Chocolate (South Korean TV series)

Chocolate (Korean: 초콜릿; RR: Chokollit) is a 2019 South Korean television series starring Yoon Kye-sang, Ha Ji-won, Jang Seung-jo, Teo Yoo and Min Jin-woong. Produced by JYP Pictures, it aired on JTBC from November 29, 2019 to January 18, 2020.^[2]

Chocolate
Promotional poster
Hangul	초콜릿
RR	Chokollit
MR	Ch'ok'ollit
Genre	Drama
Written by	Lee Kyung-hee
Directed by	Lee Hyung-min
Starring	Yoon Kye-sang Ha Ji-won
Country of origin	South Korea
Original language	Korean
No. of episodes	16
Production
Producer	Pyo Jong-rok
Production locations	South Korea Greece
Running time	60 minutes
Production companies	JYP Pictures[1] Drama House JTBC
Original release
Network	JTBC
Release	November 29, 2019 (2019-11-29) – January 18, 2020 (2020-01-18)

Synopsis

The story of a man who became a neurosurgeon though he dreamt of becoming a cook, and a woman who became a cook because of him.

Cast

Main

Actor	Character	Role
Yoon Kye-sang	Lee Kang	Raised in seaside town Wando at his mother's restaurant. Moves to Seoul and becomes a neurosurgeon. Works at Geosung University Hospital before changing to Geosung Hospice.
Ha Ji-won	Moon Cha-yeong	Raised to be an actress but becomes a chef. Abandoned by her mother and survives a shopping mall collapse.
Jang Seung-jo	Lee Joon[3]	Kang's cousin. Also a neurosurgeon but wants to be a potter.
Teo Yoo	Kwon Min-seong	Kang's best friend. A lawyer whose father administrates Geosung Hospice. He pursues Cha-yeong.
Min Jin-woong	Moon Tae-hyun[4]	Cha-yeong's brother who also abandoned her but shows up later to mooch off of his sister.

Supporting

Kang's family

• Kang Boo-ja as Han Yong-seol^[5] - Kang's & Joon's grandmother. CEO of Geosung Hospital.
• Lee Jae-ryong as Lee Seung-hoon^[5] - Joon's father
• Kim Sun-kyung as Yoon Hye-mi - Joon's mother
• Lee Eon-jung as Jeong Soo-hee - Kang's mother
• Yoon Ye-hee as Lee Seo-hoon - Joon's paternal aunt

People at the hospital paleontologists

• Kim Won-hae as Kwon Hyeon-seok - Administrator of Geosung Hospice, Kwon Min-Seong's father.
• Kim Ho-jung as Han Seon-ae - Kwon's ex-wife. Chef who volunteers in the hospice kitchen.
• Ha Young as Kim Hee-ju - Hospice patient. A potter who taught Joon pottery.
• Yeom Hye-ran as Ha Yeong-sil - Hospice nurse.
• Lee Ju-yoen as Bae Na-ra - Hospice nurse whose father forcefully removes her from the hospice.

Others

• Yoo In-soo as Jo Seung-goo
• Lee Yong-yi as Jang Sook-ja
• Jang Duk-joo as Ha Dong-goo - fisherman who loved Kang's mother and treated Kang as a son
• Lee Hyo-bin as Kim In-joo - Kwon Min-seong's fiance

Special appearances

• Kim Yu-bin as Oh Jeong-Bok (Ep. 11, Ep. 12 & Ep. 13) - Kang's childhood friend and Ha Dong-goo's niece
• Lina as woman in the museum (Ep. 16) - Lina and Jang Seung-jo (Joon) are married in real life
• Yoon Bo-ra as Hui Na (Ep. 13, Ep 15 & Ep 16) - hospice patient and youtuber.

Production

Chocolate marks screenwriter Lee Kyung-hee and director Lee Hyung-min's first collaboration in 15 years, after having worked together on the critically acclaimed television series I'm Sorry, I Love You (2004).^[6][7]

Original soundtrack

Chocolate OST
Soundtrack album by Various artists
Released	2019
Genre	Soundtrack
Language	Korean English
Label	Sony Music JTBC Content Hub

Part 1

Released on December 1, 2019 (2019-12-01)

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Sweetest Thing"	Kiggen ESBEE	Kiggen ESBEE The Apple of My Eye BYMORE	Seventeen[a]	3:39
2.	"Sweetest Thing" (Inst.)		Kiggen ESBEE The Apple of My Eye BYMORE		3:39
Total length:					7:18

Part 2

Released on December 7, 2019 (2019-12-07)

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Tree (Chocolate OST Ver.)" (나무)	Car, the Garden Youra	Car, the Garden 623	Car, the Garden	3:47
2.	"Tree (Chocolate OST Ver.)" (Inst.)		Car, the Garden 623		3:47
Total length:					7:34

Part 3

Released on December 8, 2019 (2019-12-08)

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Always Be Here"	Jung Ye-kyung	Jung Ye-kyung ID:Earth	Jung Jin-woo	3:35
2.	"Always Be Here" (Inst.)		Jung Ye-kyung ID:Earth		3:35
Total length:					7:10

Part 4

Released on December 14, 2019 (2019-12-14)

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Always Be Here"	Jung Ye-kyung	Jung Ye-kyung ID:Earth	Ha Jin	3:35
2.	"Always Be Here" (Inst.)		Jung Ye-kyung ID:Earth		3:35
Total length:					7:10

Part 5

Released on December 15, 2019 (2019-12-15)

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Just Look For You" (그저 바라본다)	Kim Ji-soo JK	Kim Ji-soo	Ailee	3:42
2.	"Just Look For You" (Inst.)		Kim Ji-soo		3:42
Total length:					7:24

Part 6

Released on December 21, 2019 (2019-12-21)

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Greeting (From. Chocolate)" (마중)	Hwang Seok-ju	Seo Jae-ha Cho Young-soo Kim Young-sung	Kassy	3:26
2.	"Greeting (From. Chocolate)" (Inst.)		Seo Jae-ha Cho Young-soo Kim Young-sung		3:26
Total length:					6:52

Part 7

Released on December 22, 2019 (2019-12-22)

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Special (From. Chocolate)"	Jung Ye-kyung ID:Earth	Jung Ye-kyung ID:Earth	Yubin	3:33
2.	"Special (From. Chocolate)" (Inst.)		Jung Ye-kyung ID:Earth		3:33
Total length:					7:06

Part 8

Released on December 28, 2019 (2019-12-28)

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Alone (From. Chocolate)" (짝사랑)	Soulder Gang	Soulder Gang	Hui	3:49
2.	"Alone (From. Chocolate)" (Inst.)		Soulder Gang		3:49
Total length:					7:38

Part 9

Released on January 5, 2020 (2020-01-05)

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"I'll Be Going (From. Chocolate)" (먼저 가볼게요)	Jung Ye-kyung	Jung Ye-kyung Ha Ji-woong	Ha Ji-woong	4:16
2.	"I'll Be Going (From. Chocolate)" (Inst.)		Jung Ye-kyung Ha Ji-woong		4:16
Total length:					8:32

Part 10

Released on January 12, 2020 (2020-01-12)

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Artist	Length
1.	"Right Time and Right Place"	Jung Ye-kyung	Jung Ye-kyung	Stella Jang	3:54
2.	"Right Time and Right Place" (Inst.)		Jung Ye-kyung		3:54
Total length:					7:48

Part 11

Released on January 12, 2020 (2020-01-12)

No.	Title	Artist	Length
1.	"You & I"	ID: Earth	4:22
2.	"Right Time and Right Place" (Inst.)		4:22
Total length:			7:48

Chart performance

Title	Year	Peak positions	Remarks	Ref.
		KOR
"Just Look For You" (그저 바라본다) (Ailee)	2019	85	Part 5	[8]

Viewership

Chocolate : South Korea viewers per episode (thousands)

Season		Episode number																Average
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
	1	821	1028	930	1062	844	842	879	931	814	809	873	919	698	959	755	959	883

Source: Audience measurement performed nationwide by Nielsen Media Research.^[9]

Average TV viewership ratings

Ep.	Original broadcast date	Average audience share (AGB Nielsen)[9]
		Nationwide	Seoul
1	November 29, 2019	3.475%	4.243%
2	November 30, 2019	4.364%	5.280%
3	December 6, 2019	4.316%	4.745%
4	December 7, 2019	4.603%	5.370%
5	December 13, 2019	4.372%	4.963%
6	December 14, 2019	4.173%	4.243%
7	December 20, 2019	4.265%	4.560%
8	December 21, 2019	4.230%	4.291%
9	December 27, 2019	4.142%	4.794%
10	December 28, 2019	3.812%	4.367%
11	January 3, 2020	4.177%	4.615%
12	January 4, 2020	4.205%	4.717%
13	January 10, 2020	3.804%	4.317%
14	January 11, 2020	4.215%	4.917%
15	January 17, 2020	3.778%	3.982%
16	January 18, 2020	4.579%	5.071%
Average		4.157%	4.655%
In the table above, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings. This drama aired on a cable channel/pay TV which normally has a relatively smaller audience compared to free-to-air TV/public broadcasters (KBS, SBS, MBC and EBS).

Notes

1. Performed by Seventeen members Joshua, Wonwoo, DK, Seungkwan and Dino.