Korean Job Discussion Forums

[NYC_Gal 2.0]

[Rteacher]

It's pretty easy to find cheese without animal rennet in Korea - Tillamook cheeses are carried by Costco and the Foreign Food Market. Some gourmet British cheeses available in Shinsegae supermarkets are also clearly labeled as being suitable for vegetarians. Even Pizza Hut reportedly uses cheese (made with microbial enzymes) that's not considered animal rennet.

As far as strictly vegan restaurants/cafes, there are now at least 40 "Loving Huts" scattered throughout Korea - and many of them are very low-key about being affiliated with "Supreme Master" Ching Hai's meditation cult. Most all the ones I've been to have a good variety of palatable dishes at good prices. http://suprememastertv.com/loving-hut/?sca=ns5 Some sell various faux meats, whole grain breads and other vegetarian supplies - as does "New Start" (a Seventh Day Adventist-run vegan buffet restaurant near Gangnam)

More information on this topic can be found on this old thread ... http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=53723&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=210

[sojusucks]

[Poltergeist]

[le-paul]

sounds like 'buy the book' restaurant/bookshop in daegu.

I went there for a drum lesson and some veggie food - I ended up having to role play being a seed and using my body as a musical instrument before they would let me leave...

I make my own humus now.

[Poltergeist]

[Rteacher]

I'm currently back in the U.S. in western Mass., but there are even a couple "Loving Huts" less than an hour from where I'm staying. Everything's in English on their website ... http://lovinghut.us/worcester/
http://lovinghut.us/worcester_02/menu.html

[elizabethbennet]

I've been vegan in Busan for over a year now and I'm actually really disappointed in how many people come to Korea as vegetarians and leave as pescaterians or even all-out meat-eaters.

Honestly, I haven't found it difficult to be vegan. Home Plus and Lotte carry all kinds of different beans (black beans are particularly iron-rich, fyi). You can find oats and grains of all sorts with a little hunting. They even sell tempeh at the Indian and Southeast Asian stores you can find in Busan, Seoul and Gyeongju. Tempeh is super iron-rich. Lotte has started carrying kale and chard is available at many grocery stores.

There are Loving Huts and other vegan/vegetarian restaurants all over Korea. Indian and Mexican restaurants are spread around Busan.

Really, I think all you need to be vegan in Korea, let alone vegetarian, is some willpower and the ability to stand up for your diet and say "no, thank you" when you're offered animal foods. My school has not had a problem with my diet. I think they were disappointed at first not to share food more often, but I have a very good relationship with the Korean staff at my school where I'm the only foreigner.

I've seen so many vegetarians fall by the wayside over here whether they found it "too difficult" (I think it's only too difficult if you want to have anything you want when you want it or you fall victim easily to peer pressure), or because they want to have a "cultural experience" (to which I say, I'm sorry, but if in your heart you think it's wrong to kill animals then you're seriously selling out. Would you start molesting women, being a racist, or stealing things if the culture you entered did that? No, you wouldn't. So why are you abandoning your ethics in this arena? Sure, it's the path of least resistance, but grow some guts!)

Anyway, thanks to the fine people at The Loving Hut, the black beans of Home Plus, and a little creativity, I've been happily vegan for over a year here and just resigned for another year. And back in the States I lived in Portland, Oregon, so it's not like I'm used to roughing it.

You can do it too! Don't give up! Don't punk out! Remember that when you eat animals, someone killed that animal, someone probably tortured that animal and by eating it you're participating in the killing and torture. You don't have to! Stay strong! Korea becomes more veg-friendly every day!

[elizabethbennet]

here is a small list of some vegan junk food offerings you can find (in Busan, at any rate):

Purely Decadent (soy ice cream shop, located in Seomyeon. AMAZING. My non-vegan friends dig it too. We didn't even have a full vegan ice cream shop back in Portland)

Fruit Loops and other delightful sugary cereals
Fake Oreos (haven't 100% verified these, but regular Oreos are vegan and these taste even faker)
Pringles
pretzels (though they cost a ton, bizarrely, enough)
you can get soy everything at Starbucks and some Coffee Bean locations
chips and salsa, of course, the old standby
Peanut Chews (a candy bar type candy which can be found at Lotte)
various biscuits from Britain (Ginger Nuts being my favorite. Essentially they're just ginger snaps)
you can make your own hot chocolate easily - goes well with the Ginger Nuts
Smoothie King smoothies. mmmmmm... especially in summer!
Loving Hut sells some desserts. The chocolate madelines and streusels are quite good, the cookies are to be avoided.
Songpyeong!
There's a brand of vegan caramel corn you can buy at GS Marts.

Being vegan in Korea doesn't have to be about pain and suffering. And if you're vegetarian, I'm sorry, you should be able to handle that without going over to the Dark Side if I can be a vegan!

[NYC_Gal 2.0]

[NYC_Gal 2.0]

[Poltergeist]

Great posts, Elizabeth ... but I'm sure real Oreos in Korea and Japan aren't vegan. I checked recently, and the word 우유 was in parentheses after one ingredient. A few years ago I saw the milk Kanji on a Japanese label. They may be vegan in other countries, but not here.

I haven't seen Peanut Chews in ages ... around here they seem to have been replaced by Chewets, which look similar but have dairy in the recipe.

Regarding the "cultural experience" argument: Many Korean dishes can be veganized, and the Loving Huts provide a good chance to try Korean food if people want to. Recently I had a chance to participate in a Korean vegan cooking class. It was organized by a nonvegan company that usually teaches people to make conventional Korean dishes, but they veganized the class for us because they could see there was enough interest.

NYCGal, there's a third option besides eating junk food or just going with the flow. You could always choose to miss a meal and have whatever you want when you get home. If it's not important to you, well ... I guess Elizabeth's post wasn't addressed to you. I don't think Elizabeth is forcing junk food on anyone who doesn't want it, and I don't care if she's fat or thin. This isn't the Miss Universe pageant.

[NYC_Gal 2.0]

It's rude to go out with coworkers and not eat. I've done that and people were cold to me for a while after. I explained the situation, and we usually compromise now, but, hey, it's your work environment. Do as you see fit.

I know it's not a beauty pageant. These aren't nutritional foods, though. Eating mostly this stuff is going to cause more issues than weight.

Anyway, sorry to hijack.

[methdxman]

[Jaspina]

There are a couple vegetarian restaurants in Insadong. One is right near the subway exit (can't remember which exit number) and another is just off the main shop street. They were both really good. No idea what their 'version' of vegetarian was, but they used fake meat.