Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Yu_Bum_suk]

So how many have given up on vegetarianism, and who is still at it? How long did it take you to give up?

[vixen nomad]

I'm still at it, and have been here for over a year. I do find it very hard though, and have to do most of my own cooking.

[Hyeon Een]

I spent a month as a pescaterian. That would be a person who eats fish and seafood but not land-meat. It failed due to bacon. If you're American, or Canadian that would be strange (Canadian bacon cheerleaders.. are you there.. yes?.. **** off). Bacon sandwiches destroyed me. I think that if I had grown up in a land without British(/Irish) bacon I could have been a happy pescetarian.

But I failed. Due to deliciousness. Deliciousness is a temptress of us all. Mmmm... british bacon surrounded by good bread.. yum.. yum.. yum..

If you don't know what proper (British/Irish) bacon is, then being a vegetarian is piss-easy. If you're a yank or a cank who failed being a vege in Korea you suck.

-HE

PS "cank" is the cool new short form for "a canadian person"

[Kimchieluver]

failure

[joe_doufu]

I did it for about 6 months last year. I'll do it again in the future but it's too frustrating here in Korea. The fruit is low quality, and in my hot apartment it goes bad almost immediately. I don't recognize most of the vegetables in the grocery store and I don't like the ones I do know. And there aren't any convenient healthy restaurants or salad bars. Also partly b/c I like to enjoy the local food wherever I live, and in Korea that means meat.

[schwa]

I was lacto-ovo leaning toward vegan when I left Canada but it just seemed impracticable to me here. I like eating out & I'm kitchen-lazy.

Kimchi became my new benchmark. Since it includes seafood, I broadened my diet to include critters of the sea occasionally.

I'm sure I've unwittingly consumed the odd item prepared with meat stock, & I dont freak out if I bite into an unexpected morsel of flesh (just discreetly spit it out & move on). But those are infrequent occurrences.

I never proselytize & I genuinely dont care what others around me consume -- its about my personal comfort level. Koreans seem okay with that but oddly a fair few westerners seem uncomfortable when I decline the barbecue.

[paperbag princess]

where's the option for being in korea has made me more addement (sp) about being a veggie.

12 years baby!

[red dog]

The word compromise is pretty harsh -- I would never "compromise" in the sense of intentionally eating a piece of cheese, cake likely to contain eggs, or a dish normally made with fish broth or jeotgal (unless it's in a special restaurant where they have vegan kimchi, vegan doenjang jjige, etc.).

However, I do eat out a lot more than I used to and I eat processed food sometimes, which makes it hard to say I'm a 100-percent pure vegan -- near-vegan is more like it, because I know I've made mistakes or wrongly taken someone's word for it when they told me my food was free of all the animal products I was sure I'd just clearly specified. But I do quiz restaurant staff relentlessly, send things back when necessary, and try as much as possible to stick with restaurants that understand my requirements. So I feel I'm doing my best to stay "as vegan as possible" ...

But then again, now that I think of it I've been careless at times wrt honey, but I'm trying to be more careful now. Thanks for asking the question ... I should really start eating unprocessed food and eliminate these risks entirely (along with a lot of health risks).

Recently when this topic came up on another board, someone wrote: "Never give up giving up." Pretty good advice for everyone, I guess. So I'm not voting in your poll, because I'm not willing to admit defeat.

[Hanson]

Where's the "I wasn't a vegetarian before and I'll never be" option?

[Homer]

[Rteacher]

"Where's that [meat-eater forever] option?" H E L L !

[pet lover]

Where is the option for: I ate more than my fair share of animals before coming to Korea and while in Korea, and then went vegan while in Korea and haven't looked back since. ??

[Qinella]

I was a vegetarian for a little over a year before I left for Korea, but I agree with Joe Doufu - it's too much of a hassle and near impossibility in Korea. As he said, the fruit is overpriced, scant, poor quality, and I'll add that it tastes horrible. Cherries, grapes, bananas, raspberries.. they all taste like cardboard to me over here. I only recognize a small portion of the produce. There's essentially no pasta, no beans, no reliable bakery goods .... what the hell would I eat? I have no idea.

Back home I ate beans at almost every meal, often making burritos or tacos with them, lots of pasta, muffin, croissants, bagels, fresh vegetables and fruit... all of these are nearly impossible in Korea and have become more of a specialty than a daily subsistence. I live in a tiny little town that doesn't have the product selection of Seoul.

[pet lover]

Qinella, if you can't find it where you live, order online. I don't live that far from Seoul, but I certainly don't go there very often. Twice in eight months, actually. And you certainly don't want to be hauling everything back on your back....you'd have to go to Seoul many times just to keep up with your stomach! Order online. They deliver. No hassles. I went from a meat eater to a vegan since moving where I am now. Sure, it's hard. I have to do all my own cooking all the time. But, it's worth it. I'm certainly eating better--no more processed foods, only whole foods.

[KiteOperations]