Paik's Les Misérables Cast Information: Meet the 20 Contestants

On competition reality show Paik's Les Misérables, 20 contestants who are desperate and sincere have gathered to seize the first and last opportunity to turn their lives around. Chef Paik Jong Won and four mentor chefs, Kim Min Sung, David Lee, Lim Tae Hoon, and Yoon Nam No, leads the contestants on a 100-day life transformation journey through harsh Spartan-style missions for the chance to open their own restaurant. Will they be able to cut off their unfortunate past and overcome the adversity and hardships that come with every moment to be reborn as a businessman?

Paik's Les Misérables Cast Information

Title: Paik's Les Misérables

Alternate Title: Chef Paik & Les Misérables

Korean Title: 백종원의 레미제라블

Genre: Reality TV, Survival, Cooking Competition

Premiere Date: Saturday, November 30, 2024

Where to Watch: Viu, OnDemandKorea

MC & Mentor Chefs:

PAIK JONG WON (백종원)

Korea's Top Restaurateur, Food Researcher & TV Personality

Instagram: @paikscuisine_official

KIM MIN SUNG (김민성)

Japanese Cuisine

Instagram: @kuma_fish_chef

DAVID LEE (데이비드 리)

Meat Master

Instagram: @meatthegangster

LIM TAE HOON (임태훈)

Chinese Cuisine

Instagram: @chulgabangchef

YOON NAM NO (윤남노)

Western Cuisine

Instagram: @ynncook

Meet the 20 Contestants of Paik's Les Miserables - Personal Story & Instagram Information!

01 SEONG HYUN WOO (성현우)

🏷️ A Child Abandoned by Parents

Hyunwoo is a youth getting ready for independent living who grew up in foster care. This show is a courageous challenge for him to learn how to be self-reliant. He has received a lot of love from his foster mom, and wants to return the favor by becoming successful and by living diligently and proudly.

@hyunooseong

02 CHOI YOON SEONG (최윤성)

🏷️ I Was Abandoned in a Box

As soon as Yoonseong was born, he was abandoned in a box and left at a district office. Although he grew up in a child welfare institution, he studied hard and was a top student in school. He is currently a 3rd year student at Sogang University majoring in electrical engineering and preparing to be independent. Rather than working for a big company, he has a dream of running a restaurant business like CEO Paik.

@yoonschoi_02

03 JEON DONG JIN (전동진)

🏷️ Gambling Addict

Dongjin became addicted to gambling, and has taken out loans from shadow banking as well as private loans. He had lost everything that he had earned. After getting kicked out of the house, he had nowhere to go, and even slept on the streets in Dongdaegu. That was when he hit the lowest point in his life. In order to recover from his gambling addiction, his counselor advised him not to keep this a secret and to let people around him know. This is his only chance to get away from this addiction and save himself.

04 YANG KYUNG MIN (양경민)

🏷️ The Eagles Released Pitcher

Kyungmin was a rising star pitcher during high school. He achieved his dream of going pro at age 20 by signing with the Hanwha Eagles. But after joining the team, his shoulder muscles got torn. He endured rehabilitation for two years with hopes of playing again, but sadly, it was a career-ending injury. That is how he said goodbye to baseball, which was his life. He has started working at a bar restaurant since June, and wants to put his passion into becoming successful in the restaurant industry. He is determined to survive until the end with his strong will and wits.

@minbroom

05 HONG IN TAEK (홍인택)

🏷️ Family Is My Burden

Intaek grew up in an orphanage until he received a call from his biological mother at age 12. Initially happy to have a mom now, it turned out to be his burden. His mother was on the news for assaulting a senior citizen on the bus, and was later diagnosed with depression and schizophrenia. As her guardian, he could not hold a proper job, as he needed to be there for her whenever she caused trouble. Although his situation is ongoing, he wants to share happiness with those in the same situation, and dreams of cooking a home-style set meal.

@a_zian_taek

06 KIM KOOK HEON (김국헌)

🏷️ A Failed Idol Singer

Kookheon debuted in a boy group called MYTEEN in 2017 and thought he would live the life of a celebrity, but the public did not show much interest. Desperate to make them popular, his agency sent him to a survival audition show. Sadly, the results of Produce were all manipulated. He was a victim of the vote manipulation issue raised at the time, and had thoughts about suicide in the past. In the recruitment notice for the show, he saw the words, "Reset your life." These words touched him and rekindled the dying embers of his enthusiasm, so he wanted to seize this opportunity.

@kukon_2

07 KIM DONG JOON (김동준)

🏷️ Protective Disposition No.9 Juvenile Delinquent

Dongjoon's parents divorced when he was in 1st grade and was sent to his uncle, where he was beaten routinely. He eventually ran away from home during high school. He was hungry and began to steal money, cell phones, and credit cards from unlocked cars. As a repeat offender, he was sent to a reformatory for six months. He wants to make a proper apology to the victims, and wants to do his best to show that he has changed.

08 CHOI JEONG HYUN (최정현)

@jhxunee

09 OH CHANG SEOK (오창석)

🏷️ Alcoholism

Changseok has been addicted to alcohol for 20 years, and drank from 140 to 150 bottles of soju a month. Every day, he drank alone and cried. It was impossible for him to lead a normal life after drinking so much and experiencing withdrawal symptoms. Although alcoholism is very difficult to overcome, he has made it with his own will. As a recovering alcoholic, it has been 71 days since he stopped drinking. To encourage others that they could do the same, he wanted to take the first step.

10 YOO HYO DEOK (유효덕)

@hyodeok_

11 KIM JIN WOO (김진우)

🏷️ Incompetent Father of Three

Jinwoo had his first child at age 20, and soon became a father of three. He did not have time to think and just needed to make money to raise his family. With his mother's severance pay, he opened his first business, a fried chicken place. He worked hard every day to pay back the money, but did not earn much profits. And eventually closed the business when he received his enlistment notice. After that, he opened a small tendon restaurant, but it closed after 3 months. He is now working as a dump truck driver to pay off his debts. As he was happiest when working in the restaurant business, he accepted this opportunity, and resolved to put his life into it.

@jin_1.0.0

12 CHO DO YEON (조도연)

🏷️ Victim of Domestic Violence

Although Doyeon is the youngest of four siblings, he has been the breadwinner for 10 years. His father drank every day and had severe alcoholism, which usually led to domestic violence. His older sisters got beaten so badly that they ran away from home often. He lives for his mother, and vows to never live like his father. He believes a sense of responsibility is most important.

13 HA JIN WOO (하진우)

🏷️ A North Korean Defector Who Abandoned His Family

Jinwoo worked in North Hamgyeong Province as a broker for North Korean defectors. In 2014, to save his family, he settled in South Korea.

14 SON WOO SUNG (손우성)

🏷️ Failed Breadwinner With 500 Million Won Debt

Woosung is a former special forces soldier who was dispatched to Iraq. Although he wanted to continue as an occupation soldier, he suffered an anterior, rear, and inner cruciate ligament injury in his left leg, and had to be discharged. To support his family, he worked as a supplier at Noryangjin Fisheries Market, and also worked countless hours delivering rice cakes and other ingredients to franchise stores. Later, he borrowed a lot of money to open an Internet cafe, but could not keep it up due to the pandemic. His debt started to increase, and it finally became 500 million won. Now, he works as a day laborer at construction sites to help pay off his debts. This will probably be his last challenge to try out in the restaurant business, and he will give it his all with the feeling of grasping at straws.

@yoonseo.papa

15 YOO JI MIN (유지민)

🏷️ A Child Whose Birth Was an Inconvenience

Jimin is 22 years old and getting ready to be independent. As soon as he was born, he was sent to an orphanage. His facility was tainted with abuse and sexual violence, and was closed. He was protected neither by his family nor his facility. To earn money, he started working part-time at restaurants when he was in 9th grade. During his last year of high school, he learned how to cut sashimi, and his dream is to open a sashimi restaurant by age 24 or 25. As he has started at a different starting point from others, he wants to advance faster by working harder in the present moment.

@jy._.710

16 JOO HYUN WOOK (주현욱)

🏷️ Father Is 400 Million Won in Pyramid Scheme Debt

Hyunwook's father fell into a pyramid scheme and their debt kept increasing until it became 400 million won. At first, he hated and resented his father, but knew that it would not solve the problem. He thought his family situation could get better if he established himself and became successful as soon as he could. He gave up his career in playing rugby, and now works in the kitchen of a jjamppong restaurant in Daejeon.

@96_0301.ju

17 OH KANG TAE (오강태)

18 LIM YOUNG JUN (임영준)

🏷️ Father Is a Gangster

Youngjun never liked his father, and does not have any good memory of him. His father was a gangster, and every time he came home, he would drink and beat his mother. Once, his father took his mother out in the car and beat her so badly that her whole face was bruised enough to not recognize her. Although he wanted to kill his dad, his mom told him he should not grow up to be someone like him. He eventually got a job at a restaurant in Seoul and has been working for 8 years in Japanese cuisine. He wants to put in his everything to live happily with his mother.

@lim.star_

19 KIM HYUN JOON (김현준)

🏷️ Immature Single Dad

Hyunjoon had his first child at age 21, a second the following year, and divorced by age 25. He is currently working as a DJ, but has been in the restaurant business for 9 years. To help provide for his family, he opened a BBQ restaurant when he was 20. He started it with $20,000 and earned $100,000 within less than a year. With that money, he started a cafe and earned $300,000. As his businesses were successful, he started a business in Yeonnam-dong, a popular spot at the time. But the pandemic happened, and he lost all the money he had saved until then. After that, he decided to start another chicken restaurant in Itaewon, but the crowd crush incident happened on the day the restaurant opened. With some luck, he found early success, but his businesses failed twice in a row. He is here to learn and become a mature person.

@juntaromusic

20 KWON HYE SUNG (권혜성)

@hyeseongkwon

Images Source: ENA

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