Cracks in the Paik Jong-won myth: When public persona and private business collide

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Cracks in the Paik Jong-won myth: When public persona and private business collide

Published: 16 May. 2025, 00:02

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Lee Yoon-jung

The author is a culture commentator.

A memorable moment in Netflix’s culinary reality show "Culinary Class Wars" (2024) featured chef Anh Sung-jae firmly pushing back against Paik Jong-won — without being vilified. This marked a rare departure from the pattern of the past decade, during which any challenge to Paik’s authority, whether from critics, fellow television personalities or struggling restaurant owners, was typically met with a wave of public backlash. Anh appears to be the first to stand his ground and emerge unscathed, signaling a visible crack in the near-unassailable facade of Paik’s authority.

TheBorn Korea CEO and prolific culinary figure Paik Jong-won speaks at the firm's first shareholder meeting of the year in Seocho District, southern Seoul, on March 28. [YONHAP]

For over 10 years, Paik’s influence was not just prominent — it was entrenched. Yet today, his once-pristine image is unraveling. A series of controversies — including questionable food packaging on his "Paik Ham" meal kits, allegations of farmland misuse, mislabeling of food origins and sanitation issues at local festivals — has cast a shadow over the man once hailed as Korea’s “national chef.” The transformation from revered educator to scrutinized entrepreneur has come swiftly and publicly.

Some online communities have responded with nostalgia. One comment reads, “Thanks to Paik Jong-won, I cooked proper meals instead of just eating ramen or frozen food when I was living alone.” Many echoed the sentiment. These reflections recall Paik’s early appeal: an approachable expert who made cooking accessible.

Paik’s public narrative began around 2015. He rose as a business-savvy but modest mentor who eased kitchen anxiety and democratized cooking with simple recipes delivered in a warm, colloquial tone. His background as a successful entrepreneur gave him credibility at a time when traditional culinary elites were losing ground and individual taste was gaining status. He was an elite without elitism.

TheBorn Korea CEO Paik Jong-won speaks at a ceremony for the listing of the company on the Kospi in Yeouido, western Seoul. [NEWS1]

But it turned out Paik was not just a chef — he was a masterful broadcaster. When he took on the role of mentor in “Alley Restaurant,” he emerged as a communicator adept at navigating media formats and public sentiment. Through equal parts candor and compassion, Paik guided struggling restaurateurs past vague appeals to culinary instinct and toward practical principles. Simplify the menu. Use local ingredients. Lower the prices and focus on high volume. These were his mantras.

“Domestic ingredients” triggered patriotic sentiment. Price cuts and simplified offerings conveyed humility and customer-first values. By helping small businesses survive, Paik crafted a narrative as a rare businessman pursuing the public good.

But myth often breeds sanctity. As his image became more exalted, the media began relying on Paik not only to mentor restaurants but to solve a host of national challenges — from revitalizing local economies and festivals to youth employment and even juvenile rehabilitation projects. Fans, eager to preserve his image, dismissed concerns. But questions lingered: Was it consistent for a champion of small business to expand franchise chains into the very alleys he aimed to protect? Were his restaurants meeting the standards he promoted on air?

Perhaps Paik’s story would have been airtight had it ended as “a successful entrepreneur who became a broadcaster to offer socially responsible consulting.” But Paik insisted he was, first and foremost, a businessman. The problem is that his identity as a profit-driven entrepreneur increasingly clashed with the public-serving narrative he helped cultivate on television.

This tension sparked the first visible cracks. Public service and private enterprise are not inherently incompatible — but they operate on different logic. The moment the aims of the business diverge from the values of the broadcast, the narrative begins to split. And it did.

The very success of “Alley Restaurant,” built on lessons of humility and community, began to raise discomfort when its most popular menu items resurfaced in Paik’s new franchise ventures. What had once felt like mentorship now risked looking like market research. Ethical unease mounted.

From left: Paik Jong-won, CEO of TheBorn Korea, directors Kim Hak-min and Kim Eun-ji, and chef Anh Sung-jae pose for photos during a press conference for the Netflix variety show "Culinary Class Wars" (20024) at the JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square Seoul in Jongno District, central Seoul, on May 11, 2024. [YONHAP]

Eventually, the public began rewriting Paik’s narrative. The heroic arc of “positive influence” and “public-minded entrepreneur” gave way to a more cynical view: “He’s just another savvy businessman.” The antihero backlash had begun, grounded not in scandal alone but in disillusionment with the gap between message and action.

In one recent controversy, Paik distanced himself from poorly managed franchise locations by saying, “This isn’t our food.” But audiences now seem to be responding, “This isn’t the Paik Jong-won we knew.” Just as the problems at franchise restaurants cannot be blamed solely on individual owners, Paik’s current crisis reflects the collective role of media and fans in constructing — and preserving — his myth.

Now, Paik has announced plans to step back from broadcasting and focus solely on his business. Can he redefine himself on his own terms? That may depend on whether he can reconcile his dual identities — and whether audiences are ready to let go of their idealized hero.

The cracks in Paik’s myth may not signal collapse, but rather a shift. Perhaps this story will end not with a fall, but with an honest rebalancing — one where Paik embraces his entrepreneurial self and the public moves beyond the need for flawless icons.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.