S. Korean social media star tops Oh My Grill Int’l Food Challenge

South Korean social media star Sang Hyuk Kwon triumphed during the 25th Annual Taste of Marianas Oh My Grill International Food Challenge last Saturday.

The second night of the 25th Annual Taste of Marianas garnered thousands of participants from locals and tourists alike to cheer on the champ for this year’s Oh My Grill Marianas International Food Challenge.

This year, South Korean and Japanese social media stars Sang Hyuk Kwon and Sachiyo Masubuchi (two-time Taste of the Marianas International Food champion) came out to the CNMI to partake in last Saturday’s competition.

The two social media influencers went up against Subway Sandwich Challenge winners Jeremy Rother, Bob Liu, and Michael Ma Ye.

During the competition, hundreds of Korean and Japanese tourists and locals came out in support of their fellow countrymen. Both the Japanese and Korean communities went as far as printing flags which they waived high and proud as they cheered on their champions.

However, because there could only be one winner to take home the $1,000 prize, the overall champ of last weekend’s competition was Kwon, followed closely by Masubuchi who unfortunately lost her title. Completing the Top 3 was Marianas High School teacher Jeremey Rother.

When asked about how he felt about winning his first Taste of the Marianas International Food Challenge, Kwon said he was very happy and that he looks forward to coming back to the CNMI to defend his title.

After being deemed the champion, Kwon was asked what he did to prepare to which he shared that a few days before the competition, he started to load up on proteins and training himself to eat large quantities of meat in time for the competition.

His training fortunately paid off with Kwon managing to devour over 10 lbs. of barbequed meats.

Unfortunately, Kwon was no match for the over 4 lbs. of carbohydrates which included a tub of red rice and macaroni salad.

Masubuchi, who came in second, also managed to scarf down most of her meats but struggled when it came to the red rice and macaroni salad.

As for third place winner Rother, although he did not finish his meats, he was proud of the effort he put into the challenge.

In an interview with Kwon, he shared that after visiting Saipan for the first time for this competition, he hopes to visit more often.

“[I] love the pristine nature, the mountains, and the people here are very friendly. The food, especially, was very good,” he said.

This year’s challenge, sponsored by Oh My Grill, featured an entire Marianas-style BBQ platter (which weighed over 12 lbs).