Paik Jong-won

Paik Jong-won (Korean: 백종원; born September 4, 1966), sometimes spelled Baek Jong-won, is a South Korean chef and businessman. In television, he is known as the main host of the cooking television series Baek Jong-won's Top 3 Chef King (2015–2017), Baek Jong-won's Food Truck (2017), Baek Jong-won's Alley Restaurant (2018–2021), and one of two main judges in the cooking competition Netflix series Culinary Class Wars (2024).

In this Korean name, the family name is Baek.

Paik Jong-won
Born	(1966-09-04) September 4, 1966 (age 58) Yesan County, South Korea
Education	Seoul High School Yonsei University (Dept. of Social Welfare)
Occupation(s)	Restaurateur, entrepreneur
Spouse	So Yoo-jin ​ (m. 2013)​
Children	3
Culinary career
Cooking style	Korean Korean Chinese
Current restaurant(s) Bornga Baek's Coffee Baek's Bibim Baek's Pan Saemaul Sikdang
Website	www.theborn.co.kr
Korean name
Hangul	백종원
Hanja	白種元
Revised Romanization	Baek Jongwon
McCune–Reischauer	Paek Chongwŏn

Personal life

Baek Jong-won was born on September 4, 1966, in Yesan County, South Chungcheong Province, South Korea.^[1] He was interested in food since he was a child.^[2] When he was an elementary school student, he was given some biscuits, but he had to fry them with butter and sprinkle them with sugar. He said his father was also a picky eater, which made him more interested in cooking. When he was a student, his father would buy ten hamburgers at a time on his way home after a business trip. Baek Jong-won would try different recipes to make the hamburgers taste better. It was from then that he started to cook.^[3]

Baek married actress So Yoo-jin on January 19, 2013.^[4][5] Their first child, a son, was born on April 9, 2014.^[6] Their second child, a daughter, was born on September 21, 2015.^[7] Their third child, a daughter, was born on February 8, 2018.^[8][9]

Career

Baek has hosted a number of cooking television shows, including Baek Jong-won's Top 3 Chef King, Baek Jong-won's Food Truck, and Baek Jong-won's Alley Restaurant. In 2021, he produced his own original series Baek Spirit, with Netflix.^{[10][unreliable source?]}

He is also the CEO of Theborn Korea Inc, 26 restaurant franchises with 1,299 branches across the country including Saemaul Sikdang,^[11] Baek's Coffee,^[12] and Baek's Bibim.^[13]

In December 2024, Korea Economic Daily reported that Baek and Jin plan to launch a new ready-to-drink liquor brand, Igin, through Yesan Doga, the agricultural corporation the two established and affiliate of Baek's Theborn Korea.^[14] Igin will incorporates the characteristics and local produce of Yesan, hometown of Baek.^[15] Igin Apple Gin, a 40%-ABV distilled liquor made from Korean rice and apples, will reportedly spearhead the brand, along with two ready-to-drink cocktail varieties at 4% ABV each: a tangy apple and plum flavored drink and a sweet apple and watermelon drink.^[16] The brand's Instagram page features photos of colorful packaging and limited release dates.^[17]

Filmography

Television series

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2024	Flex X Cop	himself	Cameo (episode 1)	[18]

Television shows

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2010	VJ Commando
2013	Veranda Show		The World of Army Food
	Real Men	Judge	Cooking show segment	[19]
2014	Happy Together		Christmas Special
	World opinion ATLAS
	K Chef Battlefield S2
2015–2017	Baek Jong-won's Top 3 Chef King	Main host
2015	My Little Television			[20]
	Yunyega Junggye
2015–2017	Home Food Rescue			[21]
2015	K Chef Battlefield S3
2016	Go Go with Mr. Paik			[22]
2017	Baek Jong-won's Food Truck	Main host		[23]
2018–2019	Street Food Fighter
2018–2021	Baek Jong-won's Alley Restaurant			[24]
2019	Paik's Mysterious Kitchen			[25]
	High School Lunch Cook-off
	Manners of Taste
2019–2021	Delicious Rendezvous			[26]
2020–present	The Paikfather			[27]
2021	Korean Pork Belly Rhapsody
	Baek Jong-won Class		with Sung Si-kyung	[28]
	Baek Jong-won's Four Seasons			[29][30]
	Paik's Spirit			[31][32]
2022	The Backpacker Chef		with Dindin, Ahn Bo-hyun and Oh Dae-hwan	[33]
2023–2024	The Genius Paik	Cast member	with Kwon Yu-ri, Lee Jang-woo, BamBam and John Park	[34]
	The Genius Paik 2		with Lee Jang-woo, Kwon Yu-ri, John Park, Lee Kyu-hyung, Hyoyeon, Fabrizio Ferrari and Eric	[35]
2024	Chef Paik & Les Miserables	Main Host		[36]

Books

He has published many books, usually on cooking or restaurant management.

• 2004 There is a Restaurant Secret to Earning Money (돈 버는 식당 비법은 있다), ISBN 9788935205813
• 2009 Baek Jong-won's Secret Cooking Recipes (백종원의 식당 조리비책), ISBN 9788987931289
• 2010 Professional Restaurant Managing for Beginners (초짜도 대박나는 전문식당), ISBN 9788926390856
• 2010 A Restaurant that Always Succeeds (무조건 성공하는 작은식당), ISBN 9788926390849
• 2010 Founded Recipes by the Eat-Out Management Professional Baek Jong-Won (외식경영 전문가 백종원의 창업레시피 세트), ISBN 9788926390900
• 2013 Baek Jong-won's Meat (백종원의 육), ISBN 9788987931333
• 2014 52 Home-cooked Food Recipes Recommended by Baek Jong-won (백종원이 추천하는 집밥 메뉴 52),^[37] ISBN 9788926396674
• 2016 54 Home-cooked Food Recipes Recommended by Baek Jong-won (백종원이 추천하는 집밥 메뉴 54), ISBN 9788926396858
• 2016 Baek Jong-won's Managing Story (백종원의 장사 이야기), ISBN 9788926396902
• 2017 55 Home-cooked Food Recipes Recommended by Baek Jong-won (백종원이 추천하는 집밥 메뉴 55), ISBN 9788926366028

Awards and nominations

Name of the award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee of the award, and the result of the nomination

Award ceremony	Year	Category	Nominee / Work	Result	Ref.
Blue Dragon Series Awards	2022	Best Male Entertainer	Baek Jong-won's Four Seasons	Nominated	[38]
The Tourism & Sciences Society of Korea	2015	Grand Prize	Baek Jong-won	Won	[citation needed]
tvN10 Awards	2016	Best Content Award, Variety	Go Go with Mr. Paik	Nominated	[39]
SBS Entertainment Awards	2016	Special Prize	Baek Jong-won's Top 3 Chef King	Won	[40]

Listicles

Name of publisher, year listed, name of listicle, and placement

Publisher	Year	Listicle	Placement	Ref.
Forbes	2016	Korea Power Celebrity 40	21st	[41]
	2017		37th	[42]
	2018		38th	[43]
	2019		36th	[44]
	2020		16th	[45]
	2021		18th	[46]