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!