The Legend of Kitchen Soldier

Main

• Park Ji-hoon as Kang Seong-jae

A 22-year-old private transferred to the Ganglim outpost, 4th Company, 1st Battalion, 60th Regiment, 29th Division. For his first birthday, he prophetically chose a chef's hat; this was his father's dream, an excellent cook, but not Seong-jae's. The family's difficult financial situation forced him to give up university and work on a construction site by day and as a shop assistant by night. This diligent life was shattered by his father's sudden death in an accident. Then came the draft notice: eighteen months that many others would avoid, but for him, it meant escaping the harsh realities of daily life and recovering. He gave his all during the months of basic training, earning him the title of best recruit. But his humble origins and his father's recent death led to him being classified as a "soldier requiring special attention." His superiors looked at him disapprovingly when, to make matters worse, he began to see strange things and hear voices, as if he were in a video game.^[1]

• Yoon Kyung-ho as Park Jae-young

A sergeant major and supply officer. He claims to have been a notorious gangster in Yeosu, but has no proof to back it up. Perhaps because of this, he lives freely even within the disciplined military. While all his comrades managed to get promoted, he remained a sergeant. He is a veteran administrative supply officer who defends the outpost in his own way despite several incidents and accidents (which have increased exponentially with the arrival of Private Kang Seong-jae). This leads him to constantly argue with Captain Hwang Seok-ho, who is much younger than him.^[2]

• Han Dong-hee as Cho Ye-rin

The post commander. A graduate of a women's university, she completed her military training in the ROTC (Reserve Officers' Training Corps), which in practice means being the ugly duckling of the officers. In truth, Ye-rin applied to the ROTC not with the intention of serving her country, but because it allowed her to earn money for tuition and gave her an advantage in employment. As the days passed in military life, the idea that this was a place unsuitable for her grew stronger. No matter how hard she tried not to be looked down upon by the soldiers, all she received in return was ridicule, and she realized she was becoming increasingly sensitive. When she was assigned to Ganglim, a sort of exile, all she had to do was kill time and quietly wait for her leave. That is, until the day she meets Kang Seong-jae, whom she initially greets with disapproval but then sees how capable he is of solving one problem after another.^[3]

• Lee Hong-nae as Yoon Dong-hyeon

The head cook at the Ganglim outpost. He takes his physical development more seriously than cooking, so he rarely eats the food he prepares himself. A complete novice in the art of cooking, and with a nearly atrophied sense of taste, a dark time has descended upon the base since he took charge of the soldiers' meals. But no soldier can complain about the food to a sergeant. With three months left in his active service, he passes the time counting down the days until a strange junior soldier arrives in Ganglim, casting a shadow over that final period.^[4]

Supporting

Special appearances

• Lee Sang-yi as Captain Hwang Seok-ho

Head of the 4th Company. Although he always remained at the back of the class, he is incredibly good at stubbornly resisting without any qualms of conscience. He developed a sense of rivalry with his fellow cadet, Captain Lee Min-gu, starting from the day he was completely humiliated in front of the female cadet he was in love with. Despite his appearance, he has great pride; he pretends to be a great gourmet who has traveled to all corners of the world, and he especially despises food prepared by the soldiers. He enforces strict standards and doesn't hesitate to exploit the soldiers until he gets what he wants. However, due to memories of past events, he has an extreme fear of accidents happening. Therefore, he tries to prevent problems at all costs before they arise.^[16]

• Jin Goo as Tteokbokki restaurant owner (Ep. 5)^[17]
• Ra Mi-ran as Jae-young’s lover (Ep. 5)^[18]

Development

The series is based on the Naver webtoon Kitchen Soldier by J Robin. It is directed by Jo Nam-hyung [ko], who co-helmed Tale of the Nine Tailed (2022) and Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938 (2023), written by Choi Ryong, who wrote Sorry Not Sorry (2024–2025), and co-produced by Studio Dragon and Studio N.^[19][20]

Casting

On February 6, 2025, Park Ji-hoon was reportedly being considered to star by his agency, YY Entertainment^[19] According to Newsen on February 12, Yoon Kyung-ho received an offer and was considering it, while Sports Kyunghyang stated that his casting had been confirmed.^[21][22] Three months later, SPOTV reported that Lee Sang-yi would make a special appearance.^[23] By July 2025, Park, Yoon, Han Dong-hee, and Lee Hong-nae were officially confirmed to lead the series, with Jung Woong-in joining the cast.^[20][10]

Filming

Principal photography commenced in July 2025 and wrapped up after 8 months.^[24]

Part 1