Coupang Play’s variety series Kang Ho-dong’s Bookstore has released a preview for Episode 4 confirming the appearance of Chef Ok Dong-sik, the creator of the globally celebrated pork gomtang. With the show still struggling to generate buzz and lift ratings, viewers will be watching to see whether this installment can change the conversation.
Kang Ho-dong’s Bookstore is a talk show built around Hocrates (Kang Ho-dong), a loud-voiced but soft-hearted INFP who runs a neighborhood bookstore. The format invites guests for intimate, candid conversations that reveal personal stories and life lessons.
In the preview, Ok Dong-sik instantly lifts the room with food-forward storytelling and warm chemistry. The moment he walks in, Hocrates greets him with a jubilant shout of "pork gomtang!"—a buoyant beat that signals the episode will be driven by appetite as much as emotion.
Ok, who previously appeared on the cooking-survival series Black and White Chef 2, opens up about the origin story of his signature pork gomtang—honored by the Michelin Guide’s Bib Gourmand for eight consecutive years—and how the dish captured New York’s attention. He also details why some 1,000 groups queued on opening day and how he pressed forward with a business many advised him against. Hocrates even offers a hyperbolic compliment—"God made water, and Ok Dong-sik made the broth"—which only heightens curiosity about the chef’s secret techniques.
Behind his solemn artisan image, Ok reveals a playful, quick-witted side that keeps the conversation lively. When Hocrates fires a surprise question, Ok replies calmly, "At most five years?" and pulls unexpected laughs. He teases a range of colorful career stops—from interning on airline in-flight meal teams to cooking at overseas Korean ambassador residences—promising vivid anecdotes across settings. The book he brings, the show hints, speaks to a life philosophy as clear and deep as his gomtang broth.
New episodes of Kang Ho-dong’s Bookstore drop every Friday at 4 p.m. exclusively on Coupang Play. Both Coupang WOW members and standard members can watch for free.
Even so, the show has struggled to make an impact: despite marking Kang Ho-dong’s first solo variety program in roughly 13 years, it failed to place in Pundex’s buzz rankings for either programs or cast during the fourth week of March.
Kim Ji-won, TenAsia reporter bella@tenasia.co.kr
