The Netflix reality show "Culinary Class Wars" has been embroiled in a format plagiarism controversy in China.
"Culinary Class Wars" is a large-scale cooking survival program where highly skilled yet unnoticed unknown "black spoon" chefs challenge Korea's top star chef "white spoon". The innovative concept involves 100 chefs in a war to overturn class with taste, combined with a panel of judges including Paik Jong-won, Anh Sung-jae, Choi Hyun-seok, Edward Lee, Jung Ji-sun, and Choi Gang-rok, which has garnered a hot response.
The first season, which was released in 2024, recorded the number one spot on Netflix's global TOP10 for non-English TV shows for three consecutive weeks, establishing itself as a hit production representing 2024. Currently, a second season is in production.
Leveraging this popularity, "Culinary Class Wars" has also been illegally distributed in China, creating a sensation. In China, where Netflix is not available, videos uploaded without authorization have spread through platforms like Douyin (Chinese TikTok), and some Chinese viewers appear to have watched them with subtitles or narration.
The problem arose thereafter. In episode 3, Chef Jung Ji-sun, who has studied in China, showcased a dish called "Siraegi Batsu Heukcho Gangjeong," which is an adaptation of the Chinese dish 'Batsu.' Some Chinese internet users reacted absurdly, saying, "Korea is stealing Chinese food," "They will claim that as Korean food," and "They are enthusiastically imitating Chinese cuisine." In particular, there were posts criticizing Paik Jong-won as "someone who came to China to eat and claims he invented it," and "a great thief," which drew backlash from domestic netizens.
Moreover, a similar Chinese reality show has recently emerged. On the 17th, the Chinese OTT platform Tencent Video released a new reality show titled "一封神" (Yifa Fengshen, becoming a god in one meal). It proposes a concept where 100 chefs compete using fire, knives, and pots, expressing their love for Chinese cuisine.
However, this program immediately raised suspicions due to its similarity to "Culinary Class Wars." The 1:1 matchup structure between the "black chef" and "white chef," the competition method of dividing into teams to run makeshift restaurants, and the judging by both ordinary judges and celebrity panels are not only key components but also share similarities in set design and filming direction.
Even some Chinese internet users have reacted, saying, "The set is the same, and the format is identical," and "Isn't everything stolen?"
In response, Netflix Korea stated to OSEN, "We have not sold the format rights for this program," and mentioned that they are "in internal discussions" regarding future responses.
[Photo] Netflix / Video capture
[OSEN]