MONSTA X member Kihyun expressed his affection for "Ryu Student Anam Seon."

As soon as he was discharged as a 'special warrior', MONSTA X's 'cooking idol' Kihyun became the 'special maknae' of actors Ryu Su-young and Yoon Kyung-ho and ascended to the title of ‘dessert prince’ while showcasing his hidden cooking skills and maknae beauty on the variety show 'Ryu Student Anam Seon' airing on T-Cast E Channel.

Kihyun revealed, "Before leaving, I tried to get as familiar as possible with knife work and wok work. Since I don't cook every day, I thought there would be limitations." Before embarking on his formal cooking study, he shared his feelings. After completing his cooking study with his brothers in Portugal, the first study destination, and currently airing in Brunei, as well as the upcoming third study destination, Sicily, Kihyun reminisced, "When we are all focused on cooking together, I feel like I perform better than usual."

Kihyun explained, "In fact, the cooking process is more laborious than it seems, and the shooting time was long. My brothers truly love cooking and work hard, which gives me energy." Ryu Su-young, Yoon Kyung-ho, and Kihyun are overcoming the harsh mission of 'If we don't complete the Ryu study recipe, we can't go back home' in every episode.

"I hope the happiness I felt while cooking can be conveyed. I feel a little burdened saying I am a genius. I want to practice cooking whenever I can to show even better sides of myself," Kihyun, the 'cooking idol', conveyed his sincerity in a Q&A session.



Q. What have you invested the most effort in as prior preparation for your cooking study aside from practicing cooking?
- I think I tried to get as familiar as possible by practicing knife cuts and wok cooking at home before leaving. Also, since I would be going overseas, I thought a lot about seasoning and ingredient combinations to make various dishes with the new foods I would taste.

Q. I am curious how many new recipes you have created in this program, regardless of whether they are official or unofficial. Also, if there are recipes that are easy to replicate in Korea or that you had to give up on, what were the reasons for that?
- I think there are about seven in total, but the most common reason for giving up on recipes was 'the need for ingredients that can't be found in Korea'. There were many ingredients I didn't know about, and it was difficult to replicate the same taste with different ingredients. Also, to be honest, there were recipes that didn't suit my taste, so I mainly tried those that I thought, 'I can do this well' and 'I can make this when I go back to Korea.'

Q. You've tasted and learned many dishes, but if you were to serve a dish to someone, whom would you like to serve, and what would you prepare?
- There is a dish called 'Polpo de Papo' where octopus is mixed with mayonnaise that has lemon juice and coated with crushed popcorn, and it’s really savory yet leaves a refreshing aftertaste, so I thought it would be great as a snack. I want to make it for my fellow MONSTA X members who enjoy gathering and drinking together!

Q. You faced a challenging mission of 'You can't go back home if you don't complete the new recipe' in a foreign land, do you have any episodes where you were grateful to each other during filming?
- In fact, not all the cooking processes are shown in the broadcast, and the shooting times were pretty long compared to what was captured on camera. First of all, my brothers really love cooking and work hard, which inspired me. They gave a lot of advice and help while cooking, always cheering me on, which made it possible for me to finalize the broadcast successfully, thanks to them.

Q. With the five-language skills, outstanding physical ability, and cooking, you have been given glamorous titles like 'somewhat of a genius (?)' and 'special maknae'; personally, is there something you are not good at or lacking?
- First of all, thank you for the kind words. In my opinion, I still think my knife work is quite clumsy. And while it's great to be called 'special maknae', I feel a bit burdened to be called a genius just yet. I'd like to practice when I can to show even better sides of myself in the future.

Q. Is there a talent or aspect about yourself that you discovered through 'Ryu Student Anam Seon' that you weren't aware of?
- I don't cook every day, so I thought there would be some limitations to creating recipes, but I found that ideas come to me better than I expected. Can I say I have a good sense for cooking? (laughs) Also, as the saying goes, environment matters; having diverse experiences with local foods and being in a situation where everyone is dedicated to cooking, I think I unconsciously performed better than usual.

Q. Lastly, please say something to the viewers.
- Thank you so much to all the viewers who are sending warm interest to 'Ryu Student Anam Seon'! I hope the happiness I felt while experiencing various cuisines abroad will be conveyed to you all. Our 'Ryu Student Anam Seon' is a program that becomes increasingly 'authentic' as time goes on, so I appreciate it if you keep watching until the end!

'Ryu Student Anam Seon' airs every Monday at 9 p.m. on E Channel. Afterwards, it will also be available on Netflix, Wave, Tving, and Watcha.

[Photo] Provided by E Channel.

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