What Happens When Stars Cook for Firefighters? Discover the Exciting New Episode of ‘Manito Club’

Daniel Kim 2026.03.16 Views

Photo=MBC

[Sports Today reporter Kim Tae-hyung] The season-two cast of Manitto Club transformed a fire station cafeteria into a makeshift late-night diner for firefighters, serving up warm laughs and remarkable chemistry. The episode also teased the full first meeting of season-three members Cha Tae-hyun, Park Bo-young, Lee Sun-bin, Hwang Kwang-hee and Kang Hoon, ramping up viewer anticipation.

The March 15 episode of MBC’s Manitto Club followed Jung Hae-in, Ko Yoon-jung, Park Myung-soo, Hong Jin-kyung, Kim Do-hoon and chef Yoon Nam-no as they launched a covert “secret manitto” operation. The cast prepared a special late-night meal for crews at Bucheon Fire Station, who work around the clock to keep the public safe.

According to Nielsen Korea, the episode posted a personal best with a 2.3% household rating in the Seoul metropolitan area. The 20–54 demo rating, a key competitiveness metric reflecting changing media habits, rose to 1.1%. The episode’s most-watched one-minute segment — which peaked at 3.4% — captured Jung Hae-in, Ko Yoon-jung, Park Myung-soo, Hong Jin-kyung, Kim Do-hoon and chef Yoon Nam-no frantically rehearsing a simulation just before they opened the late-night diner for the firefighters.

Before launching the mission, the members scouted the fire station. To conceal their identities, they staged an undercover operation disguised as a documentary shoot. Chef Yoon Nam-no and Kim Do-hoon played documentary hosts and conducted on-the-spot interviews, while Jung Hae-in, Ko Yoon-jung, Park Myung-soo and Hong Jin-kyung monitored activities from another room, maintaining a tense, high-stakes stealth operation. Park Myung-soo’s sudden “avatar” directives provided an unexpected comic counterpoint.

Chef Yoon recalled a time firefighters had helped him, and he approached the menu with genuine care. The team’s target was 60 servings, and they decided to double portions so crews who were dispatched during service could still return to a hot meal. The menu included haesin kalguksu (seafood knife-cut noodle soup), turmeric rice, abalone tteokgalbi with truffle, and a manitto-style dessert called Dujjonshu — a chewy rice-cake treat made instead of marshmallows — all designed as a hearty, morale-boosting meal. Under Yoon’s direction, Jung Hae-in, Ko Yoon-jung and Kim Do-hoon took on specific roles to tackle large-scale cooking.

Prep was far from smooth: from cleaning live abalone to endless rounds of slicing, the team faced a grueling process. They were up against a five-hour time limit in a pressure-filled time attack. Jung Hae-in partnered with Kim Do-hoon on the truffle abalone tteokgalbi, adopting an assembly-line approach that relied on forearm power to shape the meat, while Ko Yoon-jung handled Dujjonshu and produced 60 dessert portions. Park Myung-soo joined later and focused on abalone prep and hand-making the kalguksu dough and noodles, and Hong Jin-kyung took charge of the haesin kalguksu and turmeric rice.

The cast’s chemistry was on full display through the cooking process. They traded playful barbs yet rallied around the shared goal of opening the late-night diner. Jung Hae-in, a self-declared meat enthusiast, and Ko Yoon-jung shared a warm mentor–junior rapport; Kim Do-hoon and chef Yoon kept things lively with a running, good-humored debate over kitchen hierarchy. Park Myung-soo and Hong Jin-kyung staged a flirtatious skit that had everyone laughing so hard it nearly derailed the shoot; exhausted, Park quipped that the challenge was tougher than Infinite Challenge and eventually dropped his bit, prompting another round of laughs.

When service began, the station cafeteria had been fully transformed into a cozy, closed-kitchen late-night spot. The cast ran anxious simulations before opening, but nerves and haste led to frequent mistakes. At 9 p.m., firefighters began arriving — and to the team’s surprise a large group showed up at once, triggering the feared order rush. The first set of orders included a single request for eight servings, raising suspense about whether the members could pull off their debut late-night service.

The episode closed by introducing season-three members, teasing the full cast meeting of Cha Tae-hyun, Park Bo-young, Lee Sun-bin, Hwang Kwang-hee and Kang Hoon. Unlike the previous two seasons, the new members revealed their identities from the outset, adding a fresh twist. The reunion between Cha Tae-hyun and Park Bo-young — who played father and daughter in the 8-million-ticket hit Speed Scandal — was a particular highlight. MBC’s Manitto Club airs Sundays at 6:05 p.m.