Son Ye-jin’s Refrigerator Debut on JTBC: What to Expect

Son Ye-jin and Hyun Bin’s refrigerator may be making its television debut

Son Ye-jin may soon offer viewers an unusually personal glimpse into the home she shares with husband Hyun Bin, although the reveal will come through food rather than a conventional celebrity-home tour.

According to Korean entertainment reports published on August 3, Son has decided to appear on JTBC’s cooking variety program “Please Take Care of My Refrigerator since 2014.” Filming is reportedly being arranged for mid-August, with the episode expected to air in September.

Neither JTBC nor Son’s agency had issued a separate official announcement confirming the exact recording or broadcast date at the time of reporting. Her appearance should therefore be regarded as reported rather than fully scheduled until the broadcaster releases its guest lineup.

If the plans proceed, the episode will mark the first time the refrigerator from Son and Hyun Bin’s household has been introduced through the program. Son is the reported guest, however, and there is currently no indication that Hyun Bin will appear with her.

Why a refrigerator reveal attracts attention

“Please Take Care of My Refrigerator” invites celebrities to bring the contents of their real refrigerators into the studio, where chefs must create dishes using only the available ingredients. The cooking battles are limited to 15 minutes, but much of the program’s appeal comes from what the ingredients reveal about a guest’s routines, food preferences and everyday habits.

For Son, that format carries additional interest because she and Hyun Bin remain one of the most closely followed celebrity couples in Korean entertainment while maintaining relatively firm limits around their private life.

The actors first worked together in the 2018 thriller “The Negotiation” and later reunited as the leads of tvN’s “Crash Landing on You.” Their on-screen chemistry developed into a real relationship, which they publicly confirmed in 2021. They married in March 2022 and welcomed their first child, a son, later that year.

Son occasionally shares carefully selected photographs related to food, gardening, travel and family life through social media, but the couple has not built its public image around regularly displaying its home. A refrigerator brought into a studio is far less intrusive than a full home-reality program, yet it can still reveal details such as whether the family cooks frequently, what ingredients they keep on hand and how their habits have changed since becoming parents.

The program has previously used refrigerators to introduce sides of celebrities that rarely appear in scripted interviews. Neatly organized ingredients can reflect a strict routine, while unusual leftovers or highly specific food preferences often become the basis for both conversation and customized cooking missions.

That makes the reported appearance more than a standard promotional interview. Viewers may receive a controlled but authentic glimpse of Son’s daily life while chefs transform familiar household ingredients into restaurant-style dishes.

The appearance is reportedly connected to The Scandal

Son’s guest appearance is expected to form part of the promotional campaign for Netflix’s upcoming period romance “The Scandal,” which will bring her back to serialized Korean drama after “Thirty-Nine” in 2022.

Netflix has confirmed that the series will be released during the third quarter of 2026, although its official title page does not yet list a specific premiere date. Korean reports have pointed to a September launch, which would align with the reported timing of Son’s JTBC appearance, but the precise release date still requires confirmation from Netflix.

“The Scandal” stars Son as Lady Cho, a gifted and calculating noblewoman whose abilities are constrained by the social order imposed on women during the Joseon era. She proposes a dangerous romantic wager to Cho Won, a notorious seducer played by Ji Chang-wook.

Their game draws in Hui-yeon, portrayed by Nana, a widowed noblewoman who has promised to remain chaste but begins experiencing feelings she cannot easily suppress.

Netflix describes the drama as a story of desire, jealousy, betrayal and conspiracy unfolding in a society where openly pursuing love was forbidden. It is directed by Jung Ji-woo, whose previous work includes the film “Tune in for Love” and the Netflix series “Somebody.”

A Korean story with a much older international history

“The Scandal” is based on the 2003 film “Untold Scandal,” but its creative lineage extends beyond Korean cinema.

“Untold Scandal,” starring Bae Yong-joon, Lee Mi-sook and Jeon Do-yeon, relocated the seduction and manipulation of Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’ 1782 French novel “Les Liaisons dangereuses,” commonly known in English as “Dangerous Liaisons,” to Korea’s Joseon period.

The novel has inspired numerous international adaptations, including the 1988 film “Dangerous Liaisons” and the 1999 teen drama “Cruel Intentions.” Netflix’s new Korean series will revisit the Joseon interpretation in a longer format, providing more space to develop the three central characters and the social restrictions surrounding them.

Son’s casting is particularly notable because Lady Cho is not a passive figure trapped in a romance. She initiates the wager at the center of the plot and uses intelligence, status and emotional manipulation to challenge the limitations placed upon her, making the role considerably darker than many of the sympathetic romantic characters associated with Son’s career.

A carefully timed return to unscripted television

Son has appeared on variety programs during her career, but her television appearances outside acting projects have become relatively rare, especially since her marriage and the birth of her son.

“Please Take Care of My Refrigerator” offers an effective promotional setting because it allows her to discuss “The Scandal” while participating in a format based on food and personal stories. It can introduce the new series without requiring the episode to function entirely as a formal cast interview.

The appearance may also connect two contrasting versions of Son Ye-jin. In “The Scandal,” she plays a Joseon noblewoman involved in a calculated game of temptation and betrayal. On JTBC, audiences could instead meet the actor through the ordinary ingredients stored in her family refrigerator.

For international fans drawn to Son and Hyun Bin through “Crash Landing on You,” the household connection will likely generate the initial curiosity. The more important professional context, however, is Son’s return to a major Netflix drama in a role designed to complicate the warm, romantic image through which many viewers first discovered her.