Actor Lee Hyo-jung is making headlines as a galbi restaurant owner, revealing a surprising daily routine that has his kitchen staff on edge!
In today’s episode of TV CHOSUN’s variety show ‘Perfect Life’ (airing at 8 PM), Lee Hyo-jung and his wife appear together to showcase their new challenge for the “second act” of their lives.
Boasting cooking skills that earned him the nickname “Ilsan Lee Yeon-bok,” Lee Hyo-jung shared the sweet story of opening a galbi restaurant for his wife. The restaurant’s exterior caught everyone’s attention with a large photo of his face and the caption, “I will do my best, Big Servant Lee Hyo-jung.”
During the filming, Lee Hyo-jung explained his motivation, saying, “The children are all grown, and my wife turned 60 last year. I’ve wanted to treat people to delicious food for a long time.” He truly embraced the “servant” role, personally carrying charcoal to tables, serving guests, and carefully grilling the meat.
Watching this, MC Oh Ji-ho marveled, “It’s like a Chairman from a drama is grilling the meat himself.” Lee Hyo-jung is currently playing the role of Chairman ‘Ma Dae-chang’ in the popular drama ‘First Man’. When panelist Shin Seung-hwan worried if he was too busy balancing drama filming and the restaurant, Lee Hyo-jung replied, “It’s busy because I’m challenging myself with something new, but it’s fun. Before, I only knew the viewers’ reactions through monitoring, but now that I run a restaurant, customers tell me about the drama immediately, so the real-time feedback is great.”
However, behind this heartwarming story lies a hidden struggle for the kitchen staff that is sure to bring plenty of laughs.
While Lee Hyo-jung showed burning passion, stating, “I’m working hard with the head chef to develop new menus,” the head chef felt differently. In an interview with the production team, the chef surprisingly revealed, “I try to avoid him whenever he enters the kitchen.” The chef added a blunt confession that left the studio in laughter: “The boss loves cooking so much that he keeps coming into the kitchen, and honestly, that’s tiring for the staff.”
Meanwhile, Lee Hyo-jung was also seen sneaking away from restaurant duties to handle second-hand trades or tend to his garden. This led panelist Lee Sung-mi to sharply point out, “It seems like only his photo is hanging in the restaurant, while his wife does all the actual work.”
