In a post on his Instagram page on Tuesday night, Kwon wrote that rather than expressing his joy, he wanted to express his apologies and gratitude.
“Even though I am not young, I think I acted and thought a little young. As a result of the broadcast, I received a lot of advice to be humble from those around me, and I also saw chefs who were greater than me – including Chef Edward, Triple Star and Cooking Maniac who were my final opponents – always being humble and not condescending.
“When these three people were left at the end of the tofu hell, I honestly thought that they were all opponents that I would have a hard time beating, so I bluffed even more to avoid being intimidated or scared.”
It appears that Kwon was referring to his seemingly overconfident remarks during the confessional segments of the final episodes.
He added: “When I saw myself through the broadcast, I saw a lot of my arrogance and shortcomings, and it became an opportunity for me to reflect.”
He then apologised to Edward Lee, revealing that most of his comments about the latter had been edited out of the show.
“In one of the interviews, I said that I was amazed by Chef Edward’s crazy tofu competition, creativity, and challenging spirit that I saw in person from above.”
Kwon added that he had wanted to give words of support and “a greeting” to face him in the finals by heading down to the challenge area at the end of the Endless Cooking Hell challenge.
“The ‘I will step on you little by little’ remark was intended to encourage them not to give up until the end and to gain strength as it was the last meal when everyone was exhausted, but contrary to the intention, it seemed to have been a very arrogant and careless remark. I would like to apologise again.”
Kwon ended his post by thanking Lee and those involved in the production of Culinary Class Wars.
Lee then responded in a comment, saying: “Chef, you deserved the win and don’t ever lose your confidence. It is a competition and we all compete to win. No apologies ever needed. Congratulations!”
The success of the show has caused the restaurants operated by Culinary Class Wars’ contestants to enjoy a meteoric rise in popularity. For instance, Trid – the restaurant owned by fan-favourite Triple Star – is reportedly fully-booked till the end of the year.