''Three Meals a Day'' () is a South Korean

reality Reality is the sum or aggregate of all that is real or existent within a system, as opposed to that which is only imaginary. The term is also used to refer to the ontological status of things, indicating their existence. In physical terms, r ...

cooking show A cooking show, cookery show, or cooking program (also spelled cooking programme in British English) is a television genre that presents food preparation, often in a restaurant kitchen or on a studio set, or at the host's personal home. Typ ...

broadcast on

tvN TVN may refer to: * TVN (Australian TV channel), a former horse racing channel * Televisión Nacional de Chile, a public broadcaster * TVN (Indonesia), a former television station; predecessor of Rajawali Televisi * TVN (Norway), or TVNorge, a comm ...

. The cast live in a small rural or fishing village for three days a week and are tasked to use whatever food they find there to cook three meals a day. They also experience village life while interacting with the locals and entertain various celebrity guests for dinner. Nine seasons aired from October 2014 to July 2020 on Friday nights at various time slots. Each season featured different locations and casts, according to various themes. There are four themes in total: ''Jeongseon Village'' and ''Fishing Village'', which recur across multiple seasons; ''Gochang Village''; and an all-female cast edition ''Mountain Village''. Two web

spin-offs Spin-off may refer to: *Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work *Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate action that forms a new company or entity * Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or gov ...

featuring various cast members of ''

New Journey to the West ''New Journey to the West'' () is a South Korean travel- reality show that airs on tvN. This program started broadcasting on September 4, 2015 and has currently aired for 8 Seasons. New Journey to the West's cast members are Kang Ho-dong, Le ...

'' were also produced and released on producer

Na Young-seok Na Yeong-seok (, born April 15, 1976), often known by his nickname Na PD, is a South Korean television producer and director. Na is best known for producing the popular variety- reality shows '' 2 Days & 1 Night'', ''New Journey to the West'', ...

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

channel. ''Three Meals in Iceland'' was released from September 20 to November 29, 2019, while ''Three Meals a Day for Four'', featuring

Sechs Kies Sechs Kies (pronounced as ; ko, 젝스키스) is a first generation South Korean boy band. Making their debut on April 15, 1997, they are one of the first K-pop idol groups, credited with pioneering the idol scene and fandom culture. The grou ...

, was released from May 15 to July 24, 2020. In October 2021, a third spin-off was released for television broadcast, featuring the cast of hit drama series ''

Hospital Playlist ''Hospital Playlist'' () is a South Korean television series written by Lee Woo-jung and directed by Shin Won-ho. It is the second installment of the ''Wise Life'' series, following ''Prison Playbook'' (2017–18). It stars Jo Jung-suk, Yoo Ye ...

''.

Production

The idea for ''Three Meals a Day'' came about from a joke on ''

Grandpas Over Flowers ''Grandpas Over Flowers'' () is a South Korean travel- reality show that airs on tvN. The title is a word play/parody of , a popular Japanese manga about four handsome young men ('' Boys Over Flowers'' also refers to the 2009 adaptation of the ma ...

'', which producer-director

and actor

Lee Seo-jin Lee Seo-jin (born January 30, 1971) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for the reality shows '' Three Meals a Day'' and '' Grandpa Over Flowers''. As an actor, he came to prominence with his leading roles in television series '' Damo'' ( ...

had worked together on previously. Due to his poor cooking skills while filming ''Grandpas Over Flowers'', the production crew jokingly nicknamed Lee the "Cooking King." This became a running gag about Lee starring in a fake

titled ''Cooking King Seo-jinnie'', a

parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...

of the popular drama series ''

King of Baking, Kim Takgu ''Bread, Love and Dreams'' () is a 2010 South Korean television drama starring Yoon Shi-yoon, Eugene, Joo Won and Lee Young-ah. It tells the story of how a determined young baker overcomes many trials towards his goal of becoming the best bak ...

'', which eventually materialised into ''Three Meals a Day''. Lee was cast for the first season of the series, also the first of the ''Jeongseon Village'' editions, alongside former '' Wonderful Days'' co-star

Ok Taecyeon Ok Taec-yeon (; born December 27, 1988), known mononymously as Taecyeon, is a South Korean rapper, singer, songwriter, actor and entrepreneur. He is the main rapper of the South Korean boy band 2PM. In 2010, Ok debuted as an actor in the Kore ...

. In the second ''Jeongseon Village'' edition, former guest

Kim Kwang-kyu Kim Kwang-kyu (born January 7, 1941) is a South Korean poet and translator."김광규 " biographical PDF available at: http://klti.or.kr/ke_04_03_011.do# Life Kim was born in Seoul and studied German language and literature at Seoul Nationa ...

joined the two as a regular cast member. On top of the regular cooking premise, the trio were given the additional task of growing and harvesting crops from spring to early fall, with grocery shopping strictly prohibited. The first four seasons of ''Three Meals a Day'' in 2014 and 2015 alternated between the ''Jeongseon Village'' and ''Fishing Village'' editions, showcasing different seasons in different locations. Cha Seung-won,

Yoo Hae-jin Yoo Hae-jin (born January 4, 1970) is a South Korean actor. Career As a child, Yoo Hae-jin would often slip in through the backdoor of a cultural center near his home to watch events that were being held there. After seeing a play in eighth gra ...

and Son Ho-jun formed a separate cast for the first two ''Fishing Village'' editions. In 2016, this cast filmed in a new location for the standalone ''Gochang Village'' edition, alongside new member

Nam Joo-hyuk Nam Joo-hyuk (Korean: 남주혁; born February 22, 1994) is a South Korean model and actor. He began his career as a model, and appeared in several music videos before making his screen debut in 2014 with ''The Idle Mermaid''. He rose to promin ...

. Later in October 2016, it was announced that

would return for a new season, a year after his last appearance in ''Jeongseon Village 2''. New cast members

Eric Mun Eric Mun (born Mun Jung-hyuk on February 16, 1979) is a South Korean rapper, songwriter and actor. He is a member and leader of the South Korean boy band Shinhwa. He is also well known for several dramas such as '' Phoenix'' (2004), ''Super R ...

and Yoon Kyun-sang joined him for ''Fishing Village 3'', filmed on a new island location. The same cast returned in 2017 to the same location, but were tasked with island farming instead of fishing, hence the ''Seaside Ranch'' subtitle for the fourth ''Fishing Village'' edition. On July 1, 2019, it was confirmed that actresses

Yum Jung-ah Yum Jung-ah (born July 28, 1972) is a South Korean actress. Her notable films include '' A Tale of Two Sisters'' (2003), ''The Big Swindle'' (2004), ''The Old Garden'' (2007), and ''Cart'' (2014), as well as the television series ''Royal Family ...

Yoon Se-ah Yoon Se-ah (born January 2, 1978) is a South Korean actress best known for her roles in '' The City Hall'', ''Wife Returns'', ''A Gentleman's Dignity'', ''Stranger'', '' Sky Castle'', and '' Snowdrop''. Yoon was paired with Korean-French-Canadian ...

and

Park So-dam Park So-dam (born September 8, 1991) is a South Korean actress. She came into popular recognition in the 2015 film ''The Priests'' and the TV series' ''Cinderella with Four Knights'' (2016) and ''Record of Youth'' (2020). She achieved internationa ...

had joined the first all-female cast for the ''Mountain Village'' edition, which began airing in August. In 2020, the original ''Fishing Village'' cast returned for the theme's fifth edition. Unlike previous editions, this season was filmed on an uninhabited island due to the ongoing

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

and the need for

social distancing In public health, social distancing, also called physical distancing, (NB. Regula Venske is president of the PEN Centre Germany.) is a set of non-pharmaceutical interventions or measures intended to prevent the spread of a contagious dis ...

Overview

Cast

''Three Meals a Day: Mountain Village'' *

List of episodes, guests and ratings

In the tables below, represent the lowest ratings of the season and represent the highest ratings of the season.

''Jeongseon Village''

''Jeongseon Village 1''

In the first episode, the production crew introduces the below rules for the cast's village experience: * All ingredients used, except rice, must come from their farm * Every meal has to follow a pre-determined menu * Preparation for winter should be undertaken during their free time * Cell phones will be taken away to aid integration into farming life

''Jeongseon Village 2''

''Fishing Village''

''Fishing Village 1''

''Fishing Village 2''

''Fishing Village 3''

''Seaside Ranch'' (''Fishing Village 4'')

''Fishing Village 5''

''Gochang Village''

After two ''Fishing Village'' editions, Cha Seung-won,

and Son Ho-jun are reunited in their first inland location in Gochang-gun, joined by

. In order to buy groceries, they have to provide farm labour for which they are paid hourly wages. Through the series, they experience various farming activities: planting rice, rearing ducks, and picking

black raspberries Black raspberry is a common name for three species of the genus ''Rubus'': *''Rubus leucodermis'', native to western North America *''Rubus occidentalis ''Rubus occidentalis'' is a species of ''Rubus'' native to eastern North America. Its co ...

, watermelons, sweet potatoes, grapes, muskmelons and pears.

''Mountain Village''

Reception

''Three Meals a Day'' drew a great response from Korean viewers and became a trending topic numerous times on Naver, a Korean search portal. It received viewership ratings of 6%, which is high for Korean cable television for which a 1% rating is considered a success. Originally 8 episodes were planned for the first season, but the show was extended by two episodes. A " director's cut" epilogue also aired, for a total of 11 episodes. The table below charts viewership numbers according to Nielsen Korea; data for 2017 and earlier is not provided. Individual episode ratings can be viewed by season in the episode lists above.

Spin-offs

The first two spin-offs of ''Three Meals a Day'' were "hybrid" programs produced for both online release and television broadcast. Short highlight videos between 5 to 15 minutes were broadcast on tvN, with the full episodes released on
Channel 15ya
(), a YouTube channel run by producer Na Young-seok and his team. Both spin-offs were born from ''

'', another series produced by producer Na, and feature some of its cast. In October 2021, a third spin-off was released for television broadcast featuring the main cast of drama series ''

'':

Jo Jung-suk Jo Jung-suk (born December 26, 1980) is a South Korean actor. He began his career in theater, starring in '' Spring Awakening'', '' Hedwig and the Angry Inch'', and the stage adaptation of '' The Harmonium in My Memory'', among many other musi ...

Yoo Yeon-seok Yoo Yeon-seok (born Ahn Yeon-seok on April 11, 1984) is a South Korean actor. After making his acting debut in 2003 with a small role in '' Oldboy'', he resumed his acting career in 2008. His notable works include the films '' Re-encounter'' (2 ...

, Jung Kyung-ho, Kim Dae-myung and

Jeon Mi-do Jeon Mi-do (; born August 4, 1982) is a South Korean actress and singer. She is known for her role as Dr. Chae Song-hwa in ''Hospital Playlist''. In 2022, Jeon appeared in lead role alongside Son Ye-jin and Kim Ji-hyun in JTBC's TV series '' T ...

.'''' The series is titled ''Wise Mountain Village Life'' (), borrowing on the drama's title, but is commonly known in English as ''Three Meals a Day: Doctors''. It was filmed in

Jeongseon-gun Jeongseon (''Jeongseon-gun'') is a county in the province of Gangwon-do, South Korea. It is famous as the hometown of "Jeongseon Arirang," a traditional Korean folksong. It is also the hometown of actor Won Bin and footballer Seol Ki-hyeon. Hi ...

, Gangwon-do and aired on tvN from October 8 to December 3, 2021 at 20:50 – 22:25 ( KST) every Friday, with a total of 9 episodes.