Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Lorilou]

I've only been here a month, and so far have been eating either at my school or at home. I was wondering if street vendor food is really safe to eat? Has anyone gotten sick? It seems like a walking Hepatitis A cart to me, but is obviously popular with Koreans.

[kimchi girl]

it wouldn't be korea if you didn't get food poisoning at least twice a year.

[madoka]

Back in 92 I remember a bunch of people getting sick/dying from e coli poisoning from the covered wagons. Back then, there was a lot less regulation of street vendors, so you'd see them all over the place. I remember talking to a Korean professor at the time who said that while she was aware of the risks involved, the food was so damn tasty, she couldn't help herself. I felt the same way.

Since then, I think there's been a lot more regulation. I asked a Korea why the street vendors all disappeared and he told me that it was due to licensing restrictions. Maybe they are not up to western standards of cleanliness, but for what it's worth I haven't heard of people dying from eating at the covered wagons in a while.

[ReeseDog]

A few lessons on street food I learned from my couple of years in India:

- Peel your fruit yourself. Salads are out.

- Don't accept anything to drink unless you see the bottle opened.

- Beware of ice cubes. They're almost certainly not made from bottled or boiled water.

- If you can watch it being fried or boiled (for a substantial period), it's probably safe. Six hours under a heat lamp with the flies doing their thing is a guaranteed dance with bacillary.

Korea's probably safer than India as far as street food is concerned, but some judiciously applied common sense goes a long way just the same.

I'd love to hear any input.

Bonne chance.

[Chris_Dixon]

[saram_]

[shinramyun]

[LemonHead]

I really like the street vendor food. And it's really great in this cold weather. Cheap and tasty. However i have seen a vendor drop some food on the floor and then pick up and put it back on the shelf for sale... Street vendors are like anywhere; some are going to be cleaner than others. You can go to a restaurant and for all you know the kitchen are teeming with cockroaches. I say try it!!!

[redaxe]

[movybuf]

I've eaten street food in Korea the entire time I have lived here and the two times I got sick were from eating at an Outback and a Bennigan's. Street food is cheap, tasty and fun. Enjoy it!

[hugekebab]

Generally, all you've got to do with street food is make sure it's piping hot all the way through, and preferably make sure you can see it being cooked while you order it (this is my rule. If I can't see it cooking I don't order it.) You're 99.5% safe if you do that. Never touch anything that's been standing out. NEVER!

[what the thunder said]

I love the potatoes in a bowl, most ddeokbogi, and hoddeok, but I'm wary of some of the meat. I usually don't eat the chicken or hot dogs from the stalls out of paranoia.

[dirving]

[Weigookin74]

No, upon eating it your head will grow to twice it's size and turn a shade of green. Your intestines will unravel and you will have the $h!t$ for at least two years. Roadside food is genetically modified so that only Koreans can safely eat it.

[Weigookin74]

Yeah, so, anyways, don't worry about it. Just get your Hep A and B shots and you're good to go. Jump into things Korean style. The pressed fish on a stick is good, but you can take the juice and scoop it into a cup to drink on a cold night. Also, some of the roadside, sausage-ji ain't too bad either. Sausage-ji seems to be really good after alcohol. Just don't go nuts with it. Some foriegners get fat after eating too much bad food and drinking too much beer. Have fun.