The chef-owner of Mosu in Seoul was set on becoming a car mechanic, until curiosity led to him stumbling into culinary school. Now he is among the most revered cooks in Asia
“It was quite random. I never planned to cook. I didn’t know what a chef was,” says Sung Anh, chef-owner of Mosu in Seoul, South Korea. “Until I first encountered culinary school, I had no idea you could make a living out of it. I’d seen the white coat and hat in the movies, but I never thought it could be a career choice. It was a spontaneous decision that I made.”
Even to this day, with Mosu holding three Michelin stars – the only restaurant in Korea currently with the accolade – and being ranked No.41 on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2024, Anh still has moments where he can’t quite believe how things have turned out. “Life sometimes takes you to places you’d never imagined. I still talk to my mother about the career choice I made. We’re still surprised,” he exclaims.
The renowned chef worked at restaurants including The French Laundry, Benu and Urasawa
Sung Anh was born in South Korea and reluctantly emigrated to California when he was 13 with his family, who wanted to chase the American Dream. “They were worried we’d fail in Korea where it’s very competitive with the education system,” he says.
Anh’s parents had a takeaway restaurant in the US where he helped as a cashier, but there was never a moment where he felt inspired to become a chef himself. “After graduating high school I wanted to travel, but I didn’t have the money… so I signed up to the US Army as they told me I could travel for free.”
He did get to travel across the US, to Asia, and even did a tour in Iraq. But the travel wasn’t enough and Anh found the army ranking system restrictive and limiting. “I wanted more than what the army had available, so I decided to get out and become a mechanic. I thought for sure I’d then eventually become a Porsche mechanic.”
From cars to culinary school
Everything was set for mechanic school. Anh was due to leave for Arizona in two weeks. He had a roommate, he’d signed up for the course – and then it all changed. “I was driving through Pasadena in California, and there was a group of people outside a building, hanging out in their white shirts and chequered trousers. I was curious, so I went in to find out what was going on. It was a culinary school.”
In 2017, Anh made the move from San Francisco to South Korea for his family
The head of the school approached him, gave him a brochure and some information. “I thought, this is fascinating. I could actually make a living out of being a chef. So I called the mechanic school, told them I wouldn’t be attending, and signed up for culinary school on the spot. It sounds crazy, but I started two weeks later.”
During the course, Anh started working as a dishwasher in an oyster bar, progressed to shucking oysters, before moving on to work in a bistro. After a year and half, he was determined to get a job at Japanese restaurant Urasawa in Beverley Hills. He figuratively – and literally – had the door slammed in his face, more than once, but that just made him even more determined. Eventually, chef-owner Hiroyuki Urasawa gave him a chance, but Anh was working for free, and struggled with the cultural differences, as well as the strained history between Japan and Korea.
“There’s always a price to learning great things. After a few years I spoke fluent Japanese and learned Urasawa’s way of cooking and thinking – including being respectful to the ingredients in front of you – that’s still in me today. But I didn’t want to be a Japanese chef.”
One day, Korean American chef Corey Lee came to dine at Urasawa and got chatting to Anh. Lee didn’t realise Anh was looking for a new position but offered him a role at The French Laundry. Anh left Urasawa for Thomas Keller’s world-famous Napa Valley restaurant within a month.
Anh lives by the motto, 'comfort is the new luxury'
Lee and Anh worked together for many years, and when Lee opened his own restaurant, Benu, Anh went with him. A couple of years later, it was time for another move – but perhaps not in the direction anyone, including Anh himself, expected. “I became a chef at Moroccan restaurant Aziza,” Anh states. “My thought process was that I loved heavily spiced food, but never really learned how to cook that way. So I was curious.”
Culture shock
Anh’s never-ending curiosity took him back to Asia to travel and consult for a while, before the lure of San Francisco brought him back to open the first iteration of Mosu in the northern Californian city in 2015. It was awarded a Michelin star in its first year. Just two years on, Anh made the decision to move back to Korea for his family. “I knew there was potential in Korea and my chef friends like Mingoo Kang and Jungsik Yim encouraged me.
“But in all honesty, the difference between San Francisco and Seoul was a culture shock. I know I look very Korean, but how I think is very American, so in the beginning that was the toughest part.”
He took Mosu with him, opening in Seoul’s Itaewon-dong, in Yongsan District in 2017, and has been bringing in the accolades ever since. Mosu Seoul first appeared in Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants in 2022 and was named The Best Restaurant in Korea 2023.
Anh is the winner of the Inedit Damm Chefs' Choice Award 2024
Chef Anh himself is also the winner of the Inedit Damm Chefs’ Choice Award 2024, an accolade voted for by his chef peers from across Asia. “I’m not trying to be humble, but it’s probably the best award I’ve ever won. It’s honest and pure. For chefs, who have a better understanding of the restaurant world and the lifestyle we live and how hard we all work, to choose [me], it’s such an honour. I don’t mean that lightly,” Anh explains with emotion.
Today, Anh knows it was the best decision to return to Korea and even expanded to open Mosu Hong Kong at M+, the city’s museum of visual culture, during Covid. “During Covid we were killing it and had a six-month reservation list, but the Hong Kong dining scene hasn’t quite recovered in the way everyone thought it would,” he says.
Mosu Seoul 2.0
As well as juggling two iterations of Mosu, and a busy family life, in January 2024, Mosu temporarily closed in order to relocate. “I decided to separate from a company I had partnered with in Korea and this [new Mosu] will be my own company,” Anh says. “Things could have been smoother if I’d have stayed, but in terms of how I want to live my life as a chef, and what challenges I want to face, it’s the right decision. It’ll hopefully be a better restaurant in a better location where the guests will have an even better time.”
Mosu Seoul closed in January 2024 and is due to reopen soon in a new location
Naturally, this will be Anh’s focus over the next few months. “My goal is to open this restaurant as successfully as we can and as fast as we can. It’s about how much expectation I have for myself, and how I can deliver that. Once I figure that out, I think I can figure everything else out.”
Although Mosu Seoul may be reopening soon in a different location in the same neighbourhood, Anh is keen to live by his motto: comfort is the new luxury. “We do whatever we need to do to makes guests feel comfortable,” he explains. “As soon as someone feels uncomfortable, it doesn’t matter how good the food is, the experience won’t be good. We also don’t do pretentious food. If there’s something on the plate, it has an intention, a flavour, a reason.”
Fans of Mosu will also be pleased to learn the legendary abalone taco, inspired by Anh’s childhood comfort food – Mexican – will stay on the menu, despite Anh never setting out to create any signature dishes. “I told a guest I was going to take it off the menu and they threatened to kill me, so I guess I’ll be keeping it on,” he jokes.
The odd signature dish and mild threats aside, Anh and his team will never stop innovating. “I am inspired by so many things: Korean skies, clouds, the Han River, trees, parks, restaurants, movies, dining… But what’s more important for me is the execution. At Mosu, we’re curious, we bring ideas, we try and fail many times, but later, we end up with something original that is created entirely by us.” Curiosity is the reason Anh ended up as a chef, and it clearly still fuels him today.
If it wasn't for a chance encounter, Anh would be a car mechanic
A quick chat with Sung Anh:
What do you eat at home?
It’s a bit embarrassing to say… but rice, egg, soy sauce and sesame oil.
Tell us a guilty food pleasure
If it’s greasy, it’s good. And it has to be eaten late at night. Probably Chinese food, but not the healthy variety.
Your favourite drink
Soju
Favourite restaurant in Seoul?
So many to choose… I love Mingles. It’s not just hype and chef Mingoo Kang inspires me. Then Born and Bred is the best Korean barbecue – they care about the product as much as the guests.
Favourite restaurant outside of Seoul?
In San Francisco, Benu. Much respect to my Chef, Corey Lee.
In Hong Kong, it’s Wing… I could go all day. There’s just great food everywhere.
Advice you would have loved to receive in your 20s
Don’t sign up to culinary school. And maybe watch out for girls!
Now watch the video with Sung Anh, chef-owner at Mosu in Seoul and winner of the Inedit Damm Chefs' Choice Award 2024:
The list of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2024, sponsored by S.Pellegrino & Acqua Panna, was announced at a live awards ceremony on Tuesday 26 March from Seoul. To stay up to date with the latest news, follow us on Instagram, Facebook, X and YouTube, and sign up to our newsletter.
