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.

Chef Jeong Kwan was the recipient of the Asia's 50 Best Restaurants Icon Award in 2022. A Buddhist monk, she has gained fans around the world for her vegetarian 'temple cuisine' that showcases the best of Korean produce.

Related article How a female Buddhist monk became one of Asia’s most revered chefs

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 —