Yook Sung-jae of boy band BTOB was selected as the K-pop artist "who looks like a cooking genius likely to make their own first meal of the New Year," according to the fan voting platform Picnic.

Through an online poll by the K-pop-themed voting platform, which ran from Dec. 5 to Dec. 19, 2025, with participation from fans in 175 countries, Yook received 17,144 votes. He was followed by Eunho from Plave, who received 17,051 votes, and BTS's Jungkook, who received 1,508 votes.

According to Picnic, fans selected the artist they believed would personally prepare the first meal of the New Year, based on a combination of actual cooking skills, everyday image and lifestyle.

Yook appeared on a show with a name that translates roughly to "Idol Cooking King" (2016), which aired on MBC for the year's Chuseok holidays, to demonstrate his cooking skills. He also starred on SBS's historical drama "The Haunted Palace" (2025) and released his EP “All About Blue” in June of last year.

In collaboration with the Korea JoongAng Daily, Picnic holds weekly votes on various topics related to K-pop stars.

BY LEE TAE-HEE [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]