China's Great Wall Station in Antarctica. Photo: VCG

The People's Daily called a South Korean variety show an unexpected "hardcore promo" for China in a commentary story published on Tuesday after its December 2025 episode showed celebrities visiting China's Great Wall Station in Antarctica and being surprised by its fresh vegetables, well-stocked kitchens and even live seafood — a stark contrast to the frozen rations typical at other Antarctic bases — before a blizzard left the 29-member crew reliant on the station's prompt hospitality.

According to the program's arrangement, the four South Korean celebrities visited China's Great Wall Station as "honorary members" to prepare a thank-you meal in appreciation of the long-standing cooperation and exchanges between the Chinese station and Korea's nearby King Sejong Station. 

Members of the South Korean variety show Chef of Antarctica visit China's Great Wall Station in Antarctica. Photo: Screenshot from website

The program named Chef of Antarctica is a South Korean variety program that airs on MBC from November 17, 2025, and depicts the chef's struggle with expired supplies and missing basics at the Antarctic base, The Chosun Daily reported.

Under the show's rules, they were only allowed to use ingredients already available at the base, so they did not expect China's station to have such abundant food reserves — a sharp contrast to the harsh, limited supplies they had experienced during previous polar expeditions. 

What made the story even more dramatic was that after filming ended, the Korean production team was unable to depart because of a severe blizzard. The station head's "no problem" — delivered in just 0.1 second and allowing the 29-member team to stay overnight — came as a huge relief to the cast and crew, as seen by Global Times in a segment of the variety show.

Global Times saw another segment of the variety show showing that, in stark contrast, the dining table at the South Korean research station featured spicy stir-fried pork that gave off a strong, unpleasant odor, as the meat had been frozen for a full year. Besides the pork, the cold-storage warehouse also held a large amount of supplies that were already six months past their expiration dates. 

Some South Korean netizens expressed surprise in comments on FMKorea, a well-known comprehensive online community forum in South Korea. One user wrote in Korean: "They were saying our base's food warehouse was so bare it was discouraging, and now they're like, 'Wow, there's so much stuff here at the Chinese base I've never seen before,' haha."

The program unexpectedly propelled China's Great Wall Station in Antarctica into the spotlight, allowing viewers to see not only China's scientific strength in polar research, but also the human warmth that shines through the snow and wind, the People's Daily said in the commentary story.

Before the trip, the Korean participants were told that at this time of year most Antarctic stations rely almost entirely on frozen food with little access to fresh produce. But upon arriving at China's Great Wall Station, they were met with a wide range of ingredients and described it as "like walking into a Chinese supermarket." The variety reflected the station's logistics and supply capabilities, which make long-distance delivery of fresh food possible even in extreme conditions, according to the People's Daily commentary. 

The commentary also reads that from China's first Antarctic voyages with the "Xiangyanghong 10" and Chinese Navy Boat "J121" to the current operations of two icebreakers, and from early container-style housing to today's fully equipped research stations, China has spent more than 40 years building its polar program. It has now formed a framework of five Antarctic stations, two research icebreakers and one logistics base, marking a shift toward integrated sea, land and air operations.

On China's social media platform Rednote, many users expressed pride in the country's strength and praised the friendship between China and South Korea. One user, "Top Priority of Sugarcane," wrote, "As a Chinese, I feel very fortunate." Another, "A Truly Wow Girl," commented, "None of this comes easy!"

"Blizzards will eventually pass, but moving stories will continue to be written. A spirit of friendship, openness and inclusiveness, along with the courage to face difficulties and the pursuit of excellence, are the most precious qualities of any country and any nation at any time," the People's Daily said in the commentary.

Global Times