Korean Job Discussion Forums

[tardisrider]

http://kn.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2001/02/24/200102240025.asp

This link has a few good vegetarian restaurants listed on it.

Look at this one as well:http://www.bootsnall.com/cgi-bin/gt/asiatravelguides/seoul/eatveg.shtml

Good luck.

[Harpeau]

Why do they call it vegetable kimbap when there is ham inside it?

You can find brown rice at Costco (Sangbon Station exit #2 300 meters east, line 7).

Also, cold noodles sometimes has beef in it, so be careful.

The best thing might be to wander around until you see a Buddhist monk and then ask them (or follow them) into a restaurant. They're mostly vegetarian.
I hope that you have a safe flight over.

Regards,
Harpeau

[kylehawkins2000]

The veggie Kimbap I've had hasn't had ham in it. It has had that mock crab meat though.

If you go to a restaurant that makes it to order you can get whatever you want in it.

[krell]

[Slinky]

R.e Kyle's great posts!

1. Kimchi Mandu (Chinese style dumplings with Kimchi in the filling)

2. Kimchi Bokembap (Fried rice with Kimchi)

Most kimchi isn't veggie although Koreans will often tell you it is. Even if there's no meat in there is nearly always fish or seafood in there. Check out the many kimchi sites online and the traditional ingredients are listed. The only way you can ensure it's veggie is if you make it yourself!

[kylehawkins2000]

Hey Slinky,

Very true! Like I said, it's not easy to be a vegetarian in Korea. Even the dishes that appear to be vegetarian often aren't. Until you learn how to speak the language to a degree that will allow you to ask about the specific ingredients, or clearly specify what you want you will either be forced to cook your own meals or make sacrifices in terms of what you are and are not willing to eat.

To be a Lacto-Ovo vegetarian in Korea is difficult, to be a vegan nearly impossible. (assuming you want to eat out).

The best strategy I've had is to order the Baek Ban and just eat the veggie dishes and rice.

[Slinky]

I was amazed to find frozen soya sausages in E-Mart - I can't remember the make but they were in the freezer dept in a green and white bag with small stringed "sausages" inside. Wow! A Korean friend confirmed they were suitable for vegetarians.

Nearby in the chiller cabinet I found strips of tofu but it's probably best to go shopping with a Korean as some of the packets state they contain fish or seafood. The same with the bibimbap and kimbap stored in the chiller cabinets - sometimes they're OK but it's best to check.

I also found awful tinned vege-burger mix labelled in English in E-Mart. Looks like dog food and tastes pretty bad! But an extra little something for vegetarians to choose from when shopping and to stir fry. E-Mart also has packet soup mixes, Australian veggie jam and all sorts! Top shop!

Magnet / Lotte Mart tended to have less variety for avid veggies but they still have tofu strips, eggs (if you eat them), rice, pasta and even veggie pasta sauce. They're good for importing food too and seem to get new ranges each week. Very handy.

All the supermarkets tend to have a fab range of fruits, vegetables and salads and you can occasionally find some vegetarian gems. In Magnet I found some biscuits imported from England which were actually labelled vegetarian - something my Korean friends found amusing. Imported stuff can be expensive of course, but in this case they were cheaper than Korean biccies!

In restaurants I've been given "chaeshik" (vege) pizza ... but each time they were topped with ham, pepperoni or fish!! This also tends to happen in supermarkets too. Learn the words for no ham, chicken, pepperoni, fish, seafood, in fact any words you can think of that make you a vegetarian.

One of the best pieces of advice I can give is to scour the net, take a small supply of veggie packet foods with you for an emergency stash and save some pennies each month to get food sent to you if you're having real problems and don't want to give in to fish and meat "just because". It is so simple if you cook for yourself and you can get by by eating out sometimes too. Don't believe those that say "You can't be veggie in Korea" because YOU CAN. I did and I will again.

There are loads of places on the internet where you can order loads of veggie foodstuffs and the posting cost is pretty reasonable. I used veganstore.co.uk - an absolute life saver when the taste buds got sick of those soy sausages.

Good luck!

[Slinky]

I agree, Kyle! I would love to be vegan but probably wouldn't have survived in Korea. I'm sure there must be vegans out there somewhere who are nearly starving themselves! Poor blighters!

[Cedar]

It is EXTREMELY easy to be a vegetarian in Korea. All you need is to learn some key Korean phrases, and not just one but two or three because being vegetarian is so weird to Koreans you usually need to say it twice for them to understand. Also know that ham is not considered a meat in Korea. So keep you eyes out. Do you eat fish? There are fish and other seafood sauces that sneak into a lot of food. I guess I should say "It's extremely easy to be a vegetarian in Korea if you eat seafood." That would be more accurate.

The cold noodles are almost always with beef broth. Dwenjangchigae however was listed as being made with broth- it is not made with broth. However, it often has some clams, or meat in it. You just have to ask for them to make it without. it is the most reliably vegetarian food you can find.

I have had a seafood eating but non-dairy eating life very happily in Korea since 1996. It was tough the first few weeks. But, you learn some of the useful phrases and you have no problem. I do not get little pieces of meat in my food, i make it clear not to include them. If i (hasn't happened for a couple of years) do get food with meat in it, i send it back. they won't charge you for that.

Stay away from big clean restaurants with holes or silver platters in the center of the table. Don't go in any place with pictures of cows or dancing pigs on the sign board. Be aware that a meat restaurant may not have veggie dishes. Stick to the cheaper, smaller, less attractive looking places which are much more likely to have veggie food on the menu.

[kylehawkins2000]

"Extremely" easy? I wouldn't agree with that at all.

I have travelled quite extensively in North America, Europe, and Asia and I've found Korea to hands down be the most difficult country in which to be a vegetarian. I realize that 'ease' is very relative but it's going a little far to call it extremely easy.

Reading what others have posted on this topic I would have to say that most people agree that it is not very easy to be a vegetarian in Korea relative to other countries.

[Micahoz]

I found an awesome link of vegetarian restuarnats for those interested:

http://sapphorok.org/veggie.htm

[skinsk05]

http://www.vegetariankorea.org
has a listing of over 100 restaurants. Feel free to link. Comments, additions welcome!