Netflix's "Culinary Class Wars 2" director-producer Kim Hak-min addressed the midseason name-tag spoiler and accusations of manipulative "evil editing" following the show's finale, speaking with press in Seoul's Samcheong-dong on the 16th.
On the spoiler that slipped through, Kim said, "It was a clear editing mistake. We only realized it after the episode was released. It was never intentional. Still, I recognize it was a serious error. Even after watching the footage dozens of times, we didn't expect to miss that one shot. Above all, we’re sorry to the viewers."
The name-tag moment surfaced during an interview with the contestant known as "Cooking Monster" while he was still in the thick of competition. On "Culinary Class Wars," challengers on the Black Spoon team can only reveal their real names if they make the finale. When his badge with his real name appeared midseason, it effectively telegraphed that he'd reach the final round.
As for the separate winner leak that spread online early in the season, Kim said, "That's hard to chalk up as a simple mistake. It seems there was intent behind that exposure. Netflix will conduct its own investigation into the source of the leak."
Kim also pushed back on "evil editing" claims. "In Season 1, a contestant said, 'I can win this.' In Season 2, Cooking Monster said, 'I came here to win.' Lines like that don’t come lightly―they’re a personal challenge and a promise to oneself. We thought it was cool, not something that invites attacks," he explained. "It was an expression of confidence and resolve. We didn’t steer his character with a specific agenda. We respect him, and we aimed to showcase his cooking the best we could."
Cooking Monster drew heat early on for interviews that many viewers read as overly arrogant―a perception that lingered through the finale. That fueled criticism that producers cherry-picked bold sound bites to craft a persona. The team, however, maintains there was no deliberate villain edit or character shaping.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kim Ji-hye)
댓글