Photo Credit: Emli Bendixen
In Korean pop culture, as in Korean life, food plays a starring role. From Instagram-ready dalgona coffee to cheese-filled, sugar-sprinkled corndogs, Korean trends are taking over, both on-screen and in the kitchen. The groundbreaking global sensation KPop Demon Hunters dethroned the captivating survival drama Squid Game as Netflix’s most-watched title ever, with the film collaborating with Nongshim Shin Ramyun to release limited-edition instant noodles inspired by its characters. Watching idols savor their favorite dishes or drama characters gather around sizzling stews and late-night snacks stirs a craving—not just to taste the food, but to
bring the dishes into your own kitchen and relive the moment bite by bite. From jjajangmyeon shared over office lunches to fiery tteokbokki eaten on street corners and the now-famous jjapaguri from Parasite, the food in these stories has become just as unforgettable as the characters themselves, sparking the same reaction from viewers everywhere: what is that, and where can I get it?
In MUJKA: LET’S EAT!: Fan-Favorite Recipes from K-Pop, K-Dramas & More, chef, restaurateur, television personality, and Korean cuisine expert Judy Joo recreates the dishes viewers keep spotting across Korean dramas, films, and the world of K-pop. With more than 80 recipes, Joo shows how to cook the foods they have been seeing on screen, from late-night noodle dishes and street food favorites to comforting stews, sizzling barbecue, and café sweets. Along the way, she opens up the building blocks of Korean cooking, introducing the ingredients and techniques that give these dishes their distinctive flavor, including staples like gochujang, doenjang, sesame oil, and kimchi. And MUJKA: LET’S EAT! is more than a collection of beloved, sought-after dishes: Judy brings the perspective of a chef who has spent her career championing Korean cuisine, guiding readers through the flavors, traditions, and everyday cooking that sit behind the scenes of the meals audiences keep noticing on screen and give rich cultural context to the food trends taking the world by storm. It’s a cookbook, yes, but it’s also a way into the meals that have become one of the most memorable parts of the Korean Wave.
In her conversation with Juju Chang, an Emmy® Award-winning co-anchor of ABC News’ “Nightline,” Judy Joo will discuss her career and the latest book.
About the Speaker
Speaker
Judy Joo
Judy Joo is a chef, restaurateur, author, entrepreneur, and television personality. A bestselling cookbook author, her titles include K-Quick, Judy Joo’s Korean Soul Food, and Korean Food Made Simple. She is a TV regular, dishing out culinary wisdom on The Today Show, Good Morning America, The Talk, and Food Network in the USA, while popping up on UK favorites like Saturday Kitchen, Sunday Brunch, and James Martin’s Saturday Morning. She has been featured in The New York Times, People, The Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, The Times, and Food & Wine magazine.
Judy is CEO and co-founder of Seoul Bird, a London mainstay for Korean street food with locations in New York and Edinburgh, Judy was the first female Iron Chef in the UK and the second worldwide. Through her restaurants, media work, and writing, Judy has spent years introducing Korean food and culture to audiences around the world.
About the Moderator
Moderator
Juju Chang
Juju Chang is an Emmy® Award-winning co-anchor of ABC News’ “Nightline.” She also reports regularly for “Good Morning America” and “20/20.” Chang’s decades-long career has been recognized with numerous awards, including multiple Emmy’s, Gracie’s, a DuPont, a Murrow and Peabody awards. In 2017, she was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Front Page Awards.
