Korean Job Discussion Forums

[kimc0486]

Hey all,

I am about to take off for Korea and am a bit worried about the food situation. I am a vegetarian (well, I eat fish, but not all sea things so it is easier to say veggie), how big of an issue will this be? I am primarily concerned about the school lunches at the public school. Should I tell the head, or my co-teacher or someone right away, or at each lunch just say no meat?

What about eating out and eating in general?

Thanks in advance!

[Setaro]

School meals are like you'd expect, there's a big tub of rice, a tray of X, a tray of Y, smaller trays of Z etc. If the X has meat in it, then you're sort of screwed for something to eat with your rice, besides the side dishes of something like bean sprouts and kimchi.

However, I'm sure the school will be willing to prepare you a little jar of sauce to mix in with your rice, that what they do for a teacher at my school who doesn't eat meat.

[schwa]

I'm in the same boat exactly. Last year I found enough choices on offer 3 or 4 times a week to make for a satisfying lunch. In my school they posted the week's menu on mondays & I could plan which days to pack a lunch around that.

By all means let your colleagues know your predisposition, & try to get friendly with the dietician & cook staff who can clue you in to specific dishes' ingredients. Sometimes they can make special accommodations.

[Stalin84]

You're not a vegetarian. You're a pescatarian. A vegetarian doesn't eat fish.

Sorry I'm being passive-aggressive, I've just met way too many blonde bimbos that say: "I'm a vegetarian but I like to eat chicken/big macs/small children every once in awhile."

Anyway, it should be no problem if you eat fish. It was a problem for me because I don't eat fish or meat but if you happen to eat one or the other it shouldn't be a problem. There will be days where you'll be able to eat the whole menu.

[sadguy]

the soups that appear to be vegetarian use dried fish to flavor the broth.

if i was a vegetarian, i would prepare some of my own side dishes and bring them to school and eat it with the rice and soup and kimchi.

[Skippy]

You also need to factor in the cultural and social aspects too. My friend who kept getting sick stopped eating the lunch meals and she was ostracized a little for it.

So if you do not eat you might be questioned and prodded on why not. They will make judgments on what you say. They might find you snobby or such or you consider Korean culture bad. Still in the end you might not eat everything or just want to skip the lunch, my advice is still eat with the teachers if you can and try a little of the food.

Also be careful on you say why as many times they will not understand or believe you. I think a few people who are actually allergic to fish, which in a very seafood orientated country is amazing to some people, have had some troubles as they ask and they get told NO - No fish and laterfound out yes there is, the Korean teacher just did not believe them or understand seafood means everything from fish to squid.

Still Good Luck.

[sadguy]

[War Eagle]

Ok, first, I will admit I am not an expert on this topic, but this seems like it could cause a couple of problems which may, or more likey may not, go over well.

1. A LOT of Korean food has meat in it. It may not look like it does, but it is in fact cooked with broth made of some sort of meat. If you ask, "Does this have meat in it?", they will tell you no, because broth is not considered meat. Now you think, well I will just ask if it is "cooked" with meat-containing-products. I don't even know where to start to tell you the problems you'll have with that question and getting the appropriate answer.

2. Not eating the school lunches with everyone else is considered rude, as someone mentioned above. They will ask you why, and once you explain it, this will still not be an acceptable reason. They will be polite and leave you alone, maybe. But the major, #1, all-time, grammy winning social event of Korea is eating together as a group and sharing the same food. You may forever be labeled......not the best first impression.

Now, I am sure hundereds of vegetarians have survived Korean Public school lunches and I am sure the stories vary greatly. I am just telling you to beware of the potential problems that could arise.

IMHO, if you eat fish, then the don't ask, don't tell policy has your name written all over it.

[jrwhite82]

We have a number of non-meat eating Korean teachers at my school. They just eat around the meat. Some days there is something that I don't like. So I bring a sandwich. But I always eat it, WITH the other teachers. I don't eat in my office alone. If you at least make the effort to sit with them them, even though you are eating a different food, they will not be upset. There really shouldn't be much of a problem, as long as you eat with them. In my experience anyway.....

OP - If it turns out that you are never eating the school lunch, tell your CT to stop having them deduct it from your pay check. No sense in throwing money in the trash. Try it out for a month and see if your CT can give you a menu like the above poster said.

[lille]

Broth is invariably animal based. Avoid all soups and stews, pretty much across the board.

Many red side dishes have some manner of ground up marine life in it. As a pescetarian (no, you're not a vegetarian) you'll have a little leeway with kimchi, etc, depending on which swimmers you're picky about eating.

When ordering kimbap, be sure to ask for the ham to be left out. Hilariously, the spam that goes into kimbap isn't thought of as "meat".

Despite taking these precautions, it's basically an inevitability that some unwanted animal product will make it into your meals every so often. As a formerly vegan-turned resigned vegetarian, I can tell you it's a real bummer but it's unavoidable sometimes.

This happens for two reasons:

1. Culturally, Koreans try to avoid giving you the answer they think you don't want to hear. Makes 'em extremely uncomfortable to bear bad news. If you say you're veg or even allergic, cooks will sometimes tell you the food's fine for you just because they'd be happiest if you ate it.

2. They don't like to alter the recipe, or they can't imagine how it would taste if they left x, y or z out of it. Restaurants aren't into that kind of customization here. Also, most of the staff is probably older than you, which means they think they know what's best for you. "No meat" for you might mean "Just use a little and hide it under the sauce" to them. Example: it once took me thirty minutes to convince a pizza place to do a cheeseless pizza for me. Once they finally agreed, the pizza came back with the tiniest sprinkle of cheese on it. The looks of discomfort on their faces at my request were amazing.

They might think you're just being picky or that it won't matter, really, in the long run. Be as politely persistent and be as specific as you can when you're asking about ingredients.

[West Coast Tatterdemalion]

Yeah, I get a chuckle when people say they are vegetarian, but then in the same breath say that they eat fish. Sorry, but you aren't a vegetarian if you do. At that rate, you might as well be eating pork, beef, etc. I constantly have to tell Koreans that vegetarians do NOT eat fish. I have to repeat this ad nauseum. Being a vegetarian in Korea is not very difficult. Plenty of cooking options that you can do at home. I am aspiring to be vegan, and am mentally preparing myself for that right now. That is my next goal.

[interestedinhanguk]

You say you don't eat all sea life. Be aware that most kimchi contains seafood products of some sort.

[West Coast Tatterdemalion]

I don't eat kimchi.

[Illysook]

I gave up on being a vegetarian here, however I still eat less meat than many or most people and I feel alright about it. In the book Diet for a Small Planet this is the approach that Francis Moore Lappe recommended and it's very practical here in Korea.

You don't have to eat anything that you don't want to on your own time, but school lunch is the only time that many of the Korean teachers will get a chance to observe you and eating is such a social experience here that when I go somewhere alone for coffee and a pastry, they still give me two forks as if I have some invisible person to share with. For this reason, I have tried many things. Some of them, I have even enjoyed.

[50ptoes]

no Koreans will believe you're a vegetarian. It's not something that really exists here. I know, because I'm a vegan. I told my boss I didn't eat meat and I still got a huge gift set of spam for christmas. Anytime we went out to eat he would order a huge set of ribs or steaks, then be surprised/confused when I didn't eat it.

So beware. Even if you inform them, if something looks fishy..hehheh...then it probably is.

I didn't work in public school system, so I don't know. I hate Korean food anyways.