The JTBC entertainment program 'Please Take Care of My Refrigerator' (hereinafter 'PTCMR') featuring President Lee Jae-myung and his wife has recorded its highest ever viewership rating.
According to Nielsen Korea, the viewership rating for 'PTCMR' aired the previous day was 8.9% (based on nationwide data). This is the highest rating since the show first aired in 2014. The previous record was 7.4%, set in August 2015 when singers G-Dragon and Taeyang appeared.
The broadcast attracted attention as it was the first entertainment appearance of the President and First Lady since taking office. They decided to appear on the show to promote K-food, showcasing seasonal ingredients such as Hanwoo beef, dried radish greens, deodeok, and radish instead of revealing their refrigerator.
President Lee stated, “K-pop and K-dramas are important, but the real core of culture is food. Food has sustainability as it doesn’t change easily once one’s taste is fixed, which helps grow South Korea industrially.” He emphasized the value of K-food as a strategic industry.
The cooking theme that President Lee requested from the chefs was 'K-food that I want to promote to the world' and 'K-ingredients that I want to promote to the world, dried radish greens.'
During the broadcast, President Lee praised a traditional snack made by Chef Son Jong-won, saying, “This is the most delicious I’ve ever tasted” after trying a porridge made with pine nuts.
After tasting writer Kim Pung's 'Lee Jae-myung Pizza,' which featured dried radish greens on a nurungji dough topped with fried lotus root colored with beet, he expressed surprise, saying, “This (fried lotus root) could be made into an independent product,” and added, “The cooking process was playful, but the taste is no joke.”
At the end of the broadcast, President Lee said, “I hope you meet many family members and create new hope during this Chuseok,” and reiterated the promotion of Korean ingredients by saying, “Especially, dried radish greens are really good, so please eat a lot of them.”
This episode was pre-recorded on the 28th of last month and was originally scheduled to air on the 5th. However, due to the death of a public official from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety who was overseeing the team responsible for the national computer network disruption caused by a fire at the National Intelligence Resource Management Agency on the 3rd, the airing was postponed by a day to avoid any potential misunderstandings regarding the timing.
