Kwan’s home, Baekyangsa Temple, sits amid unruly gardens on a mountainous sliver of Naejangsan National Park. There, ornately decorated buildings are encircled by porous clay vessels of varying sizes, each filled with aging, pickling, or fermenting foodstuffs. Although the serene setting might align with your expectations of a Buddhist monastery, step inside the temple, and you’ll find Kwan’s kitchen bustling with activity. The spacious room is laden with technologically advanced equipment; often acquired at the encouragement of professional colleagues for academic exploration, even if Kwan still prefers simpler utensils and historic methods. In fact, for dishes prepared without heat, she encourages guests to avoid tools altogether. “You should not stir with utensils but with your hands,” she explains to me, through a translator. “And with your fingertips, all your energy comes from your fingertips.”
It’s this philosophical approach that has drawn a steady flow of dedicated students to Kwan’s temple, including a number of critically acclaimed chefs, such as Aitor Zabala, the two-Michelin-star visionary behind Somni in LA (which is expected to reopen in the first quarter of 2024). In early September, Zabala presented a 17-course tasting menu at the one-Michelin-star Myomi restaurant in Seoul, to coincide with the Frieze Seoul art fair. Afterward, he ventured to Kwan with chefs Ismael Parra and Shane O’Brien. Most visitors are invited for a meal, but Zabala, his Somni team, and Vogue were invited to stay: sleeping on mats in housing at the base of the temple, and observing the meditative 4 a.m. prayers.