Chef Austin Kang – A Taste of Belonging

In a city where neon hums against beautiful ancient palace walls and ambition simmers behind narrow alleyways, Chef Austin Kang chose not just to cook, but rather to confess. He did not arrive quietly, but with flames. Hands that move with the precision of ritual, knives strike boards in a steady rhythm: disciplined, exacting, almost meditative. Broth clouds the air, carrying unspoken expectations. Each plate leaves the pass like a page torn from his private journal.

In a culture that demands perfection and reveres it, he continuously courts vulnerability with risk. He plates doubt beside devotion and even under the unblinking glare of a reality competition, Chef Kang lets the world see the cost of what it means to truly create. There is a silence before critique, and the internal reckoning that comes when one’s identity is reduced to a single bite. The sweat and stress beneath the spotlight, where seconds are currency and judgment is swift, it is the quiet fury of someone who refuses to dilute his truth for applause that sears through. It’s a refusal to perform safety; a refusal to soften complexity.

In Seoul’s relentless culinary arena, sacred traditions are met with innovation. He works to honor the past without being imprisoned by it. He finds a way to challenge expectations while maintaining a deep respect. Chef Kang understands that food is never just sustenance; it is memory, protest, longing, and love. And whether in the heat of the kitchen or on the screen, he does the same daring thing each time: He bares his soul.

But the question remains, what does it really mean to choose honesty and vulnerability over applause? What does pressure carve away to reveal in the end? We sat down with Chef Austin Kang to discuss growth, opening his restaurant, Mukjang, and his refusal to play it safe.

Harper’s Bazaar Vietnam (HBZVN): Innovation and tradition are often treated as a cultural standoff in Seoul’s dining scene, with chefs feeling pressured to choose one over the other. You’ve pushed back on that framing; how do you navigate the space between them?

Chef Austin Kang: For me, I think it all starts with tradition and also knowing the history and culture of the cuisine and why it came about, and after you have that down, innovation can pop naturally.

HBZVN: Your dishes often reference traditional Korean elements, but in ways that surprise even purists. What’s your approach to that balance?

Chef Austin Kang: It all starts with tradition, knowing the culture, the history of the cuisine, and once you get a deep understanding of that, innovation comes naturally. I just try to be true to my identity and who I am as a person, and that’s how that balance approach works for me. For example, growing up within a multicultural family, when we would do family gatherings, of course, we would eat Korean food, but there would be a mix of my uncle, who is Chinese, my other uncle, who is Japanese, my cousin, who is Brazilian, and my other cousin, who is German.

HBZVN: Television often compresses cooking into spectacle and competition. Having experienced Culinary Wars firsthand, what did the format teach you about how food is presented and misunderstood in the public eye?

Chef Austin Kang: For TV cooking shows, especially culinary class wars. It’s honestly all about the mission in the chef’s food identity.

HBZVN: The show also demanded speed, judgment, and performance. How did working under those constraints shape the way you think about creativity in the kitchen?

Chef Austin Kang: Most definitely for TV shows, you’re under probably the most pressure, and you only have one chance with a Kitchen that you’re not familiar with, but you have to come up with the best, most attractive food that you can come up with for the viewers.

HBZVN: Restaurants often take from their neighborhoods as much as they give. How did you want Mukjang to exist with its community rather than simply inside it?

Chef Austin Kang: For me, I wanted Mukjung to be a place where even people who meet for the first time can get along, no matter what country you’re from, what occupation you have. For me, as a foreigner myself, I understand how it feels to be alone and not fitting in, but I do know that when I went to my Korean friend’s parents’ house, and they fed me, that sense of hospitality was unmatched, and I wanted to bring that to Mukjung.

HBZVN: Was there a specific moment, or a person, early in Mukjang’s life that made you realize the restaurant could be a vehicle for something larger than food?

Chef Austin Kang: Just the people around me, but for me, I do want to just focus little by little because I’m still learning.

HBZVN: In an industry that often equates success with visibility and growth, what does success actually mean to you?

Chef Austin Kang: Honestly, especially the FNB industry. I think the most important thing is just staying stable because nowadays everything is a trend and a trend peak, and they fall very fast.

HBZVN: What’s something about your journey that still surprises you?

Chef Austin Kang: I’m always learning something new every single day because I like taking risks, and that should know no risk, no story.

HBZVN: Looking ahead, what legacy do you want to leave, not just for Mukjang, but for Korean cuisine?

Chef Austin Kang: I want to leave my story and my take on Korean food, and I know that food is growing in popularity, but at the same time, I think it’s growing too fast that people don’t really understand the depth of what they’re eating, and I want to be there to educate them. I feel like being born in America and moving out to Korea, I have something to offer, especially for people that are trying Korean food for the first time.

Producer: Gina Kim-Park @ginakpark.
Muse: Austin Kang  @austinkangg.
Production Manager: Min Lee @lee.a.min.
Creative Direction: Reinhardt Kenneth @reinhardtkenneth & Heo Jangbeom @heojangbeom.
Photographers: Heo Jangbeom @heojangbeom & Choi Cheolhun @hoon.by.
Stylist: Lee Sonya @noeyosonya.
Assistant: Oh Euntaek @oetaek.

Harper’s Bazaar Vietnam

Thông báo chính thức: Ninh Bình Web (thuộc GiuseArt) không hợp tác với bất kỳ ai để bán giao diện Wordpress và cũng không bán ở bất kỳ kênh nào ngoại trừ Facebook và zalo chính thức.

Chúng tôi chỉ support cho những khách hàng mua source code chính chủ. Tiền nào của nấy, khách hàng cân nhắc không nên ham rẻ để mua phải source code không rõ nguồn gốc và không có support về sau! Xin cám ơn!