From Kitchen Battlefield to Life Stage: Chef Kim Mi-ryung's Ballerina Past on 'King of Mask Singer'
On MBC's 'King of Mask Singer,' a masked singer appeared, gracefully dressed in a Hanbok.
She showcased elegant movements, rising to her toes during the song.
At that moment, someone from the judging panel exclaimed, "Could that be the chef who wears a Hanbok?"
When her identity was revealed, everyone was surprised.
It was Chef Kim Mi-ryung, well-known as 'Imocase No. 1'.
She wasn't just a chef.
She had a completely different past as a 'ballerina'.
And that turning point in her life began with a young girl's tears and sense of responsibility.
Under the mask of 'Autumn Morning', she expressed emotions more through gestures than singing.
It may have been her body's memory of a long-buried dream.
"I originally dreamed of being a ballerina," were Kim Mi-ryung's first words after removing her mask.
She loved dance since she was a child.
But life didn't allow her to dance.
Her father's business failed, and he collapsed.
To support her family, she turned to the 'kitchen' instead of the stage.
"I started cooking when I was in elementary school."
Kim Mi-ryung said calmly, but there was weight in that one sentence.
When her mother went out to earn money, and her father was bedridden,
she prepared meals for her family with her young hands.
"I started to survive.
I couldn't even afford cooking school. It was just survival."
Her cooking was not a hobby or a choice.
It was a skill for survival and 'labor of love' for her family.
Even as an adult, she continued to cook.
That's how the livelihood cook grew into a chef known nationwide.
She said on the show:
"There's no room in the kitchen. It's a war."
Dozens of dishes a day,
constantly ringing order bells,
sweat and tears flowing on the hot stove.
For her, the kitchen was a reality that prevented her from dancing again,
but it was also a stage that lifted her life.
There, she learned 'soul' rather than 'skill'.
Patience, responsibility, and perseverance—
that was the essence of what made her the 'Imocase Kim Mi-ryung' of today.
She confessed on the show:
"Thanks to 'King of Mask Singer,' I was able to do something I couldn't do."
The words contained more than just gratitude.
She was always pressed for time in the kitchen,
and her dreams were always secondary.
But this stage was different.
Without anyone's orders or instructions,
she could simply express her feelings through the music and dance she loved.
The tips of her toes on the stage were brief, but
it would have been her second ballet in life.
After the broadcast, viewers showed enthusiastic responses through SNS.
"Her real life is like a drama."
"It's amazing how she completed her ballerina dream with cooking."
"It's tearfully human."
Her story went beyond a simple entertainment scene and
came across as a symbol of 'a person who doesn't give up on their dreams'.
In particular, one viewer left a comment:
"Some shine on stage,
while others protect their family's lives in the kitchen.
That is also another art."
Those words perfectly summarized Kim Mi-ryung's life.
She called herself a "livelihood cook."
But what viewers saw was not just a livelihood.
It was 'devotion' and 'pride'.
She protected her family with cooking,
stood on stage again with cooking,
and proved herself with cooking.
She said:
"Instead of dancing on stage,
I fought with fire in the kitchen.
That was the dance of my life."
That one word says it all.
For Kim Mi-ryung, 'King of Mask Singer' was not just an appearance.
It was a 'last ballet performance' that made her look back on her life.
She smiled as she took off her mask.
The smile contained the hardships of the past and
the happiness of the present.
"I lived as a cook,
but today I lived as a dancer."
Her words
were a comfort to everyone who gave up on their dreams.
Source :https://blog.naver.com/yooju0913/224054977935
No comments yet.
