Baek ends month-long makgeolli controversy
By Kang Aa-young
Baek Jong-won
Hwang Kyo-ik
Celebrity chef and eatery franchise owner Baek Jong-won opened up about a controversy regarding makgeolli that erupted earlier in October after food columnist Hwang Kyo-ik raised questions about Baek's statements.
In a radio interview Tuesday, Baek, 52, said he has no intention to argue with critics and rather would respect their views. With this, he attempted to put to rest the month-long makgeolli controversy.
Baek runs more than 25 franchise brands in Korea, including Saemaul Restaurant and Paik's Coffee. He is one of the country's most-sought-after chefs and hosts three programs ― SBS' reality show “Baek Jong-won's Top 3 Chef King,” “Baek Jong-won's Food Truck” and “Baek Jong-won's Alley Restaurant.”
The celebrity chef broke the silence weeks after Hwang questioned his expertise on makgeolli after watching his show that aired in September.
In the show, a makgeolli bar owner in Seoul surnamed Park asked for Baek's help to improve his business. Baek and Park exchanged their ideas about the taste of makgeolli. Baek suggested a blind test of the traditional alcoholic beverage to test his expertise. Twelve different types of makgeolli, including two the owner made himself, were presented for the test. Baek passed the test and told the owner that the self-employed should have deep expertise in their business and products.
It was the owner's turn. He was able to identify only two of them, including one he made.
Baek gave him advice, saying he needs to work harder to improve his expertise.
He also said Park's makgeolli was half done and said he would be better off selling established brands rather than crafting his own makgeolli.
After the show, Hwang posted his thoughts about Baek's comments on Facebook. He said the blind test was not fair as even makgeolli masters wouldn't be able to pass it. He said there are over 800 types of makgeolli and each one has a very different flavor and taste.
Hwang, 56, has been a “taste” columnist for two decades based on his 12 years of experience as a reporter for the Nongmin Shinmun (Farmers Newspaper) and has created his own niche in food tasting.
He is no stranger to criticizing Baek. Earlier he posted more scathing messages about the celebrity chef.
But Baek had not reacted to Hwang's slew of messages questioning his expertise.
During an interview with CBS's “Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,” Baek called Hwang an “expert” and said he is open-mined to criticism. “This is what commentators do, isn't it?” he added.
“I don't feel the need to answer or react to every comment from food critics. Rather I listen to them and try to figure out if there's anything I can fix to improve my expertise.”
Responding to Hwang's criticism, he said he sat down with staff to discuss how to react.
He said the blind test was not aiming to humiliate the owner but to help him know what to do to market his products better, adding he was grateful for Hwang's comments.