Daeryeong Suksu(Royal Chef), is a head chef who made dishes for the Kings of Joseon dynasty. Whenever there were
big ceremonies or parties in the Palace of Chosun dynasty, Royal Chef has been summoned by the King to prepare the
food and dishes for the events.

Royal Chef were mainly male chef not female. The title of Royal Chef was inherited to their descendants to serve the
Dynasty.

The profession of Daeryeong Suksu(Royal Chef) in the Joseon Dynasty can be likened to Michelin-starred chefs of
today, as they were considered the finest culinary experts of their time. The term Suksu (熟手) literally means "a person
who prepares food for banquets." In the Joseon Dynasty, male cooks who prepared banquet tables for commoners or
worked in the auxiliary kitchens of the royal palace were referred to as Suksu. Among them, those who prepared food
for the king and royal family were given the special title Daeryeong Suksu (待令熟手), meaning "a chef awaiting royal
orders."

Like many civil servants working in the royal palace during the Joseon Dynasty, Daeryeong Suksu commuted to work
and lived with their families outside the palace after marriage. When their sons turned ten, they would accompany their
fathers to assist with tasks and learn the art of cooking, eventually inheriting the position of Suksu. The king’s daily
meals were typically prepared in the sojubang (small kitchen), but during large-scale banquets like jinyeon (royal feasts)
or jinchan (royal receptions), food was prepared in a temporary kitchen called gaga (假家).

The Suragan was a key location responsible for preparing royal cuisine. Unlike the elaborate names of other palace
buildings, it utilized a simple and practical name. The signboard was inscribed with elegant calligraphy in the royal style,
reflecting the strict formalities and dignity of the Joseon Dynasty.

Cooking, both in the past and present, has been an arduous profession, closer to physical labor than mere work.
Consequently, the preparation and cooking of food were primarily regarded as tasks for men. According to the
Gyeongguk Daejeon (the Joseon Dynasty’s code of law), the gender ratio in the Suragan (royal kitchen) was recorded
as 15 men to 1 woman. In fact, during King Sejong's reign, out of 388 servants working in the Suragan, over 370 were
male. Due to this imbalance, a comedic situation arose in the 15th year of Sejong’s reign (1453), when the Ming Dynasty
demanded skilled female cooks. This led to an urgent selection and training of women in cooking to send them abroad.

The depiction of court banquets, or feasts, held in Joseon palaces can be seen in the painting Seonmyo Jojejaegyeong
Suyeondo. This artwork portrays a celebratory feast called Gyeongsuyeon (a banquet held in honor of an elderly mother
over 70 years old) in five scenes. In these scenes, the activities of royal chefs (suksu) in temporary kitchens outside the
palace walls are vividly illustrated. These suksu can be considered the equivalent of today’s professional catering
service providers. For such feasts, a temporary kitchen called Jochanso was set up, and the painting shows the suksu
preparing food, stoking fires, and bustling about in preparation for the celebration.

Given the significance of cooking for the royal palace, being a suksu came with great responsibility. The Annals of the
Joseon Dynasty recount an incident during Emperor Gojong's reign, the first emperor of the Korean Empire, where a
mistake in the royal meal led to severe consequences. In 1903, the 40th year of Gojong’s reign, sand found in raw
mussels served on the royal table caused damage to the emperor's teeth. As a result, it was proposed that Kim Won-
geun, the head suksu at the time, along with several others, be punished by flogging or imprisonment. However,
Emperor Gojong showed leniency by pardoning them from flogging and instead exiling or sparing them from
imprisonment.

From the late Joseon period, following the Imjin War, the roles of male chefs within the palace began to specialize.
In addition to the head chef (Daeryeong Suksu), there were roles such as Jogwa Suksu for making rice cakes and
traditional sweets, Jubang Suksu working in the Sojubang (a small kitchen within the palace), and other specialized
positions such as Saemyeonjang for noodle making, Sanghwabyeongjang for dumpling preparation, and Jukjang for
porridge making, which emerged during this period.

In the modern era, during the Japanese colonial period, a significant number of these chefs lost their jobs. As the
Korean Empire was forcibly annexed by Japan, the scale of the palace was drastically reduced, leaving many chefs
unemployed. However, this period also saw the opening of Korea's first modern-style restaurant, which provided a
new opportunity for these chefs. Sunhwan Ahn, who had served as the chief of Jeonseonsa and Juseonsa in the
Gungnaebu (the institution responsible for the emperor's meals during the Korean Empire), hired these chefs and
established the Joseon Cuisine House, Myeongwolgwan.

Opened in the early 1900s at the Gwanghwamun intersection, Myeongwolgwan was not only Korea's first modern
restaurant but also the first place where ordinary people could taste food that was once exclusively served to royalty.