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bloodnthunder
Joined: 22 Jun 2009
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 Posted: Mon Jun 22, 2009 7:25 pm Post subject: A question about food in Korea... |
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Hey guys
A quick question about the food in Korea as I am thinking about coming over. I have a peanut allergy and am not sure if that will be an issue. I know several Asian countries' food is cooked with peanuts and/or peanut oil. Anyone able to shed a little light on this for me or possibly deal with the same situation? THANKS! |
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DWAEJIMORIGUKBAP
Joined: 28 May 2009
Location: Electron cloud
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| Posted: Tue Jun 23, 2009 12:46 am Post subject: |
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| Sometimes you get a dish of peanuts in soy sauce as a side dish but apart from that I've never in 6 years known of any Korean food that uses peanuts. |
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billietea
Joined: 03 May 2009
Location: South Korea
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| Posted: Tue Jun 23, 2009 12:53 am Post subject: |
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| Yul Mu Cha (their traditional tea) is made with peanuts |
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exit86
Joined: 17 May 2006
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| Posted: Tue Jun 23, 2009 3:04 am Post subject: |
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Actually, peanut oil is used in sme dishes prepared in restaurants.
You'll need to be very careful.. I had a student come to Korea in the same boat; people told her not to worry (advising her from their understanding of Korean home-cooking as opposed to restaurant cooking) and she had several allergic reactions after having eaten
out a few times.
Be careful. |
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bloodnthunder
Joined: 22 Jun 2009
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| Posted: Tue Jun 23, 2009 6:28 am Post subject: |
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| Thanks guys I appreciate your help. I'm usually pretty careful about that stuff, so maybe I'll just avoid fried food or something. I really don't want this to hold me back from going... but also dont wanna die just yet haha. |
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moosehead
Joined: 05 May 2007
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| Posted: Tue Jun 23, 2009 6:58 am Post subject: |
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I'm sorry to have to say this but I really think you should think twice about coming here.
the number one reason is if you do come in contact w/something that would cause a reaction, your chance of receiving the proper medical response immediately would be next to nil. there really just isn't the kind of EMT personnel here; not only that, but your coworkers would probably have no appreciation at all for your condition.
it's not just here but there would be a lot of places that would be similar. you are a unique individual and have survived the way you have due to living in a modern and progressive environment; you need to acknowledge and understand this just isn't the case everywhere else. maybe you think it's unfair but some might think it's unfair that you've survived when so many others perish for much simpler causes; you are very lucky and fortunate, don't push it too far.
learning to live and understand our own boundaries is part of being an adult. I wish you all the best and hope you can find adventure in living life to the fullest w/o testing your own limits in such a dangerous manner, and make no mistake about it, it would be extremely dangerous for you to do so if you have the kind of sensitivity that many peanut allergy sufferers have. |
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bloodnthunder
Joined: 22 Jun 2009
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| Posted: Tue Jun 23, 2009 9:28 am Post subject: |
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| thats a good point and thats what i was concerned about. maybe japan would be a better destination to teach english for me then. |
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CentralCali
Joined: 17 May 2007
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| Posted: Tue Jun 23, 2009 10:28 am Post subject: |
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| moosehead wrote: |
| there really just isn't the kind of EMT personnel here; not only that, but your coworkers would probably have no appreciation at all for your condition. |
And let's not forget that drivers here have no appreciation for the right-of-way for emergency vehicles. It's a routine thing for ambulances with lights flashing and sirens wailing to sit in traffic simply because nobody moves out of the way. |
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Cheonmunka
Joined: 04 Jun 2004
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| Posted: Tue Jun 23, 2009 10:58 am Post subject: |
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| Mises's comments show that if you were to come into problems it could be hard for you. There is in food a lot of oil. What kind of oil is sometimes hard to figure. Food does use a lot of nuts. I often complain about it - I hate nut tastes in food. Is allergy only to Peanuts? |
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peppermint
Joined: 13 May 2003
Location: traversing the minefields of caddishness.
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| Posted: Tue Jun 23, 2009 11:03 am Post subject: |
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| There's extremely little awareness of peanut allergies in Korea. I took a group of kids to Baskin Robins as a reward for great behavior, and before I did, I asked the homeroom teachers if the kids had any allergies- peanuts especially. It took a while for them to understand what I was asking and then they thought I was crazy for considering it. |
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bloodnthunder
Joined: 22 Jun 2009
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| Posted: Tue Jun 23, 2009 12:04 pm Post subject: |
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does anyone know anybody in currently in Korea that has a peanut allergy? And is doing well there? The allergy affects me only if i consume it. I know some people are affected by the smell as well.
My allergy is peanuts and maybe other tree nuts. Not really sure to tell you the truth I havent been tested since I was young. And when I was tested it also said I was allergic to strawberries....which wasnt accurate at all. |
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Ruthdes
Joined: 16 Oct 2008
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Tue Jun 23, 2009 1:24 pm Post subject: |
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| CentralCali wrote: |
| moosehead wrote: |
| there really just isn't the kind of EMT personnel here; not only that, but your coworkers would probably have no appreciation at all for your condition. |
And let's not forget that drivers here have no appreciation for the right-of-way for emergency vehicles. It's a routine thing for ambulances with lights flashing and sirens wailing to sit in traffic simply because nobody moves out of the way. |
Heh, yeah, but towtrucks will put on their siren at the drop of a hat and cross a big intersection disregarding traffic and pedestrians. Go figure.
| peppermint wrote: |
| There's extremely little awareness of peanut allergies in Korea. I took a group of kids to Baskin Robins as a reward for great behavior, and before I did, I asked the homeroom teachers if the kids had any allergies- peanuts especially. It took a while for them to understand what I was asking and then they thought I was crazy for considering it. |
Even if you knew the exact phrase in Korean for explaining allergy and asking about nut use, I suspect you would get a similar experience to vegetarians asking about meat. A lack of comprehension of the problem (I guess that severe food allergies are more of a western problem?), and inadequate response "there's no nuts" changes to "only a little!" when you're on the floor with anaphylaxis. I've had vegie friends who specifically tell the restaurant in Korean that they want no meat, only to be pulling chunks out of their supposedly vegetarian dish. I'd like to think that they'd care a little more for a life threatening situation, but I think that'd be risky.
Having said that, do you carry an adrenaline epipen around with you? I guess you still need medical care if you come into contact with nuts, but that could buy you the time you need. I don't have a severe allergy, so I can't empathise, but I also feel that you should do what you want to do in your life and maybe that's take some risks in this area. You've lived with it already, you know how to be careful in your home country. It would be risky, but so is staying at home with the blankets over your head just in case, just for different reasons! Good luck  |
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NightSky
Joined: 19 Apr 2005
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| Posted: Tue Jun 23, 2009 6:54 pm Post subject: |
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yup, not a good idea to come here if you have life-threatening allergies.
Koreans use peanuts but also pine nuts and gingko nuts quite a bit, even if there weren't any obvious nuts sitting on top of something there might be pine nut powder mixed in with an innocent looking piece of rice cake.
as others have said Koreans in general have difficulty with the concept of allergies and also operate by the "no there isn't any, well there might have been a little" policy after the fact.
my brother has an onion allergy and I would be worried if he were just to visit here, never mind coming to work.
it's not worth it IMO. unless you have mild allergies, an epipen, or whatever treatment you need instantly on hand, and a printed card that clearly explains in Korean what you MUST not have under any circumstances. even then I'd be concerned for you. |
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ernie
Joined: 05 Aug 2006
Location: asdfghjk
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| Posted: Tue Jun 23, 2009 8:45 pm Post subject: |
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| a friend of mine has a severe peanut allergy and she's lived here for a few years now. she always carries around her needle pen thingy and makes a point to inform good friends what to do in case something happens. of course be careful, but by all means, don't miss out on the opportunity to come here if that's what you want to do! |
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peppermint
Joined: 13 May 2003
Location: traversing the minefields of caddishness.
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| Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2009 2:40 am Post subject: |
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| Ruthdes wrote: |
| CentralCali wrote: |
| moosehead wrote: |
| there really just isn't the kind of EMT personnel here; not only that, but your coworkers would probably have no appreciation at all for your condition. |
And let's not forget that drivers here have no appreciation for the right-of-way for emergency vehicles. It's a routine thing for ambulances with lights flashing and sirens wailing to sit in traffic simply because nobody moves out of the way. |
Heh, yeah, but towtrucks will put on their siren at the drop of a hat and cross a big intersection disregarding traffic and pedestrians. Go figure.
| peppermint wrote: |
| There's extremely little awareness of peanut allergies in Korea. I took a group of kids to Baskin Robins as a reward for great behavior, and before I did, I asked the homeroom teachers if the kids had any allergies- peanuts especially. It took a while for them to understand what I was asking and then they thought I was crazy for considering it. |
Even if you knew the exact phrase in Korean for explaining allergy and asking about nut use, I suspect you would get a similar experience to vegetarians asking about meat. A lack of comprehension of the problem (I guess that severe food allergies are more of a western problem?), and inadequate response "there's no nuts" changes to "only a little!" when you're on the floor with anaphylaxis.
H |
I actually am vegetarian, and this was a whole order of magnitude different. they know vegetarians exist, even if they don't quite grasp what we're avoiding. I had a Korean friend who'd lived in the west for 10 years helping me to explain what I was asking, and they still thought I was making it up. They seemed to think of food allergies the way we think of fan death.
OP, I wish you all the luck in the world, but I hope you're prepared to cook all of your meals yourself, and avoid restaurants like the plague. |
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