Yes, for intermediate learners who found other variety shows too frantic. Three Meals a Day is relaxed countryside cooking and chatting, with celebrities working out what to eat, so the pace leaves room to listen.
- Level
- Intermediate
- Format
- Show
- Year
- 2014
- Episodes
- 125
- Length
- about 90 min each
- From
- tvN
Why it works for learners
Unlike game-based variety, this show mostly consists of people cooking, doing chores and talking while they work. That means you can match words to actions: chopping, boiling, gathering firewood, feeding animals. Conversation stays low-key, with gentle complaints, compliments on food and small plans for the next meal. The rhythm repeats three times a day, so the same kitchen phrases and food words keep returning, and on-screen captions in Korean variety TV often give extra reading support.
What makes it hard
Episodes last around 90 minutes, and long quiet stretches can cause your attention to drift. The speakers mumble while busy, sometimes off-camera. Countryside tools and ingredients won't appear in your textbook, and the older presenters' casual speech can be hard to catch.
How to use it
Treat each meal as one sitting rather than watching a whole episode. Pick the dish, look up its ingredients, and follow the cooking. Note how they ask each other for help, and use those requests in your own Korean sentences.
More for Korean learners: our Korean guides.
Keep it where you'll see it
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