Le Grand Chef 2: Kimchi Battle

During a state visit to Japan the Korean president gets involved in a heated debate with the Japanese prime minister over the origins of kimchi, with the latter boldly claiming that kimchi was originally from Japan, thus an original Japanese dish. This does not please the Korean president, so he vows to market the dish to the world as the originator. Upon his return to Korea, he announces a national "Kimchi Contest" to reaffirm its position as a Korean product.

Jang-eun (Kim Jung-eun), is a famous fusion chef, who left Korea 10 years ago to train in Japan and hides her broken heart with a cold-hearted mask. She has always resented that her mother was once a gisaeng and for cherishing her Chunyanggak Restaurant more than herself and her own daughter. Thus she has returned to shut down the restaurant which her mother has run for years. On the other hand, her step-brother Seong-chan (Jin Goo), who was taken in by Jang-eun's mother after his deaf-and-mute mother was unable to care for him, is an advocate of tradition and wants to keep the beloved restaurant. He proposes that they compete in the Kimchi Contest for the rights to close or save the restaurant.{{cite web|title=Korean Movie Synopsis: Le Grand Chef 2: Kimchi Battle|url=http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/CU/content/cms_view_953695.jsp|work=Korea Tourism Organization|accessdate=2012-11-18}}{{cite web|title=Le Grand Chef 2: Kimchi Battle (2010)|url=http://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/jsp/films/index/filmsView.jsp?movieCd=20090926|work=Korean Film Biz Zone|accessdate=2012-11-18}}{{cite news|title=Le Grand Chef 2: Kimchi Battle (2009)|url=http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/01/29/2010012900719.html|accessdate=2012-11-18|newspaper=The Chosun Ilbo|date=29 January 2010}}{{cite news|title=2010.1.29 Now playing: Le Grand Chef 2: Kimchi Wars|url=http://koreajoongangdaily.joinsmsn.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=2915905|accessdate=2012-11-18|newspaper=Korea JoongAng Daily|date=29 January 2010|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120712111407/http://koreajoongangdaily.joinsmsn.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=2915905|archive-date=12 July 2012}}

• Kim Jung-eun - Jang-eun
• Jin Goo - Seong-chan
• Wang Ji-hye - Jin-soo
• Choi Jong-won - Ja-woon
• Lee Bo-hee - Soo-hyang
• Lee Byung-joon - Jo Dong-hee
• Kim Young-ok - Yeo-sang's mother
• Park Gil-soo - Department chief Kim
• Heo Hyeon-ho - Professor Oh
• Lee Kan-hee - Teacher Kong
• Lee Seung-cheol - Korean president
• Baek Jin-ki - young Yeo-sang
• Lee Jung-joon - chef #3
• Han Kuk-jin - editor
• Kwon Oh-jin - union president
• Lee Jang-won - announcer
• Sung Ji-ru - Yeo-sang (cameo)
• Choo Ja-hyun - Seong-chan's mother (cameo)
• Kim Young-woong - Arnold

Approximately 30 percent of the film was shot in Gwangju. Actors Kim Jung-eun and Jin Goo, along with celebrity chef Edward Young-min Kwon, were named special kimchi ambassadors by the city when it hosted the annual Gwangju Kimchi Cultural Festival in October–November 2009. South Jeolla Province occupies 53.6 percent of Korea's entire agricultural land, and Gwangju grows an abundance of the ingredients which are needed to make kimchi, namely: lettuce, radish, garlic, onion and dried red pepper. The world kimchi research center is also scheduled to be established in the region.{{cite web|last=Lee|first=Joo-hee|title=Edward Kwon, Kim Jung-eun named kimchi ambassadors|url=http://nwww.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20090729000058|work=The Korea Herald|accessdate=2012-11-18|date=29 July 2009}}

Kim Jung-eun and Jin Goo both took 3 months of cooking lessons from food director Kim Soo-jin prior to production.{{cite web|last=Wee|first=Geun-woo|title=Kim Jung-eun says Kimchi Battle is about people|url=https://www.asiae.co.kr/news/view.htm?idxno=2010012216432967591|work=10Asia|accessdate=2012-11-18|date=25 January 2010}}{{cite web|last=Park|first=So-yeon|title=Kim learned to make kimchi for Grand Chef|url=https://www.asiae.co.kr/news/view.htm?idxno=2009102221390244564|work=10Asia|accessdate=2012-11-18|date=22 October 2009}}{{cite news|title=Kim Jung-eun Finds New Meaning in Life Through Cookery|url=https://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/03/06/2010030600204.html|accessdate=2012-11-18|newspaper=The Chosun Ilbo|date=6 March 2010}}

The film ranked second and grossed {{SK won|1,836,799,468}} in its first week of release,{{cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/intl/korea/?yr=2010&wk=5¤cy=local&p=.htm|title=South Korea Box Office: January 29–31, 2010|work=Box Office Mojo|accessdate=2012-12-14}} and grossed a total of {{SK won|3,232,220,660}} domestically after eight weeks of screening.{{cite web|url=https://boxofficemojo.com/intl/korea/?yr=2007&wk=49¤cy=local&p=.htm|title=South Korea Box Office: March 19–21, 2010|work=Box Office Mojo|accessdate=2012-04-24}}

After opening in Korea on January 28, 2010, the film also screened on February 20 at AMC Theatres in 20 major U.S. cities including New York, Atlanta, Chicago and Los Angeles. This is the first time that a Korean film screened simultaneously in South Korea and the United States.{{cite web|last=Ko|first=Kyoung-seok|title=Korean film Le Grand Chef 2 to open in U.S.|url=https://www.asiae.co.kr/news/view.htm?idxno=2010012714053083621|work=10Asia|accessdate=2012-11-18|date=27 January 2010}}{{cite web|last=Hong|first=Lucia|title=Le Grand Chef 2 to open Korean film fest in LA|url=http://www.asiae.co.kr/news/view.htm?idxno=2010012815443913486|work=10Asia|accessdate=2012-11-18|date=28 January 2010}}

{{Reflist|2}}

• {{Official website|http://www.kimchiwar.co.kr}} {{in lang|ko}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20100713151631/http://blog.naver.com/kimchi_war Le Grand Chef 2: Kimchi Battle] at Naver {{in lang|ko}}
• {{IMDb title|1687241|Le Grand Chef 2: Kimchi Battle}}
• {{KMDb film|10898|Le Grand Chef 2: Kimchi Battle}}
• {{Hancinema film|Le_Grand_Chef_-_Kimchi_War|Le Grand Chef 2: Kimchi Battle}}

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Category:2010 films

Category:2010 drama films

Category:South Korean drama films

Category:Cooking films

Category:Films based on manhwa

Category:Films based on works by Huh Young-man

Category:2010s Korean-language films

Category:Films about chefs

Category:Live-action films based on comics

Category:South Korean sequel films

Category:2010s South Korean films