Korean Food in Perfect Crown: IU’s K-Drama 2026

Perfect Crown, the must-watch new IU K-drama of 2026, is already captivating audiences across Korea and beyond! Also known as the 21st Century Grand Prince’s Wife (21세기 대군부인), this MBC romantic comedy is set in a modern South Korea under a constitutional monarchy, where chaebol heiress Seong Hui-ju (IU) enters a contract marriage with Prince I-an (Byeon Woo-seok).

But beyond the palace politics and slow-burn romance, what I noticed most is the Korean food. From traditional royal snacks inside the palace to the totally relatable scene of stress-eating Korean fried chicken late at night, this K-drama is already delivering some seriously delicious food moments.

This post will be updated every week as new episodes air every Friday and Saturday on MBC! Bookmark this page and come back for more. Now, let’s take a closer look at all the Korean food that appears in Perfect Crown!

Perfect Crown Episode 1 – Every Korean Food & Drink

Lotus Root Tea (연근차)

When Seong Hui-ju is visibly frustrated, her secretary Do Hye-jeong offers her a calming cup of lotus root tea, known in Korean as yeongeun-cha or yeonnaemul-cha. To make it, lotus root is dried unpeeled, sliced into rounds, briefly blanched, then roasted in a dehydrator or pan. The dried lotus root is then steeped in boiling water.

Lotus root tea is known for its calming and soothing effects, helping to clear the blood, relieve fatigue, and ease an unsettled mind which is exactly why Do Hye-jeong chose this tea for the flustered Hui-ju in episode 1 of ’21st Century Grand Prince’s Wife’.

Royal Snack Table (주안상) – Yakgwa & Hwajeon

When Prince I-an tells his aide Choi Hyeon to stop nagging and just eat, the snack table he presents features two classic Korean treats: yakgwa and hwajeon.

• Yakgwa is a traditional Korean confection made by mixing wheat flour with sesame oil, honey, and rice wine, deep-frying the dough, then soaking it in sweet syrup. It has a chewy, rich, and sweet flavor that is completely addictive. Enjoyed since the Goryeo Dynasty, yakgwa was considered a luxury treat, often served at ancestral rites and celebratory feasts. The yakgwa in the drama appears thick and beautifully flower-shaped, likely mo-yakgwa, a style originating from the Gaeseong region, known for its crispy exterior and moist, tender inside.

• Hwajeon is a traditional Korean pan-fried rice cake made by kneading glutinous rice flour into a dough, pan-frying it in oil, and topping it with seasonal edible flowers. In spring, azalea flowers are used; in autumn, chrysanthemums. It’s a dish that captures the beauty of each season on a plate, and has been enjoyed since the Goryeo Dynasty.

Puradak Gochu Mayo Chicken (고추마요 치킨)

After being denied an audience with the prince, a furious Seong Hui-ju sits down to eat her feelings and the chicken she’s eating is the Gochu Mayo from Korean fried chicken brand Puradak. This chicken combines a creamy, nutty mayonnaise sauce with the tangy kick of jalapeño, perfectly balancing the richness of the mayo so you just can’t stop eating it.

Don’t worry about the spice level. It’s mild enough for most people. The Gochu Mayo is one of Puradak’s signature menus and one of the most beloved Korean fried chickens in Korea. As of 2026, it’s priced at ₩21,900 for bone-in, with an additional ₩3,000 for boneless. If you’re visiting Korea, this is a chicken I wholeheartedly recommend.

Episode 2

Tangyak (탕약) – Traditional Korean Herbal Decoction

One of the most culturally loaded moments in Perfect Crown Episode 2 is when Prince I-an is reminded to take his tangyak on time. If you’ve never heard of tangyak before, it’s a traditional Korean herbal medicine made by slowly simmering medicinal herbs in water for hours. The result is a deeply dark brown liquid that you drink warm, and yes, it is intensely bitter.

Because it’s consumed warm, tangyak absorbs into the body quickly, and it’s always individually prescribed based on each patient’s constitution and symptoms at a hanuiwon (traditional Korean medicine clinic). You can still get it prescribed today, and since it’s made from 100% natural herbs, the risk of side effects is minimal.

Honestly, watching this scene in the 21st Century Grand Prince’s Wife brought back a wave of childhood memories for me. Whenever I was run-down as a kid, my grandmother would go to the hanuiwon and bring home tangyak specially brewed for me. I hated it back then, way too bitter for a child. But now I know it was her love in a cup.

Traditional Korean Royal Table (전통 한상)

One of the most visually stunning scenes in Perfect Crown Episode 2 is the royal lunch between Prince I-an and aide Choi Hyeon. The spread on that table is enormous and that’s because it’s royal cuisine. In real life, most Koreans eat simply: a bowl of rice, a couple of banchan, done. That table in the 21st Century Grand Prince’s Wife looks more like a full Chuseok feast!

On the far left, there’s a beautiful Korean pancake set (modeum jeon). The green ones are kkaennip-jeon (perilla leaf pancakes), the round ones in the middle are dongeurangtaeng (Korean-style meatballs), and the ones on the right are saengseon-jeon (fish pancakes). If you want to make this whole set at home, follow my Modeum Jeon recipe, it’s way easier than it looks!

In the center of the table is the showstopper: sogalbi-jjim (braised beef short ribs). The beef ribs are marinated in a sweet-salty soy sauce base, then slowly braised with radish, carrots, and chestnuts until they’re fall-off-the-bone tender. It’s outrageously good, but the one catch is that you need to soak the bones in cold water for at least 3 hours to draw out the blood before cooking. If you’re outside Korea and can’t find the right cut, my boneless galbi-jjim recipe is the perfect solution, all the flavor, none of the fuss.

And the dish Choi Hyeon is passing over? That’s kkomak-muchim, spicy seasoned cockles tossed in a bold, punchy Korean sauce. Of the three, which one would you most want to try?

Subway Sandwich (서브웨이 샌드위치)

Here’s a food moment in Perfect Crown that might surprise you: Seong Hui-ju grabbing a Subway sandwich. Yes, Subway, not Korean at all, but absolutely part of everyday Korean life. A lot of Koreans grab a Subway for a quick lunch on a busy day, and it’s also a total go-to among Koreans who are counting calories.

Don’t assume every Korean eats rice at every single meal! Seeing Hui-ju with a Subway sandwich in this IU K-drama actually felt super real and relatable. And since we’re here, here’s exactly how Koreans order Subway when they’re dieting:

• Choose a low-calorie filling: Veggie (209 kcal) or Shrimp (241 kcal)
• Go for the 15cm wholegrain wheat bread
• Pick American cheese, the lowest calorie option at just 35 kcal
• Load up on all 5 fresh veggies; skip the pickles and jalapeños. Olives are fine at 3.9 kcal
• Best diet sauce combo: salt & pepper (0 kcal) + red wine vinegar (0.7 kcal) + extra virgin olive oil (29 kcal)

If eating like this resonates with you, you’ll love my -20kg diet cookbook. It’s basically the full system I used to lose 20kg eating Korean food.

Hwagwaja (화과자) – Japanese Wagashi

The prettiest food scene in Perfect Crown Episode 2, and honestly one of the most beautiful scenes in the whole drama so far, is the stunning tea table presented when I-an and Hui-ju make their marriage decision. Those gorgeous little confections on the table? They’re hwagwaja, the Korean name for Japanese wagashi.

Hwagwaja are traditional Japanese sweets made primarily from red bean paste (anko), rice flour, and sugar. The thing about hwagwaja is that they’re more about beauty than taste, each one is hand-crafted to look like a delicate flower, seasonal fruit, or a scene from nature. They’re basically edible art.

In Korea, hwagwaja are a refined and meaningful gift. You’ll often see them brought when visiting your in-laws for the first time, given as upscale holiday presents, or offered to respected elders when you’re paying your respects. It’s not something most Koreans eat casually at home which is exactly why the 21st Century Grand Prince’s Wife uses them here. They signal elegance, formality, and the weight of the moment. A perfect fit for a scene where a chaebol heiress and a prince are sealing a contract marriage.

New episodes of Perfect Crown air every Friday and Saturday on MBC and stream on Disney+, and this post will be updated every week with all the new Korean food moments. So bookmark this page and check back soon, you won’t want to miss a single dish!

Spotted a food we missed? Drop it in the comments below! 👇