Immortal Classic

The art of making great kimchee, hundreds of varieties of pickled and fermented cabbage and other vegetables that are staples in Korean cuisine, is a coveted skill that is passed down from generation to generation. In one family of master kimchee chefs, the techniques and medicinal qualities of different types of kimchee have been collected into a precious recipe book that has been closely guarded for hundreds of years. The current matriarch and protector of the family recipe book is Park Gye Hyang (Go Doo Shim), who inherited the responsibility from her tyrannical mother-in-law after years of dedicated subservience and now serves as a national cultural asset of cooking for presidents and foreign dignitaries. But there are those who are determined to find favor in the family to get their hands on the coveted secret recipes. One such person is Choi Jin Mi (Kim Sun Kyung), who was raised from childhood in the same household as the intended bride for Gye Hyang’s son, Hyun Myung (Choi Jong Hwan), until Gye Hyang’s mother-in-law suddenly forbid the union. Now president of a kimchee company, Jin Mi plans to finally marry Hyun Myung 40 years later and infuse the missing flavors in her kimchee recipe so that she can take it globally. Seo Yeong Joo (Lee Ha Nui), a chemical engineer in the same company, ended a five-year relationship with Gye Hyang’s grandson, Kim Seong Joon (Han Jae Suk), only to return and beg to be taken back. Surprisingly, Hwang Geum Hee (Park Sun Young), an herbal medicine doctor, seems to know some of the medicinal secrets of kimchee that is only contained in the family recipe book. Her mother, Kang San Hae (Im Ye Jin), owns a restaurant that serves kimchee that is said to taste better than Gye Hyang’s. The only person to have that kind of talent for making kimchee is Gye Hyang’s long-lost daughter. Whose kimchee will reign supreme? “Immortal Classic” is a delectable 2012 South Korean drama series directed by Jang Hyung Il and Kim Sang Rae.