Breaking the K-Drama Slump with Bon Appétit, Your Majesty
Photo: Netflix
A natural phenomenon occurs with years of consuming K-Dramas: the K-Drama Slump. It can last weeks, months, even years for some. Even some of the most captivating stories or promising synopses can’t captivate your attention any longer, no matter your love for the genre. But when in doubt, if you truly love the art of K-Drama, one is bound to drag you back into the world one way or another. For me, the K-Drama slump has been a real struggle for many months, with nothing really catching my eye. But this time, K-Drama TikTok came in clutch, and just one edit showing the way Lee Chaemin was looking at Im Yoona in Bon Appétit, Your Majesty had me hooked.
Now everyone knows with historical dramas, more often than not they are going to be heartwrenching and tragic (looking at you, Scarlet Heart Ryeo). It pretty much comes with the territory when attempting to tell the story of a historically accurate tale of the Three Kingdoms or the Joseon Dynasty, a time which is always stained with coups and bloodshed. But even knowing that, sometimes it’s hard to resist the allure of historical retellings, especially for a society that is so foreign and interesting to my Western upbringing. I was captured pretty quickly by the setting of the drama, taking place in the very early sixteenth century Joseon dynasty.
Bon Appétit, Your Majesty is a historical fiction, based off of web novel Surviving as Yeonsangun's Chef. Our female lead Yeon Jiyoung (Im Yoona, or Yoona of Girls’ Generation for those unaware) is a modern Michelin star chef who we join in the present day as she is in the midst of a French cooking show competition. On her return to her father in Korea, she is given a historical book to deliver to him known as the mangunrok. It gets damaged on her flight, and while attempting to clean it up in the airplane bathroom, she finds herself traveling through space and time via the book into the early Joseon dynasty. Yep, we have an isekai storyline here.
Without spoiling too much, she is found by Yi Heon, (Lee Chaemin), the king of the dynasty, and ends up present in his court after a number of humorous antics. Yi Heon is fictional, but he is a representation of Joseon’s tyrant king known as Yeonsangun, an infamous king of the Joseon dynasty known for his ruthless and tyrannical rule. Jiyoung refers to him as this from the start, but as the story unfolds it becomes clear where the line is between historical accuracy and fiction, of course.
He’s not the only historical figure referenced. Kang Mokju (Kang Hanna) plays the role of a fictional Jang Noksu, the historically favored consort of Yeonsangun with a particularly interesting gruesome history. Mokju is introduced as the villainess of the story pretty quickly, due to her jealousy surrounding Jiyoung basically immediately, though no romantic undertones between the leads had developed yet. I did some research into the historical references after her introduction to find the story of Jang Noksu, who was known to be as ruthless as the king himself. When Yeonsangun was deposed, she remained defensive of his actions, and eventually was executed by the new king, with rumors that after she was publicly beheaded, the public threw rocks at her body.
So what is it about this drama that is so captivating? Perhaps it’s the historical fiction, or the isekai element, or more than likely the enemies-to-lovers plotline, a fan favorite. But the best part of it? A happy ending! Honestly, at this point life is depressing enough, and we all just need happy endings even to our most melodramatic dramas. While I wouldn’t make the argument that this is the best drama ever created, it is certainly captivating. The drama has great romance, plenty of action scenes, and comedic relief amidst a setting that many would consider gravely serious. The concept of the story centering around the art of cooking was actually interesting enough that it even hooked in my father, who hates any fictional TV program that doesn’t involve explosions.
In a way the story is predictable, but that was somehow comforting. People often have a lot of complaints for cliché, but there are times where it still is a greatly effective storytelling method even if expected. All of the different genres melded together in this one drama is presented very well, and it’s just nice to get a historical drama that isn’t rife with total tragedy constantly. It’s fun, it’s romantic, it’s captivating, it’s action-packed… What more could you want?
If you haven’t yet, give Bon Appétit, Your Majesty a shot for a good all-rounder drama to enjoy.