# Wok of Love

Wok of Love (Korean: 기름진 멜로; RR: Gireumjin Mello) is a 2018 South Korean television series starring Lee Jun-ho, Jang Hyuk and Jung Ryeo-won. It aired on SBS from May 7 to July 17, 2018 on Mondays and Tuesdays at 22:00 (KST) for 38 episodes.

## Synopsis

A charming love story of a group of men and women that is hotter than the boiling oil in a sizzling hot wok. Across the street of the six-star Giant Hotel, there stood a small and shabby Chinese restaurant called Hungry Wok. Doo Chil-sung, the owner of the restaurant and a former gangster from the Big Dipper Gang, took over the restaurant in order to provide a place of work for his former gang members. One day, former star chef Seo Poong, and bankrupt heiress Dan Sae-woo, whose lives were turned upside down overnight, came to visit Chil-sung for his help to get them back on their feet.

## Cast
### Main

* Lee Jun-ho as Seo Poong (31)
    A tough spirit who starts from the very bottom of a hotel kitchen to becoming a top chef in a Chinese restaurant of Giant Hotel. A conspiracy resulted in the removal from his job. He ends up being a co-owner of the "Hungry Wok".
* Jang Hyuk as Doo Chil-sung (40)
    A former loan shark gangster from the 'Big Dipper' gang who seems intimidating but is secretly very kind hearted. After serving his time in prison, he ends up running a failing Chinese restaurant with his ever so loyal gang members.
* Jung Ryeo-won as Dan Sae-woo (33)
    A chaebol heiress who enjoys horseback riding and fencing but is currently bankrupt. She undergoes a major change in her life after tasting a bowl of Jajangmyeon at a Chinese restaurant.

### Supporting
#### People working in Hungry Wok

* Lee Mi-sook as Jin Jung-hye (53)
    A beautiful and vivacious chaebol wife and an ex beauty queen. She won the title for Miss Onion pageant 20 odd years ago.
* Park Ji-young as Chae Seol-ja (45)
    Chef of a Chinese restaurant who came to Korea from the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture 25 years ago.
* Tae Hang-ho as Im Geok-jeong (34)
    A timid restaurant helper who dreams about becoming a chef, and sees Seo Poong as his role model.

#### Members of Big Dipper Gang

* Jo Jae-yoon as Oh Maeng-dal (42)
    Right-hand man of Doo Chil-sung in the 'Big Dipper' gang. He began working in the Hungry Wok restaurant after being released from prison, under the orders of Chil-sung.
* Kim Hyun-joon as Kwang Dong-sik (27)
    A member of the 'Big Dipper' gang, the only married man among them. He is a warm-hearted person who wants to learn Chinese cooking skills as soon as possible in order not to worry his wife.
* Choi Ki-sub as Jeon Yi Man (35)
    A gangster working in the same restaurant who finds fighting easier than cooking.
* Cha In-ha as Bong Chi-soo (25)
    A member of the 'Big Dipper' gang, now a dumpling master who looks younger than his age and quick in calculations.
* Choi Won-myeong as Yang Kang-ho (24)
    The youngest member of the 'Big Dipper' gang who is extremely loyal and strong.

#### People working in Giant Hotel

* Kim Sa-kwon as Yong Seung-ryong (30)
    An ambitious president of Giant Hotel.
* Im Won-hee as Wang Choon-soo (48)
    Main chef of the Chinese restaurant of Giant Hotel.
* Oh Eui-shik as Maeng Sam-seon (31)
    A chef-in-training under a famous chef in the Giant Hotel. Seo Poong's rival who pretends to be his friend.
* Hong Yoon-hwa as Kan Bora (27)
    The only female chef in Giant Hotel's Chinese restaurant's kitchen.
* Kang Rae-yeon as Koong Rae-yeon (30)
    Hall manager of Giant Hotel who speaks fluent Chinese, and values money above friendship.

#### Others

* Lee Mi-sook as Kim Sun-nyeo (74)
    A mysterious woman who frequently appears and disappears around Doo Chil-sung without warning. She is Chil-sung's mother who had abandoned him in a Chinese restaurant while eating sweet sour pork and jajangmyeon.
* Cha Joo-young as Seok Dal-hee (31)
    A plastic surgeon who has enjoyed success in her career thanks to the support of her father who runs a Chinese restaurant. Her marriage to her first love, Seo Poong is troubled, when she cheats on him.
* Lee Ki-hyuk as Na Oh-jik (34)
    A successful obstetrician.
* Ok Ja-yeon as Lee Ji-kyung (32)
    Animal Hospital Veterinarian
* Lee Ki-young as Dan Seung-ki (57)
    Father of Dan Sae-woo who has become bankrupt
* Jang Hee-ryung as Lee Boon-hong (22)
    Kwang Dong-sik's wife. A room maid at the Giant Hotel. She draws attention wherever she goes due to her pretty and sexy appearance.

### Special appearance

* Ryu Seung-soo as Cockeye
* Bae Hae-sun as Nurse
* Shin Dong-yup as Immar's voice

## Production

The first script reading took place in late March 2018.

## Ratings

* In the table below, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings.
* NR denotes that the drama did not rank in the top 20 daily programs on that date.
* TNmS stop publishing their report from June 2018.
| Ep. | Broadcast date | Average audience share | Average audience share | Average audience share | Average audience share |
| Ep. | Broadcast date | TNmS | TNmS | AGB Nielsen | AGB Nielsen |
| Ep. | Broadcast date | Nationwide | Seoul | Nationwide | Seoul |
| 1 | May 7, 2018 | 6.5% (NR) | 7.6% | 5.8% (NR) | 6.8% (15th) |
| 2 | May 7, 2018 | 7.3% (18th) | 8.2% | 6.4% (17th) | 7.3% (10th) |
| 3 | May 8, 2018 | 5.7% (NR) | 6.9% | 4.7% (NR) | 5.8% (15th) |
| 4 | May 8, 2018 | 7.0% (15th) | 8.5% | 5.6% (18th) | 7.1% (12th) |
| 5 | May 14, 2018 | 5.9% (NR) | 6.3% | 5.4% (NR) | 5.8% (18th) |
| 6 | May 14, 2018 | 6.9% (16th) | 7.2% | 5.8% (19th) | 6.1% (15th) |
| 7 | May 15, 2018 | 6.2% (20th) | 6.7% | 5.1% (NR) | 5.6% (19th) |
| 8 | May 15, 2018 | 7.3% (13th) | 8.6% | 6.8% (11th) | 8.2% (9th) |
| 9 | May 21, 2018 | 5.8% (NR) | 6.0% | 5.2% (NR) | 5.3% (NR) |
| 10 | May 21, 2018 | 6.3% (20th) | 6.9% | 5.8% (20th) | 6.4% (16th) |
| 11 | May 22, 2018 | 5.9% (NR) | 6.2% | 4.9% (NR) | 5.1% (NR) |
| 12 | May 22, 2018 | 6.6% (16th) | 7.4% | 5.8% (NR) | 6.6% (16th) |
| 13 | May 28, 2018 | 6.7% (NR) | 6.9% | 4.8% (NR) | 5.0% (NR) |
| 14 | May 28, 2018 | 7.1% (18th) | 7.3% | 5.5% (NR) | 5.7% (NR) |
| 15 | May 29, 2018 | 5.5% (NR) | 6.7% | 4.5% (NR) | 4.6% (NR) |
| 16 | May 29, 2018 | 6.6% (16th) | 7.5% | 5.2% (NR) | 6.1% (18th) |
| 17 | June 4, 2018 | 5.7% | 6.4% | 6.0% (NR) | 6.8% (13th) |
| 18 | June 4, 2018 | 7.0% | 7.9% | 6.5% (19th) | 7.4% (12th) |
| 19 | June 5, 2018 | 5.8% | 6.9% | 5.7% (17th) | 6.7% (11th) |
| 20 | June 5, 2018 | 6.5% | 7.6% | 6.4% (13th) | 7.4% (8th) |
| 21 | June 11, 2018 | 5.6% | 6.3% | 5.4% (NR) | 6.1% (20th) |
| 22 | June 11, 2018 | 7.0% | 7.8% | 6.4% (20th) | 7.2% (12th) |
| 23 | June 25, 2018 | 6.7% | 7.5% | 6.1% (NR) | 7.2% (12th) |
| 24 | June 25, 2018 | 7.3% | 8.6% | 7.1% (13th) | 8.4% (7th) |
| 25 | June 26, 2018 | 6.6% | 7.9% | 7.5% (14th) | 8.8% (9th) |
| 26 | June 26, 2018 | 7.9% | 9.0% | 9.3% (7th) | 10.4% (5th) |
| 27 | July 2, 2018 | 7.3% | 8.6% | 7.4% (17th) | 8.7% (11th) |
| 28 | July 2, 2018 | 8.6% | 10.1% | 9.3% (6th) | 10.8% (5th) |
| 29 | July 3, 2018 | 6.1% | 7.3% | 5.9% (NR) | 7.1% (16th) |
| 30 | July 3, 2018 | 7.4% | 8.8% | 7.4% (15th) | 8.9% (6th) |
| 31 | July 9, 2018 | 5.9% | 7.4% | 6.2% (NR) | 7.7% (12th) |
| 32 | July 9, 2018 | 6.5% | 8.1% | 7.3% (17th) | 8.9% (9th) |
| 33 | July 10, 2018 | 5.7% | 6.5% | 6.8% (16th) | 7.6% (11th) |
| 34 | July 10, 2018 | 6.6% | 7.8% | 7.6% (9th) | 8.7% (7th) |
| 35 | July 16, 2018 | 5.2% | 6.0% | 5.4% (NR) | 6.3% (18th) |
| 36 | July 16, 2018 | 6.4% | 7.1% | 6.4% (17th) | 7.2% (13th) |
| 37 | July 17, 2018 | 5.4% | 6.7% | 5.6% (17th) | 6.9% (13th) |
| 38 | July 17, 2018 | 6.9% | 8.2% | 7.0% (13th) | 8.1% (7th) |
| Average | Average | 6.6% | 7.4% | 6.2% | 7.1% |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
| 2018 | SBS Drama Awards | Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Monday-Tuesday Drama | Jang Hyuk | Nominated |
| 2018 | SBS Drama Awards | Top Excellence Award, Actor in a Monday-Tuesday Drama | Lee Jun-ho | Nominated |
| 2018 | SBS Drama Awards | Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Monday-Tuesday Drama | Jung Ryeo-won | Nominated |
| 2018 | SBS Drama Awards | Top Excellence Award, Actress in a Monday-Tuesday Drama | Lee Mi-sook | Nominated |
| 2018 | SBS Drama Awards | Excellence Award, Actress in a Monday-Tuesday Drama | Park Ji-young | Nominated |
| 2018 | SBS Drama Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Im Won-hee | Won |