Korean Job Discussion Forums

[gypsymaria]

Hey there folks,

Any other lactose intolerant Westerners in Korea on this board? I've found it's pretty easy to avoid dairy here, what with expensive and scarce dairy products, and it's not hard to find soy milk... but I do like my cheese and ice cream once in awhile. I also eat yogurt daily, which doesn't cause me a lot of problems as long as I don't have any other dairy the same day. It's not really cost-effective to ship Lactaid pills here, and I'm not entirely sure of the legality.

So here's my main question: Can you find lactose digestive aids in pharmacies here in Korea, and does anyone know the Korean word for them?

Any answers would be super helpful. Thank you!

[Reise-ohne-Ende]

I don't know about Lactaid, but I do know that they sell some great soy-based ice cream products here! When I was vegan in the States, I ate a lot of this So Delicious: http://www.turtlemountain.com/products/organic_soy_delicious.html

Imagine my surprise when I found a selection of like four different flavors at my local Family Mart! I'm not sure how common it is, but I'm sure if you look around a bit you'll be able to find it. ^^ And let me just tell you...that stuff lives up to its name. Mmm...

As for the other stuff, there are plenty of Koreans who are lactose intolerant so I'm sure if you ask your pharmacist they'll be able to help you. Good luck!

[BURNBURNRUBBER]

i'm also not sure about the enzyme tablets, but there are at least 2 brands of lactose-free milk.
one is called 소화가 잘되는 우유. the company is maeil and the carton is white and blue.
the other is in a red and white carton, but i can't remember the name.
both say 'lactose free' in english clearly on the carton.

[Epuhnee]

i bought what i thought was lactaid here and it didn't work so i bought some from ebay...and it was cheap too even with the shipping cost.

[ATM SPIDERTAO]

dang i had the SAME PROBLEM!

i kept going to different pharmacies for lactose enzyme pills and they only gave me freakin, anti diarrhea pills. which basically made it so i couldn't fart and poop until like 8 hours after... but all the buildup was in there. and it made the pain soooooo much worse

they were super cheap. like a hundred for 5 thousand won. and i only used it twice. they don't have the concept of lactose pills i guess...

anyway, i went back during Christmas last year and spent $50 on lactose pills and they've lasted me the whole year... maybe more like that $30 haha nevermind. but i bought 3 separate pill bottles. actually, i had to really save on them. so this year, i'll bring back 4

[gypsymaria]

Thanks for the tips! I'll keep an eye out for Maeill and Soy Delicious (I'm sure Lotte Mart grocery has them), and when I finally find a pharmacy around here I'll ask about the lactose pills.

[jdog2050]

Dunno if people are still looking into this, but the lovely iHerb has straight up lactase pills that are pretty cheap.