Oldies but goodies again: 'Let's Eat 3' depicts making of a foodie

The cast of tvN's eating show "Let's Eat: Begins," including lead actor Yoon Doo-joon, third from right, pose for a photo during a press event at Times Square in southwestern Seoul, Tuesday. / Courtesy of CJ ENM

By Kang Aa-young

Amid the flood of cooking and eating shows, a new season of a popular eating show has returned, breaking a three-year hiatus.

The third season of “Let's Eat,” now renamed “Let's Eat: Begins,” will start airing on the cable network tvN next Monday.

During a press event held Tuesday at Times Square mall in southwestern Seoul, the cast members said they were excited about the new season.

“Here in Korea, sequel dramas are really rare. Personally, it's an honor for me to star in such a rare TV series,” said Yoon Doo-joon, a singer-actor who plays Goo Dae-young, a 34-year-old insurance consultant in “Let's Eat.”

The eating show revolves around four singles ― two men and two women in their 20s and 30s ― who are in love with food who have expertise on cuisine. The third season will focus on how the lead character Goo became a foodie.

“It is a drama that depicts the exhausted lives of office workers,” Yoon said. “If the viewership ratings come out better than my expectations, we will treat some of the viewers to chicken and beer. We will cast lots and deliver it to your office.”

The latest sequel to tvN's hit drama begins with the story of Goo back in 2004 when he was a freshman. The main plot is on how he fell in love with food and become a veteran foodie with in-depth knowledge.

“By putting Begins in this season's title, we wanted to describe the lead character Goo Dae-young's beginning story about why and how he got to love food,” the program's producer Choi Gyu-sik said.

Goo, played by Yoon, is a symbol of the series. Some clues from previous seasons, such as taking a picture after finishing a meal of the empty bowl, will be explained in the upcoming season, according to the producer.

This will be the last TV drama series for Yoon before he enlists in the military. The date has yet to be set, but he is likely to serve the mandatory military duty sometime this year, his agency said.

“I will definitely wait for Yoon,” producer Choi said. “Yoon is like a symbol to the show. It's hard to imagine producing the next season without him.”

The plots go back and forth about Goo's life in 2004 to his current life with the focus on a dish as a medium. This is expected to arouse nostalgia in people in their 30s who also went to college during the same period, the producer said.

Yoon has been playing his role throughout the run of the show, but the actresses on the program have constantly changed, including Lee Soo-kyung, Seo Hyun-jin and Baek Jin-hee.

“It's an honor for me to be featured in the series,” Baek said, pointing out that she put in much effort into her role between 2004 and 2018, turning from an innocent student who guides Yoon into being a foodie, to a heartless office worker now.

The series, which began in 2013, reflects on the emerging trend of single-person households and “meokbang,” a type of broadcast showing a person eating a large meal. The drama has drawn enthusiastic responses from viewers due to its fresh concept by combining eating with drama.

The broadcaster even added two more episodes to the previous season thanks to overwhelming viewer support.

The show boasts an average viewer rating of 1.98 percent, which is considered good among cable network shows. It reached a record high of 2.99 percent during the previous season, according to Nielsen Korea.