Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Fishead soup]

Since being in Korea I've met a least half a dozen people who claim to have allergies to fish. I think they just dislike fish and claim to have an allergies because Koreans sometimes force people to eat food they dislike.

[Faunaki]

Why didn't I think of that before? I always complain that the fish is dangerous but that just makes my co-workers laugh and laugh.

[Fishead soup]

[Faunaki]

[Rock]

Having an allergy to fish is a true allergic reaction, if that's what you're getting at here. How serious it is though, I don't know. It's like some people that are allergic to milk and dairy products. I'm sure it's real.

But the fish in Korea? They're horrible little monsters full of teeth and tentacles and small bones you have to spot with a magnifying glass. I dismissed most fish meals there for this reason. My safest was the local store-bought salmon.

It's actually kind of dangerous and makes you uneasy whenever you have to dine out in Korea and eat fish.

I actually was offered raw fish that was full of bones.

[CentralCali]

Dangerous as in I'm going to have a severe enough reaction that will require immediate medical treatment. Thank you, no. I would rather forego eating the stuff than trusting that the ambulance's legally-provided right-of-way will be honored by Korean drivers.

And while I was typing this post, the substitute teacher at the desk across from mine (she's Korean as this is a public school) mentioned that she has an allergy to seafood. It's not just us foreigners who don't want to die from the cuisine.

[Juregen]

2 things I don't like in Korea about fish:

1. They don't gut the fish, so all the shitty part is still in there
2. You can't properly remove the bones

[Ya-ta Boy]

[kalkamagi]

i seriously thought i was the only person that did this.

although i say "i'm allergic to ALL seafood".

it saves a lot of grief and discussion.

[eamo]

I used to have a Canadian co-worker who claimed to be allergic to most components of Korean food. Rice, fish, gojujang etc. The funny thing was, she was about 5' 1'' and 200lbs. She certainly wasn't allergic to pizza and Big Macs!!!

[thiophene]

Some seafood that isn't properly stored can cause allergy-like reactions, they're not true allergies, just an influx of histamines found on the fish after cooking...it's one of the major wrongly diagnosed allergies out there...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scombrotoxin

[Ilsanman]

With that oil spill off the Weest Coast, I would rather avoid seafood. Unless it came from the other coasts. In that case, it's probably not very fresh.

[nobbyken]

Shellfish have been called the hoovers of the ocean.
Many things bioaccumulate inside shellfish.
I keep to the minimum I can, unless I get some clams in Scotland and grilled/fried make my day.

I hate eating them stupid wee smelly fish here, you spend 2 mins picking out some flesh to eat and eat it in 10 seconds.

[Ginormousaurus]

[ernie]

grow some balls (or ovaries) and say you don't want any!!! works every time for me...