The 'Chef of the Antarctic' opened his mouth to controversy over penguin abuse..."Research staff, not cast"

By Yoona, Lee

Nov 28, 2025

The 'Chef of the Antarctic' opened his mouth to controversy over penguin abuse...'Research staff, not cast'



The production team immediately gave an explanation as MBC's entertainment show 『The Chef of the Antarctic』 was embroiled in controversy over wild penguin abuse shortly after the trailer was released.

The trailer for the third episode of 'The Chef of Antarctica', released on the 25th, showed the cast visiting 'Penguin Village', a special Antarctic reserve. However, in the video, someone was seen grabbing the penguin's tail and lifting it upside down, sparking controversy. The person's face was not visible, so it was not distinguished whether it was a cast member, a production team, or a research agent, but it was pointed out that the act of catching sensitive body parts of wild animals was immediately animal abuse.

According to international regulations such as the Antarctic Treaty Protocol, touching or feeding wild penguins is prohibited unless it is for research purposes. This is a measure to prevent changes in animal behavior, damage to habitats, and spread of external bacteria. Indeed, even in episode 1 of the 'Chef of Antarctica'You can't touch a penguin unless it's for research purposes" has appeared with a guide caption. Nevertheless, when the scene was released in the trailer, some viewers reportedly even filed a report with the Antarctic Environmental Protection Committee.




In the trailer, Lim Soo-hyang looks at thousands of penguins and says, `So cuteThe controversy grew even more with the appearance of the cast, such as admiring " and a scene in which a person believed to be a Jongwon Baek responded "You really bite ." Some viewers speculated that the person wearing the blue hat was Lim Soo-hyang.

The 'Chef of the Antarctic' opened his mouth to controversy over penguin abuse...'Research staff, not cast'
In response, the production team said on the 28th that the person who lifted the penguin's tail was a penguin researcher, not a cast member. In addition, the controversial blue hat-wearing figure was also "researcher, not the cast." The cast was warned in advance and did not have any contact with the penguin"The scene will be available in detail on December 1st."

The authenticity and exact context of the controversy will be revealed on December 1st.




Meanwhile, Chef of Antarctica opened a noisy event with Jongwon Baek's return to entertainment in six months after announcing the suspension of broadcasting, and recently, there was a controversy over PPL that Baek's first locally made dish, chicken eggs, was similar to the menu sold at Dubon Korea 'PPL Restaurant'. CEO Baek's newly opened PPL Restaurant last year operated under a concept that the sales menu varies depending on the food ingredients that receive advertisement requests, but is now being used as a store to test new brand menus. From April last year to February this year, Dubon Korea sold 'Chicken Fries Set menu' for about 10 months.

The menu consisted of side dishes such as white rice, chicken eggs, soup, and stew, and it was suspected that CEO Baek promoted his menu because the composition and plate design were similar to those presented in the 「Chef of Antarctica」. The complaint has been filed with the Korea Communications Standards Commission (Attention Committee).






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