Culinary Class Wars Season 2 storms non-drama charts with first-week buzz surge

Netflix’s cooking competition series Culinary Class Wars Season 2 has stormed the non-drama charts in its first week, topping South Korea’s integrated TV and OTT non-drama buzz index and generating a surge of online conversation that exceeds the debut of its first season.​

According to FUNdex, the integrated TV and OTT non-drama buzz index operated by Good Data Corporation, Culinary Class Wars Season 2 ranked first for the third week of December 2025, covering broadcasts and OTT releases from December 15 to 21.

The show’s debut-week buzz score reached the 60,000-point range, a 25.0% increase over Season 1’s opening week.​

Culinary Class Wars Season 2 dominates non-drama buzz

Culinary Class Wars Season 2 achieved an “all-kill” on the FUNdex index, ranking first across all four buzz indicators: news, VON (online user response), video, and social media.

Immediately after its release on December 16, clips and related videos spread rapidly across YouTube, Instagram, and Korean social platforms, drawing enthusiastic reactions from viewers.​

In the same weekly ranking, TVING’s Exchange placed second and MBC’s I Live Alone third. JTBC’s Please Take Care of My Refrigerator came in fourth, followed by TV Chosun’s Miss Trot 4 in fifth.

The top ten was rounded out by tvN’s Amazing Saturday, tvN’s I Am Boxer, ENA and SBS Plus’s I’m Solo, tvN’s You Quiz on the Block, and KBS’s Gag Concert.​

Good Data Corporation calculates buzz by analyzing program-related news articles, online posts and comments, video clips and shorts, and social media activity and user responses.

Culinary Class Wars Season 2’s strong debut reflects both its built-in fanbase from Season 1 and the immediate impact of its new cast and format.​

Behind the scenes of Culinary Class Wars Season 2

The production team behind Culinary Class Wars Season 2 has emphasized that the new season offers more cooking and more dishes than the first. A producer noted, 

“If you watch through to the end, you’ll see that far more dishes are created compared to season one.”

This expansion is framed as a response to viewer feedback, aiming to showcase even more culinary techniques and creativity.​

Casting for Season 2 proved challenging in some cases; chef Son Jong-won, who secured the Baek Sujeori’s first victory in Season 2’s black-and-white showdown, initially rejected the offer. Producer Kim Eun-ji recalled, 

“He completely rejected us once. So, we said, ‘We understand if it’s difficult,’ and reluctantly gave up, holding back tears. But in the meeting room, the thought ‘just one more try’ came to mind. I couldn’t forget Chef Son Jong-won’s face. We pretended to be crazy and made one last proposal. Thanks to that, he is now part of the show. I want to express my gratitude.”​

Son Jong-won later explained his hesitation: 

“I placed great significance on the challenge. Whatever it was, my main job as a chef was most important, so allocating time to the restaurant was crucial. Fortunately, the filming schedule didn’t overlap with the restaurant’s operating days. The production team believed in me. Their repeated encouragement moved me, so I worked really hard during filming,” he smiled.​

Cast and judges in Culinary Class Wars Season 2

Culinary Class Wars Season 2 features the same two main judges as Season 1: celebrity restaurateur Paik Jong-won and Michelin three-star chef Anh Sung-jae.

Their strict, blindfolded judging in the early rounds is designed to ensure impartiality, with food discarded after tasting so that crew and contestants cannot influence the decisions.​

The show’s format pits 100 elite chefs in a high-stakes cooking battle divided into two classes: the Baek Sujeori (White Spoons), representing established star chefs, and the Heuk Sujeori (Black Spoons), underground masters aiming to overturn the hierarchy.

White Spoon chefs for Season 2 include Lee Joon, Son Jong-won, Hou Deok-juk, and Venerable Sun-jae, among others.

The Black Spoons, introduced under aliases, include underground masters such as French Papa, Chinese Witch, Sulbisseun Yoon Joo-mo, and Baby Savage.​

In the press briefing for Culinary Class Wars Season 2, Son Jong-won said of the experience, 

“On the show, I acted confident, but during the actual competition, I was nervous and tense. I’m glad I survived. It was a challenge for me. Culinary Class Wars was a big challenge, and I joined because I thought it would be an opportunity for growth. The food industry was in a slump in the past, but Season 1 created a lot of buzz. I hope Season 2 will also help the food industry.”​

Stay tuned for more updates.