REVIEW: ‘The Legend Of Kitchen Soldier’ Is Charming From The Jump

The act of cooking in storytelling is a vehicle not only to entice the senses but also to navigate a variety of topics. We see this clearly in the opening episodes of The Legend of Kitchen Soldier. Adapted from the webtoon by JRobin, the series follows the main character, Kang Sung-jae (Park Ji-hoon), as he navigates his grief after his father’s death, using the act of cooking with a gamified twist in a charming fashion. While some of the reactions surrounding the food can be a bit much (though typical for the genre), it is off to a promising start.

Across The Legend of Kitchen Soldier Episodes 1-4, director Jo Nam-hyung and screenwriter Choi Ryong take time to introduce Kang Sung-jae to his new military environment. Having just been transferred to the Ganglim outpost, the protagonist comes across as earnest and green. An evaluation marks him as someone needing special attention, with his mental health put into question. Once it’s revealed that his father has recently passed away, you can see why someone so young would be struggling to hold it together mentally.

It takes time for Kang Sung-jae to adjust to his environment. It doesn’t help that a mysterious virtual screen keeps popping up at seemingly random intervals as if he’s in a game. That, and his superiors are all giving him the side-eye because of his “special” status within the unit and his social awkwardness. Complicating matters is that the young soldier can’t help getting into situations at the beginning of The Legend of Kitchen Soldier. From accidentally poisoning a superior’s office to fainting in the kitchen, his presence causes a stir.

Kang Sung-jae is incredibly relatable and undeniably vulnerable in The Legend of Kitchen Soldier.

However, with each tiny success throughout The Legend of Kitchen Soldier Episodes 1-4, Kang Sung-jae becomes more assured. Park Ji-hoon shows this through subtle changes in not only energy but also body posture. From the beginning, he infuses Sung-jae with a nervous energy that is initially endearing but quickly becomes annoying to his superiors. In moments alone, Sung-jae carries an unspoken weight, which is apparent in how Park Ji-hoon holds himself. 

Surrounding Kang Sung-jae are colleagues, who are also unintentionally his adversaries. Yoon Dong-hyeon (Lee Hong-nae) is easily the most contentious of his colleagues. While he is the head cook at Ganglim, he doesn’t take the job seriously. This shows in how little thought he puts into the cooking, instead prioritizing his workout gains over making food that anyone can eat. With Sung-jae’s arrival, Dong-hyeon looks at him as someone he can boss around and have do the grunt stuff he doesn’t want to do. 

However, their relationship quickly takes some twists and turns in these first four episodes. As Sung-jae starts helping out more in the kitchen, the mood is shifting, and Dong-hyeon is reaping the benefits of Sung-jae’s success, making his last days of his tenure tolerable. By the end of Episode 4, though, he realizes he is losing the respect he previously commanded, souring his mood towards the young soldier. It sets up an intriguing dynamic and character arc for Lee Hong-nae to play with in his performance and makes it clear that the future is uncertain for both.

The changing dynamic between Sung-jae and Dong-hyeon keeps things unpredictable.

As for the other characters surrounding Kang Sung-jae, it’s early days in terms of figuring out how things will develop. More specifically, with Post Commander Cho Ye-rin (Han Dong-hee), Sergeant Major Park Jae-young (Yoon Kyung-ho), and Captain Hwang Seok-ho (Lee Sang-yi). Initially, all three are hesitant and sometimes outright adversarial towards Sung-jae over his special status and his earlier screwups in the kitchen. By Episode 4, though, Cho Ye-rin’s attitude towards Sung-jae shifts, and there’s less rigidity directed towards him.

As one of the rare female characters in The Legend of Kitchen Soldier, Cho Ye-rin is an intriguing addition to the lineup. She has some authority at the outpost, yet there’s a mostly unspoken history surrounding her and what likely led to her position at Ganglim. This shows itself in her interactions with Seok-ho as well as other superior officers. We start to see the breadcrumbs of her storyline planted in Episodes 3 and 4, but not enough is known yet about where they will take off. 

As for Seok-ho, this arguably may be Lee Sang-yi’s least likable character he’s played yet. The natural charm and charisma he exudes come into play in the first episode of The Legend of Kitchen Soldier, but it’s not long before we see the cracks beneath the facade. He’s incredibly concerned about saving face and maintaining appearances, and Sung-jae’s arrival complicates his special status and conflicts with the image Seok-ho hopes to keep intact. It seems the character may be due for some humbling, but whether his path goes that route remains to be seen. 

How Sung-jae’s presence will impact the people around him remains to be seen.

As for Sergeant Major Park Jae-young, he’s more of an enigma so far in The Legend of Kitchen Soldier. It’s too soon to tell, but we can at least see that there is some tension between him and Seok-ho in decisions made at the outpost. There isn’t a super close relationship between him and Sung-jae yet, but that can change, especially if Seok-ho continues to have issues with the young cook. Still, the Sergeant Major is the least defined of the three characters, and hopefully, we’ll see more development soon. 

Beyond the characters, The Legend of Kitchen Soldier is deeply entrenched in the cooking genre, and it shows in the way the camera homes in on the cooking process. The reaction to the dishes, though over-the-top at times, is a staple of the genre, and the viewer immediately gets a sense of how euphoric and delicious Sung-jae’s cooking is from how the reactions are framed and delivered. Definitely don’t start the series without eating something beforehand, or you will be incredibly hungry.

While it’s still early days in the series’ run, The Legend of Kitchen Soldier Episodes 1-4 has nailed the fun, quirky vibe that the cooking genre calls for. As Sung-jae falls into a rhythm, new sources of tension are emerging to keep him on his toes. And with the gamification aspect popping in and out throughout his cooking endeavors, there’s enough to keep us wondering about the ever-evolving nature of this legend’s story.

The Legend of Kitchen Soldier Episodes 1-4 are now streaming on Viki and HBO Max.