Chicken Nugget explained: What is Netflix's new K-drama actually about?
What the cluck?!
When Netflix released a Chicken Run sequel titled Dawn of the Nugget late last year, little did we know that this would herald a whole new wave of fried, delicious programming in this same egg-citing vein. Ok, fine, that's corny, we know, but not as corny as Chicken Nugget, a new South Korean drama that might be the most extraordinary show you'll devour all year.
Based on a popular Naver webtoon of the same name by Park Ji-dok, Netflix's ten-part series kicks off when a woman named Choi Min-ah is suddenly turned into a Dakgangjeong (sweet & sour chicken) after entering a strange machine. And as if that wasn't devastating enough, she's not even a delicious cup of chicken, which is how it's often served in Korea. Min-ah has been transformed into one singular nugget.
Now, I know you have questions. How is this scientifically possible? What is life actually like as a chicken nugget? And can the meat go bad or will Min-ah remain delicious forever?
To save his daughter and answer those queries, Sun-man reluctantly enlists the help of intern Go Baek-joong, who is in love with Min-ah. Sun-man also happens to be the president of All Machines, the company that manufactured said bizarre nugget-transforming device, so he has some leads. But turning a chicken nugget back into a human is actually really, really tricky, believe it or not.
Another question you might have is: how does this poultry premise sustain ten whole episodes? But don't underestimate Chicken Nugget. The original webtoon ran for a total of 47 chapters from September 2019-August 2020, and over that time the series gained extremely high ratings from thousands and thousands of readers desperate to find out Min-ah's fate.
Sun-man and Go Baek-joong's journey is just as wild and unpredictable as the transformation that started it, if not more so. Without spoiling too much, those odd lightning strikes from the trailer and that moment when the pair are thrown up into the air only scratch the surface, not to mention Baek-joong's romantic feelings for the titular nugget.
Yet, as is the case with any live-action adaptation, the actors chosen to embody these characters bring something extra, a special sauce if you will, which makes this treat even more delicious.
The chicken nugget herself, Choi Min-ah, is played by Kim Yoo-jung, an incredibly popular child actress back in the day who successfully transitioned to huge adult roles in Dong Yi and Golden Rainbow. Yoo-jung is just coming off My Demon, a big supernatural K-drama that was distributed by Netflix worldwide. There, she plays the love interest who accidentally gains demonic powers from an actual demon, which is somehow far more realistic than her new role as a chicken nugget.
Ahn Jae-hong has been acting for years prior to the role of Baek-joong, but his profile increased dramatically after appearing in 2015's Reply 1988, a hugely popular show at the time. Subsequent roles in numerous films, including the work of arthouse auteur Hong Sang-soo (On the Beach at Night Alone, Leaves of Grass), probably didn't prepare him for the absurdity of Chicken Nugget, however.
Completing this central trio is legendary Korean star Ryu Seung-ryong, who plays the nugget's father Choi Seon-man. Outside of his notable work in Netflix's zombie show Kingdom and the Disney+ superhero series Moving, Seung-ryong is the first Korean actor to appear in four movies that sold more than 10 million tickets each.
The historical film The Admiral: Roaring Currents is currently the highest grossing movie of all time in his native country, and 2019's Extreme Job is the second. But all of those achievements pale in comparison to anything he gets up to in Chicken Nugget, of course.
And did we mention that Seung-ryong's character in Extreme Job stakes out a chicken restaurant? Or that his retired superhero in Moving opened a – you guessed it – fried chicken restaurant? It seems Seung-ryong was literally born to play father to a chicken nugget. But what came first? The chicken nugget or the chicken obsession?
Throw in a cameo from Jung Ho-yeon, the Emmy-nominated star of Squid Game, not to mention Lee Byeong-heon, the director behind Korea's two highest-grossing films of all time, and Chicken Nugget looks set to continue Netflix's recipe for success.
And in case you think the premise might put some people off, just remember that shows like Meow, The Secret Boy and Flower Grandpa Investigation Unit also exist. In fact, these kind of wild swings are exactly what makes Korean storytelling so exciting. There's so much ambition and willingness to push boundaries in a way that Western TV could learn a great deal from.
So, what are you waiting for? Stop reading this and prepare yourself for the Dawn of the Nugget – that is, Lee Byeong-heon's Chicken Nugget on Netflix.
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Chicken Nugget is streaming now. Sign up for Netflix from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.
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Authors
David Opie is a freelance entertainment journalist who writes about TV and film across a range of sites including Radio Times, Indiewire, Empire, Yahoo, Paste, and more. He's spoken on numerous LGBTQ+ panels to discuss queer representation and strives to champion LGBTQ+ storytelling as much as possible. Other passions include comics, animation, and horror, which is why David longs to see a Buffy-themed Rusical on RuPaul's Drag Race. He previously worked at Digital Spy as a Deputy TV Editor and has a degree in Psychology.
