Bon Appétit, Your Majesty has been pulled into a history controversy — and the original creator has stepped in with a firm response.
On September 19, Park Guk Jae, writer of the original webtoon Surviving as the Chef of King Yeonsan, posted a detailed statement on his social media after some viewers questioned a scene showing King Yeonsan and a Ming envoy sitting side by side.
Critics claimed, “According to the Annals of King Sejong, the king sits on the throne while the envoy sits below on the east side”.
Park countered with specific references, explaining, “In the Gukjo Oryeui (the official state manual of rites published in 1474), the method of receiving foreign envoys is described in detail."
Park added, "The seating shows the king and envoy facing each other at the same height. If anything, the envoy’s seat can be considered the upper seat because, in Confucian etiquette, direction signals rank — and the east is higher than the west.”
He added, “The Gukjo Oryeui was compiled only about 30 years before the drama’s time setting, so it was likely practiced as written. The envoy ceremony in the drama was properly researched and based on official documents.”
Bon Appétit, Your Majesty is a fantasy romance about a French chef who time-slips into Joseon and meets a king known as both a tyrant and a gourmet. The series airs every Saturday and Sunday at 9:10 p.m. on tvN.
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