“Chef & My Fridge” Star Jung Chang Wook Is Charged With Death Threats And Assault: Victims Expose Full Story On YouTube
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Having risen to fame on JTBC‘s Chef & My Fridge, star chef Jung Chang Wook kept himself active both on-camera and behind the scenes. In addition to running Kumsan Noodle Factory, a popular restaurant in Seoul, the chef managed a YouTube channel @CookingChaugi.
For about a year since September 2020, when the channel first opened, the chef uploaded slice-of-life videos titled “Today’s Dish” produced with the help of a video producer nicknamed Paengie (Yoon Sang Woon). These videos well-captured the bromance-y chemistry between the chef and the producer, which soon became one of the main reasons the channel started seeing subscribers.
To the subscribers’ surprise, however, the first season of the channel’s ongoing series came to an end and the channel went on a month-long hiatus. In September 2021, the chef announced that he is parting ways with the producer. When the chef claimed that the producer is leaving the channel “to pursue a career in movie production,” the subscribers also bid farewell and wished the producer good luck in his future endeavors.
And for the following four months, as the series continued with its second season produced by a different producer, the subscribers remained clueless to what actually happened between the chef and the producer. That is, until on January 21, 2022, the Korean press reported on chef Jung Chang Wook getting arrested for death threats and assault.
Hello! Paengie (Sang Woon) is off to pursue a career in movie production. He didn’t really want to announce it, but I have been getting a lot of questions about his whereabouts. So I’m letting you know.
I know he’s much happier doing what he does best and putting his skills to real use, instead of staying with me and making videos of me drinking alcohol all day. Please send him a lot of support.
As for me, I’m going to continue drinking and living like a full-on ahjussi. Haha.
— Jung Chang Wook
Immediately following the coverage on the chef’s open investigation at the Seoul Jongro Police Station, a Hawaii-based Korean YouTuber @HodventureTV (Shin Young Ho) shared an explosive two-part, tell-all video. These videos, titled “Jung Chang Wook [Hawaii 11]” and “D+3 [Hawaii 12],” recorded/produced by Paengie himself, exposed the chef’s power trips which, at one point, put both the YouTuber and producer’s lives at risk.
The first of the two-part video, “Jung Chang Wook [Hawaii 11],” starts off with great optimism. The YouTuber, who “moved to Hawaii in hopes of starting a business,” claims he is “Jung Chang Wook’s long-time fan” and explains that, through a month-long exchange of fortunate Instagram DMs, he landed the opportunity to help the chef shoot some videos on the island. The YouTuber also adds that, for helping with the Hawaii expedition, the chef promised to “help [the YouTuber] with further developing and launching [his] business plan” in return.
Your browser does not support video.The DMs exchanged between Shin Young Ho and Jung Chang Wook. | @HodventureTV/YouTube
The YouTuber admits that he agreed to help the chef, figuring “there is nothing to lose” for him. Excited to meet the celebrity chef and get business tips as one entrepreneur to other, the YouTuber records himself heading to the Honolulu International Airport and encountering the chef and the producer for the first time.
Your browser does not support video.Shin Young Ho at the Honolulu International Airport. | @HodventureTV/YouTube
Then, fifteen minutes into the video, the YouTuber starts discussing how his time with the chef began turning to “chaos [he] never, ever could have imagined.” Showing the footage of the chef at the supermarket, the YouTuber points out how “aggressive” the chef became. The said behavior is also shown in the video at 15:55, when the chef can be heard calling the producer a “f*cking a*shole” over a small mistake.
Your browser does not support video.| @HodventureTV/YouTube
The next day, or maybe in the evening of the same day, I took the chef to a market for some grocery shopping. I brought a different car from the one I had been using, because my rental lease expired and I ended up switching cars. And I didn’t really get to figure out the new car before driving it around. So when the chef asked me to open the trunk, I struggled because I couldn’t find the button for it. That’s when, out of the blue, he cursed at me. He went, ‘Open the trunk you piece of sh*t.’ I immediately thought, ‘Whoa, what the hell? What’s wrong with this guy?’ But then… He swears a lot in general. Throughout the day, I would hear him talk like a pirate. So I tried to make sense of it, like, ‘Maybe he’s being super friendly with me. Maybe “a piece of sh*t” is something as casual as “dude” for him.’ I didn’t feel great about having been called a piece of sh*t, but I tried to understand.
— @HodventureTV (Shin Young Ho)
The second of the two-part video, “D+3 [Hawaii 12],” dives deeper. It starts off right away with the chef getting worked up over the producer “leaving [the hotel room] without announcing [his] departure.”
Your browser does not support video.Jung Chang Wook getting upset. | @HodventureTV/YouTube
Jung Chang Wook (JCW): Hey, Paengie.
Paengie: Yes?
JCW: You should have told me before leaving. I almost started cooking. Shouldn’t you be getting that on camera?
Paengie: Oh, right. Right.
JCW: Seriously, though.
Paengie: You’re right.
JCW: Then why did you leave without telling me? I literally had my knife half way in through the bag.
Paengie: Oh, really?
JCW: Yes, really.
Paengie: I’m sorry.
JCW: You know what? I’m not in the f*cking mood to be on camera anymore.
Paengie: I’m sorry…
JCW: You f*cking as*hole. You must think I’m a piece of sh*t, huh?
Paengie: I apologize, sir.
JCW: We have guests. So what the f*ck do you think you’re doing? Just… f*ck off. I’m not in the mood for this bullsh*t. I’m not your clown, all right?
Paengie: I’ll do better.
JCW: Why the f*ck did you leave like that? I had to wait for you to come back like a f*cking idiot. I could have opened the bag of rice, not knowing you’re not here. Why did you walk away? Answer me!
Hinting at how the producer must have been treated while working on Jung Chang Wook’s YouTube channel, the video continues to expose the chef’s blatant failure to control his temper.
Your browser does not support video.Jung Chang Wook reuniting with his friend in Hawaii. | @HodventureTV/YouTube
We arrived at the chef’s friend’s house around 4-5PM. He hadn’t seen that friend in a while, so Paengie kept recording the reunion while I unloaded the car…
…Later, Paengie and I started talking about interviewing the friend [for the chef’s YouTube content]. Initially, the producer was going to do the interview. But he started having severe side effects from the COVID-19 vaccine he had gotten earlier that day. He asked me if I would be able to do it. I agreed…
…In the car on our way back to the hotel, Paengie mentioned feeling unwell. The chef, who was pretty drunk by then, started swearing at the producer for feeling sick. Then the chef fell asleep in the passenger seat. By the time we got to our room, I felt exhausted. The chef, on the other hand, seemed to feel better after sleeping it off a bit.
— @HodventureTV (Shin Young Ho)
Then, starting around 12:55, the video starts to really lay bare the shocking series of events from the night of the chef’s assault. The YouTuber says “it all went down” with a single question that he had asked during the interview.
Your browser does not support video.| @HodventureTV/YouTube
So the chef suggested that we grab something to eat. He made some food and we set our make-shift dining table. When we sat down to eat, the chef asked about the interview. I said it went well, because I really thought it went well. Then the chef wanted to know the kinds of questions I asked. So I read the questions to him. When I said that I asked, ‘What was the best food from the chef that you ever had?’ I could feel the air change. He said, ‘What did you ask her?’ For some reason, he found that question to be upsetting. And it all went down from there…
…The chef started screaming at us for asking ‘such a f*cked up question’ and so on. When Paengie said he came up with the question, the chef completely lost it and started assaulting the producer. I was watching, absolutely dumbfounded and terrified. I could tell the chef couldn’t really tame himself either. He was literally smashing a bottle of Tylenol against the producer’s head, shaking in his own rage and out of control…
…Then he turned to me and started cursing at me for having thought the interview went well. He punched me on the chest a couple times and, to be honest, I was too shocked and scared to even grasp what was happening. The chef kept punching me, deranged, asking if I thought he’s ‘some b*tch who has to cook for anyone and everyone.’ I was confused.
— @HodventureTV (Shin Young Ho)
Tracing the memories of that terrifying night, the YouTuber claims the chef then threatened to kill him and the producer while wielding a kitchen knife in their faces.
Your browser does not support video.The mark on the wall made by the knife stab. | @HodventureTV/YouTube
The chef marched into the kitchen picked up the largest knife we had. When he walked back toward us, holding the knife, I thought I might actually risk getting murdered, so I tried to get out of my seat. He screamed, ‘Don’t move or I’ll kill you.’ And I froze. I could not get myself to budge…
…The chef held the knife up against my neck while threatening to kill me. I felt the blade on my skin. The metal. At one point, he brought the knife down to my stomach and pressed the tip against my skin. And it really felt like, had the chef decided to push, I would be stabbed right then and there…
…The chef went on to stab one of the walls in the room. He also slammed the knife on the table where we had been sitting. He seemed to be calming down. But when the producer suddenly got up and went to the bathroom, locking the door, the chef lost it again and followed with the knife in his hand. The producer had been throwing up inside when the chef picked the door and barged in. The chef dragged the producer out by the collar and said, ‘Don’t pretend to be sick and throw up only to make me feel like the bad person here.’
— @HodventureTV (Shin Young Ho)
The video comes to an end with the YouTuber confronting the chef about what has happened. The video description points out that, for six months since parting ways, the YouTuber has not heard back from the chef.
Shin Young Ho (SYH): This isn’t really what I had in mind when I agreed to tag along with you… So I’m going to head back now.
Jung Chang Wook (JCW): How come?
SYH: To be honest… I mean, you threatened me with a knife.
JCW: Uh-huh.
SYH: Since then, you have been extremely nice to me. But I’m now terrified of you.
JCW: I understand.
SYH: You scare me. Like, a lot.
JCW: Okay. Why don’t you come up to the hotel room and smoke one last cigarette with me before you go? We can do that, right?
SYH: Actually, no… At this point, I don’t really want to go anywhere with you.
JCW: Oh, is that so?
@HodventureTV and Paengie concluded that, as victims of “the most unreasonable and illogical” behavior from the chef, they remain hopeful for him “to be tried in the court of law and get punished for the charges pressed against him.”
Yesterday (January 25), a week after the first media coverage on the issue, the chef reached out to me through a lawyer and said that he would like to apologize. But considering that he didn’t think to get in touch over the past four months, knowing very well that he has a lawsuit filed for what he has done, it leaves me pretty skeptical about how genuine that apology would be. Therefore, Sang Woon and I have agreed not to accept the apology and notified the chef about our decision…
…Sang Woon and I want nothing more but for the chef to be tried in the court of law and get punished for the charges pressed against him. Having survived the most unreasonable and illogical experience of our lives, we thought the world should know what we went through. At this point, we seriously hope our lives can return to normal after all of this.
— @HodventureTV (Shin Young Ho)
Meanwhile, following the upload of the second part of the video on January 25, 2022, chef Jung Chang Wook has since issued an official apology via his YouTube channel and his Instagram account with the comments turned off. His YouTube channel has also been turned private.
This is Jung Chang Wook.
Everything that happened in August 2021 is my fault. I sincerely apologize to the victims, Yoon Sang Woon and Shin Young Ho. I cannot fathom how terrified they must have felt and I’m extremely sorry.
When the incident took place, I did not think to apologize with more sincerity. I also did not take any responsibility for my actions. I had done so much damage to their lives, yet thought to myself that I tried my best to make it up to them. I sought their understanding when I acted violently toward them. I’m sorry.
When the videos went up, I wanted to hide. It took me days to write this message, too. I admit that I don’t deserve the reputation given to me by the media. The person on TV is not me and I have been pretending to be good. I have been a coward. I have lived like a tyrant. I regret that I had not come clean about this and apologized for it sooner.
I will try my best to help the victims with their steps in recovery. I will find a way that I can be of use. I hereby also confirm that I am currently under investigation for what I have done and I promise to be truthful throughout the whole process.
Again, I would like to apologize to not only producer Yoon Sang Woon whom I have done so wrong, but also the viewers who had subscribed to my channel and watched my videos. I have ruined Sang Woon’s hard work by thinking it all belonged to me and abusing the power it gave me. I’m sorry.
— Jung Chang Wook
Watch the full video here.
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