Lim Ji-yeon's 'jajangmyeon mukbang' goes viral

Sang-eun (played by Lim Ji-yeon) eats a bowl of jajangmyeon as she talks to her brother-in-law following her husband's death. Five months pregnant, she had been physically abused by her former spouse. Courtesy of ENA.

By Yang Seung-joon

“I couldn't help but order a bowl of jajangmyeon.”

Over the past week, social media has been flooded by people sharing pictures of their “jajangmyeon” (a Korean-style Chinese noodle dish). There were no notable dates on the calendar, including Black Day (April 14) where single men and women eat jajangmyeon instead of the chocolate they never got on Valentine's Day or White Day. The jajangmyeon frenzy was triggered by a scene on the new ENA drama series “Lies Hidden in My Garden” which has since gone viral.

Photos of the “Lim Ji-yeon set meal” on social media, including a bowl of jajangmyeon, dumplings and sweet and sour pork eaten by Lim's character in the drama “Lies Hidden in My Garden” after learning her husband has died. / Captured from social media

In the drama series, Lim's character Sang-eun walks into a Chinese restaurant after being questioned by the police as a witness following the sudden death of her husband. She devours a bowl of jajangmyeon as if she'd been starving for a week.

Fans and critics have been buzzing over Lim's acting in the scene, marking an evolution from her portrayal of a cold and calculating school bully in “The Glory.” Five months pregnant, Sang-eun had been physically abused by her husband on a near daily basis when he was alive.

Critic Gong Hee-jung says, “Lim Ji-yeon's character is finally able to eat by herself without looking over her shoulders. You can feel her sense of liberation and a hint of madness as well. The two-and-a-half-minute “mukbang” (or eating show) scene has since gone viral, with people joining in to eat a bowl of jajangmyeon.

It has started a full-blown foodie trend, with Chinese restaurants across Korea offering a new menu dubbed the “Lim Ji-yeon special” that includes jajangmyeon, dumplings and sweet and sour pork. A number of parodies have also emerged, including one that depicts the menu as the meal of choice for those looking to quit their stressful jobs. “Lies Hidden in My Garden” is riding on this wave of viral trends and has topped the drama series chart on Netflix as of last Monday.

“Lim Ji-yeon special” available at Chinese restaurants. Captured from social media

Ha Jung-woo eating in the film “Yellow Sea” / Captured from "Yellow Sea"

Soo Ae biting into a piece of chicken in the drama series “Merry Go Round,” where she plays the role of a pregnant woman. Soo Ae says she loves chicken in real life. Captured from “Merry Go Round"

Lim's jajangmyeon scene is already being hailed as one of the greatest mukbang moments in Korean film history, alongside Ha Jung-woo in the film “Yellow Sea” and Soo Ae in the drama “Merry Go Round.” According to a member of the production staff on “Hidden Lies in My Garden,” the script included a note that read, “Sang-eun buries her face into a bowl of jajangmyeon as she eats voraciously.”

A representative from Lim's agency said, “She ordered four extra-large bowls of jajangmyeon and a large plate of sweet and sour pork. They filmed her repeatedly as she ate to capture the appearance of a women possessed.” Lim has been known to have a big appetite in real life, and said “I wanted to portray the numbness and the emptiness in Sang-eun's soul by way of eating.”

Yang Seung-joon (comeon@hankookilbo.com) is a reporter at The Hankook Ilbo, a sister publication of The Korea Times. This article, previously published in The Hankook Ilbo, has been translated as part of a news-sharing program.