He served with the US Army in Iraq. Now he’s one of Asia’s top chefs and a Netflix ‘Culinary Class Wars’ judge

(CNN) — From a warzone in Iraq to a Michelin-starred kitchen and a hit Netflix show, chef Sung Anh’s path to the top of Asia’s fine dining scene has been anything but ordinary.

“Just like I did in the US Army, where I volunteered to go to the war, wanting to do something different — I decided to come here to Korea to try something different,” says the Korean-American chef and judge on hit reality cooking show “Culinary Class Wars,” which has just been green-lit for a second season.

Sung, 42, is the head chef and owner of South Korea’s only three-Michelin-starred restaurant, Mosu Seoul. In recent weeks, he has gained a new legion of fans as the meticulous and straight-talking judge on the new Netflix series. It’s this passion and unwavering drive to forge his own path that’s helped reshape fine dining in his birth home.

Born in Seoul, South Korea’s capital, Sung and his family emigrated to San Diego, California when he was 13.

“We were just a family from Korea, seeking the American Dream,” he says. “As an immigrant family, we didn’t really know English.”

As a teen growing up on the US West Coast, his mind couldn’t have been further from cooking.

“I went to school, got into college, but decided to join the US Army because that’s the only way I thought I could travel,” says the chef.

Over four years of service, he trained in bases across the country, before being deployed to his country of birth, South Korea and — following 9/11 — to the Middle East.

“When I volunteered to go to Iraq during the war, people asked me, ‘Why did you do such a crazy thing?’” he recounts.

“I heard all these stories from my grandfather, my father, uncles and family friends about the Korean War and the Vietnam War. I volunteered to go to Iraq because… I thought I had this one chance to go to war and experience it.”

In late 2002, he was deployed to Baghdad for a year-long tour as a specialist with an artillery unit, “clearing out bombs and weapons” from Iraqi forces, including the bunker where Saddam Hussein was found in 2003.

Sung describes his time in the army as “eye-opening.”

“Being a soldier for four years was one of the greatest times in my life, it’s one of the most exciting,” he says.

“There were people from Dakota, Idaho, Puerto Rico, Hawaii. I learned about their cultures and subcultures within the country.”

A chance encounter

After his service, Sung wanted to shift gears — literally. A petrolhead who loved racing cars under the cover of darkness as a teenager, his dream was to become a mechanic for Porsche.

But two weeks before he was set to begin his training, a chance encounter with a group of chefs outside the now-closed American branch of famed cooking school Le Cordon Bleu in California changed the course of his life again.

“They were all in white shirts and checkered pants. I had no idea what the school was,” he recalls.

After speaking with the chefs and a rather influential school counselor, Sung was “hooked” and decided to put his mechanic dreams on hold.

“I didn’t ever look back, I never regretted it. And now I drive a Porsche, so it’s okay,” he says with a laugh.

“I think it was very spontaneous for me to choose this profession,” he admits. However, cooking was always in his blood.

As a child, Sung was raised on his grandmother’s food. And in the US, he got his first taste of being in the kitchen helping out at his family’s Chinese restaurant after school.

After culinary school, he worked in some of the West Coast’s finest kitchens, from the Michelin-star draped French Laundry to Benu and Urasawa.

“I’ve met some of the greatest chefs in the US. They’ve mentored me and I think they’ve refined the roughness that I had from the military,” he says, crediting them with teaching him about the importance of finesse in their profession.

In 2015, Sung opened his own restaurant, Mosu San Francisco, combining American flavors with nods to his Korean heritage.

It was a risk that paid off – within a year he was awarded his first Michelin star.

“It didn’t satisfy me that much. I was very, very happy for my team, for myself. But I knew there’s more to do,” he says.

“I wanted to come back to my country and utilize what I know and what I understand… use the indigenous ingredients, the Korean culture, the heritage.”

So, after two decades in the US and a Michelin star to his name, it was time to bring Mosu home.

The new face of Seoul food

In 2017, chef Sung opened Mosu Seoul in the heart of one of the world’s fastest-growing fine dining scenes. Here, his plan was simple: to innovate.

Mosu was unlike anything Seoul had seen before. Sung took what he had created in San Francisco with fusion gastronomy and transformed the menu to celebrate Korean ingredients.  

But this was no ordinary Korean fare.

The Korean-American chef prides himself on doing things differently — not being bound by one particular style of cooking or cuisine. He melds his culinary inspiration from his heritage and cross-culture upbringing, all with meticulous detail.

The result? Thoughtful and playful courses, such as Mosu’s signature abalone taco, which features subtle nods to flavors from both his home and memories of California.

“At Mosu, I cook what I think is the best, no boundaries, no genre,” he says.

In 2022, Mosu Seoul was awarded three Michelin stars, and with it, the recognition of being the modern face of the South Korean capital’s transforming gastronomic scene.

A (Netflix) star is born

Sung’s meticulous attention to detail is on full display on Netflix’s hit reality cooking show “Culinary Class Wars,” where 20 elite chefs go head-to-head with 80 unknown cooks for the title of South Korea’s top chef.

Chef Sung stars alongside veteran restaurateur Paik Jong-won as the much revered — and at times feared — judges on the show, demanding only the best from the incredible roster of chefs.

The master technician known for his high standards – he makes even the top chefs sweat when tasting their dishes — admits he’s a little “uncomfortable” with his new-found fame. But Sung says he stayed true to himself on camera.

“When I speak my mind, I speak accurately, logically and carefully, because they rely on what I say,” he says.

“I wasn’t acting, I was just being me. I gave a lot of respect to the contestants for their courage. I know how difficult it is to make good food. I wanted to support them, but not everyone’s going to win. So I set my standards.”

The show has put a spotlight on the growing strength and diversity of South Korean fine dining, which has been largely overlooked in global culinary circles until recently.

“Korea’s fine dining and restaurant scene has grown so rapidly,” he says. “Seoul was once a layover city, now it is a destination.”

In early 2024, four Seoul restaurants — including Mosu — made it to the list of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants, including Mingles, Onjium and the fermentation specialist 7th Door.

Chef Sung was also honored at this year’s Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants ceremony — the first time it was held in Seoul — for pioneering a new wave of Korean fusion cuisine with the Chefs’ Choice Award.

The growth of Korean fine dining comes at a time when all eyes are on Korean chefs across the globe, from Komah in Sao Paulo to Atomix in New York. Two of the dozen Michelin stars awarded in New York in 2023 went to Korean restaurants.

“Everyone around the world is fascinated by Korean culture, food, fine dining,” Sung says. “I think they’re really interested in what we’re doing, what the flavor profile is and how we represent this culture through food.”

And for Sung, that means sharing his food with the world, too. In 2022, the chef opened a sister restaurant, Mosu Hong Kong, in contemporary art gallery M+ in the city’s burgeoning cultural district.

Celebrating Korean artisans

As recognition grows for South Korean food, chef Sung takes things further at Mosu Seoul, celebrating more than just local ingredients. For instance, all the plates and bowls used at his restaurant are made by Korean artisans.

“I wanted to put my food on a plate that matches my food, not just something that’s really beautiful, expensive or shiny,” he says.

Sung sources all of Mosu’s tableware from specialist craft store Sikijang, in Seoul’s upscale Gangnam district.

“I’ve worked with a lot of chefs, but chef Sung is different, he is quite special,” says Sikijang owner and creative director Chung So-yeong.

“He can read different artists’ techniques and materials in crafts — it’s very impressive.”

One of Mosu Seoul’s signature serving dishes — a pristine white porcelain plate — is made by a Seoul-based artist renowned for his elaborate and twisted porcelain sculptures.

Ceramicist Yoon Sol had never made tableware until he was introduced to the chef in 2017. He was quickly inspired by chef Sung’s vision.

“There are people who share the same thoughts, feelings and emotions as yourself, and you get goosebumps when you meet them,” says Yoon from his studio in the outskirts of Seoul.

“Chef Sung gives life and character to each dish I make, which I find very respectable. I really think highly of his mindset and how he values beauty.”

The pristine white of the ceramicist’s tableware makes chef Sung’s culinary creations pop.

“I have a really good relationship with the artist,” Sung says. “I try to kind of put their intention and their work into the food and then show it off as one.”

The next course

In early 2024, Mosu Seoul closed the doors on its original Itaewon location after seven years - relocating to a new home within the same district.

The new-look Mosu is set to open in early 2025.

As the new location undergoes its “Mosu” fit-out, the team has been busy developing the menu and hosting events across Asia.

Chef Sung says the new space will “retain the DNA” of the original Mosu Seoul. But he plans to “bring it up a notch,” adding new dishes and a new look to the décor, ensuring Mosu Seoul continues to evolve and grow, just like South Korea’s fine dining scene.

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