Kimchi Family Episode 4

Welcome back! We left Ho Tae remembering more about the day he lost his Dad, and episode four resumes with Ho Tae being called to the family dinner table which has been expanded to include the new chef, Hae Joon.  As they sit to eat, Hae Joon remembers meals of solitary grandeur as a child and leaves the table filled with emotion.

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Hae Joon and Ho Tae are sharing a room.  Ho Tae is exasperated with Hae Joon’s fussy correctness and Hae Joon is too alarmed by Ho Tae’s gangster tattoos to complain about space hogging ways.

The next morning Eun Bi and Woo Joo find a letter from Mr. Lee in the seaweed telling the girls to remember their mother making the many different kinds of kimchi.  Kang San is left pondering what to do.

Ho Tae tracks down Eun Bi’s teacher as the next member of Heaven, Earth and Man to appeal to her good graces.  He offers to teach her self defense and asks that she hold off reporting on Eun Bi while he tracks Eun Bi’s mother down.  Later, Kang San also finds the teacher and brings her food.

Hae Joon samples the kimchi pastes fermenting in Heaven, Earth and Man’s pots. He is interrupted by Do Sik who ignores Hae Joon’s inquiries and defensive statements except to ask a question or two of his own.

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Kang San and Ho Tae go to the market to replace the cucumbers Ho Tae scrubbed to oblivion and as they are returning, Kang San notices an Italian food restaurant that has a waiting line even off peak hours. She and Ho Tae enter and the cuisine sparks a thought Kang San can’t quite pin down. Kang San gets a call in the meal and she and Ho Tae hurry to meet Hyun Suk, the head of the food conglomerate attempting to buy out Heaven, Earth and Man.

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Hyun Suk tries to persuade Kang San to sell, saying she wants to preserve the flavors, if not the traditions, of the Lee’s restaurant. Kang San responds that changing the traditional methods will change the flavors of the kimchi and kimchi pastes.  As she is quoting her father, she has an idea.  Bidding Hyun Suk good bye and good luck, Kang San and Ho Tae leave.  As they are leaving the business man and his driver come in and Ho Tae recognizes one of them from his half remembered memories.  The business man has a cryptic conversation with his driver.  It seems they are looking for someone.

Back at Heaven, Earth and Man Kang San shares her epiphany with Woo Joo: the seaweed should make Gardenia Kimchi Rolls.

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Further, Kang San believes they could partner with the busy Italian restaurant and offer kimchi pairings that would be compatible with the the high end Italian cuisine.  The revenue could help save heaven, Earth and Man.  When Kang San approaches the owner with samples to explain her business proposal, she is rudely rebuffed.  She leaves in a temper, dragging Woo Joo – who is convinced that her slow understanding is responsible for the deal going poorly – leaving her samples behind.

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Ho Tae buys Eun Bi new shoes, and bonds with her more.  Kang San takes a request for a special party for the night heaven, Earth and Man is closed.  Eun Bi’s teacher arrives at Heaven, Earth and Man to return the empty food containers each of the Lee sisters has left with her and Do Sik draws her to the family table.  Like Hae Joon, she is a bit overwhelmed by the warm family dynamic.  Ultimately, she reveals to the family that she is going to break the rules and look the other way until Eun Bi’s mother can be found. Do Sik invites her to the family table at anytime.

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Ho Tae, disturbed by the attraction he has for Kang San, steals both sister’s toothbrushes in a bid to get enough DNA evidence to confirm or deny his suspicion that Mr. Lee is his father.

Finally, a woman tries to plant tampered food on her plate at Heaven, Earth and Man.  Ho Tae follows her to find she has connections to his old gang.  He connects with his old underling to try and find out why the woman was there.