At the start of the movie, we are introduced
to a young man named Bong. Bong is extremely
talented at cooking, and is the youngest
chef in Blue House, which is the official
residence of the South Korean Prime Minister.
That evening, Bong learns that the House is
throwing a dinner party for a Chinese Ambassador.
The Ambassador is extremely sensitive to fishbone,
so Bong is instructed to prepare a delicious fish
dish with no bones. Bong heeds their instruction
and immediately starts preparing the dish.
At nightfall, the dinner is ready,
and served to the Ambassador. Sadly, as soon
as the Envoy bites the fish, he finds a hook
in it. This puts Bong in a serious dilemma as
several guards search the mansion to find him.
In the following scene, a pair of police
officers investigating the incident,
arrives at Bong’s apartment and knock on his door.
Bong knows that he’s in trouble, so he tries to
escape through the balcony, while the officers
try their best to catch him. In the process,
Bong unfortunately plunges into a swimming pool
below, smacking his head on the bottom of the
pool. For some reason, he keeps falling as a woman
swims toward him, and plants a kiss on his lips.
When Bong wakes up, he finds himself on a
strange bed and an even stranger room. Bong
feels something is wrong and immediately rushes
to a nearby mirror. His reflection surprises him
as Bong discovers that he has become a woman.
He contemplates for a second, but finalizes
that he must be dreaming due to the fall.
Bong creeps out of the room to figure out what’s
going on. But finds dozens of women outside, who
bow and refer to her as “Your Highness.” Surprised
by this, Bong runs outside the building, but
suddenly feels cold in her crotch. This is when
Bong realizes that she has lost her “banana.”
Bong is horrified by this and initially
believes that she’s been trafficked
into a sex change operation. However,
when she observes his surroundings, Bong
discovers that she time-traveled to the
past. The realization causes her to go into shock
and she’s eventually brought back to the palace.
The next day, Bong wakes up and learns her
current identity from a maid. It turns out that
she time-traveled to the Joseon Dynasty, in the
year 1851. Moreover, she now lives inside the body
of Kim-So-Yoong, a royal ward. To make matters
worse, Bong discovers that Kim is scheduled to
marry the King and become Queen in a few days.
The maid also explains that her body was
found floating on the lake after an
unknown accident occurred. Luckily,
the guards found and brought her back to the
palace. Hearing this, Bong theorizes that both
his and Kim’s spirits must have switched, and
infers that the ticket back home is the lake.
Bong asks the maid to lead him to the lake as he
plans to jump in and return to the present. Sadly,
her plan to jump takes an unexpected
turn, as she lands on muddy ground.
It turns out that the Grand Queen ordered the
palace servants to drain the lake overnight to
prevent anyone from falling into the water again.
Bong is disheartened by the news but still reckons
that water is the answer. So, she desperately
tries to submerge herself in any water source she
can find. She even goes as far as inserting her
head in a pail of water that is used to clean the
floors. However, all her efforts prove abortive.
A few days later, the wedding day arrives. Bong
is unaware of the dynasty’s customs but
with the help of her handmaids manages to
complete the required wedding rites. That
night, Bong, who is now Queen, is invited
to the King’s chambers to sleep with him.
Bong is horrified by the thought and offers
the King some alcohol in hopes
of him passing out. Fortunately,
the King sleeps off, much to Bong’s relief.
The following day, Bong wakes up with a
hangover and is offered some food. However, she is
disgusted by the soggy meal and passes a message
to the royal chef to cook ramen instead. The chef
is confused by the term, but tries to make the
foreign meal based on Bong’s instructions. The
chef tries to make the dish multiple times, but
Bong is dissatisfied with every attempt.
The first dish is too “healthy,” while
the subsequent dishes are too bland and spicy.
Eventually, the chef becomes upset and gives up,
asking Bong to cook it herself. Bong,
remembering her culinary techniques,
decides to prepare the dish.
Bong enters the Royal kitchen
and immediately picks up a knife. Her maid
worries because the Queen has never attempted
to cook since childhood. Hence, the maid,
alongside the other servants, expects her
to make a mess of the kitchen. However, much to
the servants’ surprise, Bong starts cutting the
vegetables with great speed and precision.
She cuts everything perfectly and at the
right size. Ultimately, cooking a perfect dish.
Bong takes the ramen back to her chambers and
enjoys the meal with her right-hand maid. Back in
the kitchen, the chef is envious of Bong’s cooking
abilities and proposes that the food simply looks
good but doesn’t taste nice. To test his theory,
the Royal Chef tries the leftovers remaining
in the pot. However, as soon as he has a bite,
he is amazed by how good it is that
he even drops his spoon in shock.
After the eventful encounter, Bong
suddenly comes up with an idea. The
new Queen realizes that she can easily win
over the royal family with her culinary
skills. The Grand Queen drained the lake.
So, if Bong can please her with some food,
she might agree to refill the lake.
Bong instantly returns to the kitchen,
but the jealous Royal Chef asserts his authority
and refuses to let her inspect the food prepared
for the Grand Queen. Bong is pissed by this and
challenges him to a speed cooking contest. The
Royal Chef initially backs out from the fight
but accepts the challenge after Bong teases him.
A servant rings a bell and the contest begins.
The head chef takes his knife and viciously cuts
a bunch of carrots. However, the Queen’s hands are
faster and quickly cut some cucumbers with ease.
After several minutes of cooking, Bong’s dish is
ready and she is the first to ring the bell. Thus,
winning the contest. The Royal Chef is pissed at
this and argues that though speed is important,
taste is the ultimate test of a chef’s skill.
Bong confidently agrees and requests the Royal
Cuisine Inspector to taste both dishes
to see which is better. The Inspector is
fascinated by Bong’s cuisine and declares
it the better dish, prompting her to take
charge of the Royal Kitchen. Bong uses her
newly acquired status to her advantage,
as she analyzes the Grand Queen’s meals.
Bong discovers from her food choices that
The Grand Queen is a picky eater due to
her recent development of toothache. Thus,
Bong decides to make a meal with
a soft texture for the aristocrat.
Bong gets to work right away and
begins making a potato porridge. First,
she pours some milk into the pot, and adds
the right ingredients, as she occasionally
tastes the mixture. Then, the potatoes are
eventually added to the pot. Afterwhich,
the dinner is served with some flower
toppings for a cohesive presentation.
Bong is pleased with the final product and
delivers it to the Grand Queen herself. The
Queen greatly enjoys the meal but highlights that
the dish is not perfect, as it arrived cold. The
temperature change caused the perfectly mashed
potatoes to lump. Hence, slightly altering the
taste. Also, the porridge spilled on the sides of
the plate which also affected the presentation.
Bong is distraught to hear this and sadly
begins her trip back to the palace. While in
her carriage, Bong brainstorms on an alternative
means of delivering food to the Grand Queen.
Shortly after, she comes up with a stellar idea.
Bong sews a cloth, and has her maid deliver the
fabric alongside some instructions to the
Royal engineers. With Bong’s direction,
the Engineers construct a special food delivery
carriage that is properly insulated on all sides
by the cloth. Meanwhile, Bong prepares an array
of tasty meals and has the servants deliver them
using the newly designed cabinet. The Grand
Queen receives the hot meal, and enjoys it,
leaving no leftovers. Eventually, the engineers
return to Bong and deliver the good news as the
invention is proved to be a success.
A few days later, the King organizes a
huge banquet and invites delegates from
all over the country. Unfortunately,
the cooks get sick on the banquet day and the
royal kitchen is short-staffed. Bong notices
this and decides to help out. She sneaks
out of the banquet and enters the kitchen.
Bong discovers that the pantry is low on
ingredients, as the groceries meant to be
delivered that day, couldn’t make it. With
limited resources, Bong has no choice but to
get creative. The Queen, alongside her handmaids,
prepares a simple but unique dish of potatoes.
Bong peels and wraps the potato around a stick
and deep fries it, making it crisp and crunchy.
The guests are initially unhappy when they
see the first dish, as they expect something
classier for a royal banquet. However, as soon
as they try the unique meal, their eyes shine
in approval as they marvel at its taste.
Bong’s second dish is a bit more tasking as
there’s no meat in the kitchen. She creatively
uses beans to make a veggie burger with tomato
relish on the side. Bong is pleased with
her invention and names it “Mac Dunaldu,”
inspired by the modern McDonald itself. The dish
just like the potato serving is a smash hit as
the guests savor the mouth-watering cuisine.
For the final meal, Bong creates a classic
jelly dessert with a twist. She writes
special messages on the jelly sticks and
calls them “Fortune Jelly,” as you get to
read your fortune after you’re done with
the dessert. The guests enjoy the classic jelly
and have fun reading their respective fortunes.
Despite the initial hiccups, the banquet
is a smash hit, thanks to Bong’s cooking.
The Grand Queen, who also attended the
banquet, is impressed by Bong’s skills and
finally asks her to make a request. Without any
hesitation, Bong asks to have the lake refilled.
The Grand Queen grants her request and commands
the servants to start working on the job. Sadly,
as it is the 19th century, there are no advanced
machines to aid this task. Hence, the servants can
only transport water manually with wooden buckets.
The process is unbelievably slow as the servants
make a long trip from the town’s well to the lake.
Bong is annoyed by this and swiftly comes up with
a new method. She asks each servant to stay
at one spot and simply pass the bucket from
one person to the other. The people are pleased
with the system as it makes the job easier and
faster. They all continue the task and work on it
patiently while Bong oversees the lengthy process.
Several days pass but the lake is yet to fill.
Bong, soon gets tired of waiting and becomes
desperate. Luckily, a heavy downfall begins
which slowly but gradually waters the lake.
Bong is overjoyed by the weather change
and dances ecstatically under the rain.
A few hours later, the lake is filled
and Bong heads to the shores and signs
her name on a cornerstone. Afterwhich, she
jumps into the lake and sinks underwater,
just like she did at the start of the movie.
When Bong wakes up, he is astonished to find
himself in a hospital and sees an officer sleeping
a few meters away from his bed. He quietly tries
to slip out but the officer wakes up and a swift
chase ensues. Bong manages to get away from him
but two more officers show up, and corner him.
Desperate, Bong jumps down from a high platform,
escaping the men as he races down the street.
He immediately heads to a public library and
searches for a history book. There, he finds a
publication about the Joseon Dynasty and smiles,
knowing that he has now become a part
of history. However, his nostalgic trip
down memory lane is swiftly interrupted when
the chasing officers arrive at the library.
Bong tries to escape again but the officers
explain that they aren’t there to arrest him.
It turns out that the present has been changed
due to his time travel to the Joseon era. Now,
he is not being chased by the police.
Instead, they are there to protect
him as Bong is now a whistleblower and
has exposed a high-ranking official for
corruption. Bong rushes to a nearby computer
and searches the web to confirm their claims.
Soon after, he discovers that they
are telling the truth as history
and the present world have indeed changed.
The movie ends with Bong standing on a street
as he relays a positive message on how a small
change in the past can greatly affect the future.
