishes and landed on the 2025 Michelin Guide Seoul. Kim specializes in aging, drying, and fermenting techniques.

Instagram: @projectsyun

Kim Seung-min

Kim Seung-min is the winner of MasterChef Korea season 1, who now runs the Japanese-style bakery Morino Aruyo on Jeju Island, which serves a small menu of donburi (rice bowls).

Lee Young-sook

Lee Young-sook is the winner of the second season of Korean Food War, known for her mastery of mushroom-based dishes. She runs the restaurant and farm Nakyung Mushroom Farm.

Lu Ching Lai

Chef Lu Chinglai (Korean name Yeo Gyeong-rae) is considered the grand master of Chinese cuisine, who puts a modern twist on traditional Chinese dishes. As seen in Culinary Class Wars, he has been cooking since 1975 when he was 16, and his restaurant Hong Bo Gak (located in the Grand Ambassador Seoul) has been in business since 1994.

Instagram: @lu_chinglai

Nam Jeong-seok

Nam Jeong-seok is known as the master of plant-based Italian cuisine, made from local vegetables. He runs two restaurants, The Local Eater in Seoul, and Green Bowl in Gangneung, a city in Gangwon Province, South Korea.

Instagram: @the_local_eater

Oh Se-deuk

Oh Se-deuk is a chef behind two restaurants: Chinmeal Jeju, which highlights the flavors of Jeju Island, and Oh Pan Fire. He first rose to fame with his French-Korean fusion restaurant July in the early 2010s. He's also a long-time TV personality who started as a regular cast member on Please Take Care of My Refrigerator in 2014.

Instagram: @sedeukoh

Park Joon-woo

Park Joon-woo is a "cuisinier-pâtissier-traiteur" (French for "cook, pastry chef, and caterer"), who runs the European-style café Aux Petits Verres in Seoul, which is famous for its Belgian tarts and beers. He was a semifinalist in MasterChef Korea.

Instagram: @seoul_1983

Seonkyung Longest

Seonkyoung Longest is a culinary YouTuber, whose channel Asia at Home has over 2.2 million subscribers. Per her intro video, she was born and raised in South Korea and began cooking in 2010, after moving to the U.S. in 2009. She previously competed on MasterChef season 4, and she won the Food Network series Restaurant Express. She also launched her first restaurant at The M Resort Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas in 2013.

Instagram: @seonkyounglongest

The Black Spoons

Auntie Omakase #1

Auntie Omakase, real name Kim Mir-yung, runs the restaurant Cheerful Drinking Table, which offers a Korean omakase (a customized dining style from Japan) experience for a reasonable price.

Celebrities' Chef

Celebrities' Chef, real name Lim Hee-won, is the owner-chef of Buto, a popular modern bar which serves fusion dishes paired with specific drinks. His nickname comes from the famous names who've eaten at his place.

Chef Spark

Chef Spark, real name Shawn Park, is the owner-chef of the Italian restaurant Bistro Spark. Per its Instagram, the restaurant is temporarily closed while moving to a new location. He's opening his second restaurant, Things Burger, in October.

Instagram: @chefshawnpark

Comic Book Chef

Comic Book Chef, real name Cho Kwang-ho, earned his nickname because he is self-taught, and learned how to cook with the help of culinary-themed comic books. He's the owner-chef of the Chinese restaurants ChoKwang101, an experimental tapas bar, and ChoKwang201, which serves trendy dishes, per Korea JoongAng Daily.

Instagram: @cho__kwang

Cooking Maniac

Cooking Maniac (real name Yoon Nam-no), runs the pasta eatery Deepin Oksu and its sister restaurant Deepin Sindang. As stated in his Instagram bio, he specializes in bistronomy, a style of cuisine that combines traditional bistro dishes with gastronomic cooking techniques. He quickly stands out on Culinary Class Wars for his vibrant personality.

Instagram: @ynncook

Genius Restauranteur

Genius Restauranteur, real name Jo Seo-hyung, operates several businesses, including Euljiro Boseok, a sake and wine bar with seasonal Korean food; the clothing brand Lamei; the bar Part of Gyeonju; and the gimbap eatery Dama Gimbap.

Instagram: @seohy2ong

God of Seasoning

God of Seasoning (real name Jacob Hyun) runs the bar Edamame Namyoung, which serves Chinese and Japanese-inspired dishes.

Instagram: @jacobhyun

Goddess of Chinese Cuisine

Goddess of Chinese Cuisine, real name Park Eun-young, is a chef who, as her nickname suggests, specializes in Chinese cuisine. She's the protégé of Lu Chinglai, having worked under him for over a decade at Hong Bo Gak, and the pair have a joint YouTube channel.

Instagram: @yeogane

Hidden Genius

Hidden Genius, real name Kim Tae-sung, works at Pono Buono, a wine bar specializing in Italian-fusion dishes, per Korea JoongAng Daily. Though only two pasta dishes are on the menu, he offers a hidden pasta menu with his now-famed aglio e olio (spaghetti with garlic and olive oil, a Korean favorite).

Instagram: @urbantae

Master of School Meals

Master of School Meals, real name Lee Mi-young, is a retired school chef who's known for creating popular, delicious meals for students at Habuk Elementary School in Yangsan. She has recently retired and started a YouTube channel.

Instagram: @schoolfood_chef

Meat Master

Meat Master, real name David Lee, is the owner and executive chef of Guunmong Seoul, which serves a meat-focused fusion of Western and Korean dishes. Per The Korea Times, Lee worked at Michelin-starred restaurants since 2005, before returning to his native Korea around 2018.

Instagram: @meatthegangster

Napoli Matfia

Napoli Matfia, real name Kwon Seong-joon, is a chef specializing in pasta, risotto, and Italian dishes. He formerly worked in the two-Michelin-star Dani Maison near Naples, and he's now the chef-owner of Toledo Pasta Bar in Seoul, which offers a single, seven-course Sicilian dinner, per Korea JoongAng Daily.

Instagram: @napolimatfiia

One Two Three

One Two Three, real name Kyung Jun-bae, is a chef who honed his skills in one-, two-, and three-starred Michelin restaurants, hence his nickname. He now works at Bornyon, a Korean woodfire-based restaurant in the private club Playa Wellness.

Instagram: @kj_bae

Self Made Chef

Self-Made Chef, real name Lim Tae-hoon, specializes in Chinese cuisine and is the owner-chef of Doryang. His eye-catching dish in the first round of Culinary Class Wars is the Eight Treasures meatball.

Instagram: @chulgabangchef

Seung-woo's Dad

Seung-woo's Dad, real name Jin Hwa-mok, is a popular Korean-Canadian YouTuber and streamer with over 1.4 million subscribers. In his YouTube bio, he calls his page "a recipe channel that anyone can follow." He formerly owned the Seoul fusion-restaurant Kitchen Maillard.

Instagram: @swab_official

Triple Star

Triple Star, real name Kang Seung-won or Scott Kang, chose his nickname because he has worked in several Michelin-starred restaurants, including judge Anh Sung-jae's Mosu. Kang now owns the contemporary fine-dining restaurant Trid, which has been featured in the Michelin Guide Seoul for three years.

Instagram: @scottiey_

Yakitori King

Yakitori King, real name Kim Byung-mook, founded the restaurant chain Yakitori Mook, which serves the titular Japanese-style chicken skewers, and is featured in Michelin Guide Seoul.

Instagram: @yakitorimook

Yeong Chicken

Yeong Chicken, real name Oh Jun-tak, owns the specialty restaurant Namyeong Chicken, which serves Oh's style of slow-roasted, wood-fire whole chicken.

Instagram: @jason.j.oh