Korean Job Discussion Forums

[eventually]

how difficult is it to find or cook foods that are not meat-based? do they have any sort of vegetarian or vegan selection? i'm about to go over, and i don't eat meat at all (not even fish) and i tend to try to stick to organic and natural products.

[Modernist]

It's not easy at all. I'm not either V or hard-V myself but I know people who are trying to do it over here and it's not a simple thing. Especially avoiding seafood. You CAN manage it but the ease really depends on where you are located. In the biggest cities is one thing, out in rural areas it might be close to impossible. And you'll probably need to learn Korean for 'does this have meat?' since restaurants aren't usually used to answering that question.

As to 'organic' stuff that's also challenging. I don't think there's a uniform labeling thing like USA Organic or whatever for packaged foods, and as far as produce goes if you're smart you're buying it from the wholesale guys with the trucks and boxes--there's basically zero English from them and I'm not sure they'd even know if their stuff is organic if you asked them in Korean. You may have to live with uncertainty in your strawberries and tangerines.

[UknowsI]

If you want to avoid eating even small amount of meat or seafood, it's basically impossible unless you cook everything yourself. If you only want to avoid actual pieces of meat, it wont be too hard. You have to remember that even products such as "Salt Flavoured Potato Chips" include shrimp extract and most mixed sauces will include some kind of animal product.

[soomin]

I was a vegan for a year in Korea~ it is... quite difficult unless you're willing to just prepare everything at home and forego restaurants.

Kimbap (no egg, ham, or crab) and Bibimbap (no egg) was what I ate when I was too lazy to fix a meal...

There is also a chain of restaurants (all over the world, actually) called "Loving Hut" that is vegan ^.^ The food is expensive and not that great, imho... but, again, it's vegan. (go here for locations and such in english ^.^ http://www.lovinghut.kr/kr/bbs/board.php?bo_table=restaurants_kr_en&wr_id=&sca=Daegu&county=&lang=_en)

If you're a vegan (no meat broths, no eggs, no dairy), then be prepared for a hard row to hoe... Trust no soups, and don't really trust restaurant ajummas... they'll put meat in there even when you tell them not to, "because it's healthy" and they'll "feel bad if they don't"... they'll also tell you "it won't be delicious" if you request no eggs or such... persist and even lie if you have to... say you have a meat allergy.

You can also go to Buddhist temples... they have vegan foods there~ one of my vegan friends went there all the time for the food! lolol

Also, the word for vegetarian is chae-shik-chu-ui-cha" 채식주의자"~ and if you want them to take out a certain ingredient... just list its name and "bbae-go" (빼고), which means "except"~ so... for a vegan kimbap~~

김밥 한줄 주서요... 그런데, 해므와, 치즈과 맛살 빼고 (주세요). Kimbap han jool ju-sey-yo... geureonde, hamoo wah chee-ju kwa mat-sal bbae-go (ju-se-yo)) (One kimbap (roll) please, but, without ham, cheese and fake crab meat, (please)).

You can always point to the ingredients for kimbap (since they make it in front of you) and make an x-shape with your arms if all else fails (which sometimes, it will, LOL) ^.^;;

Also, don't just say "no meat," because here, many meats (especially fish and shellfish) are not considered meat and will end up on your plate.

Good luck!!!! You can do it, and it's not impossible... but it will be a strain, especially when dining with friends...

[soomin]

[CentralCali]

Search Dave's for vegetarian. Don't try to use more than one word for the search parameters. You'll get a lot of hits. The upshot is that Korea, although it has a long Buddhist heritage, is almost completely clueless about vegetarian and vegan cuisine.

You can manage to avoid the meat and fish ingredients by being very careful about what you order and insistent on what ingredients should not be included in the meal. Even "vegetarian" meals in Korea have meat--it's what the airlines call Asian vegetarian. And, in Korea, ham isn't considered meat, fish isn't considered meat, shell-fish aren't considered seafood. At least they're not so considered by the restaurant cooks and chefs.

I've been living in Korea since 2005, am vegetarian, and manage to stick ot that diet for both health and ethical reasons. Which brings another issue up: if you have food allergies, definitely insist that the meals you order in a restaurant be prepared so they do not include the food to which you are allergic. Korean cooks, in my experience, will simply blow off requests for a change in a traditional recipe because "that's just not the right way to prepare this dish." If you insist, and are vigilant, you can avoid any trouble--for the most part.

[IncognitoHFX2]

It's getting a lot easier if you live in Seoul these days. Many Korean restaurants have at least something vegetarians can eat and there are more than a hundred vegan/vegetarian only restaurants in Seoul and many in surrounding areas. Even small markets carry plenty of vegetarian suitable stuff though you have to read Korean and be a bit careful.

If you fancy shopping online, it's ridiculously easy to order vegetarian products straight to your door as well.

That being said, it is a meat/fish culture but there the veg market is bigger than it has ever been before. You have to do a little bit of research but it is definitely possible.

I recommend joining Seoul Veggie Club on Facebook after you arrive. People there will help you out!

[IncognitoHFX2]

It's getting a lot easier if you live in Seoul these days. Many Korean restaurants have at least something vegetarians can eat and there are more than a hundred vegan/vegetarian only restaurants in Seoul and many in surrounding areas. Even small markets carry plenty of vegetarian suitable stuff though you have to read Korean and be a bit careful.

If you fancy shopping online, it's ridiculously easy to order vegetarian products straight to your door as well.

That being said, it is a meat/fish culture but there the veg market is bigger than it has ever been before. You have to do a little bit of research but it is definitely possible.

I recommend joining Seoul Veggie Club on Facebook after you arrive. People there will help you out!

[drydell]

You will find yourself limited to a set number of eat out places you can rely upon in your area... Usually very few .. So don't expect abundance of choice like back home...

One of the big frustrations is discovering all the tons of vege Korean friendly dishes in places you never knew about because of simply not knowing the food well enough - I only discovered Chung-guk-Jang (deeper fermented dwenjang so no fish used- so smelly but so delicious) a couple of years ago after being here for 4 years... Aargh!

[Kimchifart]

OP, you can do it, but realistically speaking you're going to have to live in Seoul.

[motiontodismiss]

Part of the problem in Korea is that even after refusing certain foods many many times they sometimes just don't get it and keep offering it to you. Make sure to say you CAN'T eat it, not that you DON'T. They're more likely to accommodate you if you make up some medical condition in which you can't eat any animal products besides cheese, milk and/or eggs, and/or its derivative products (depending on which degree of vegetarian you are).

I don't eat any seafood besides shrimp, lobster, scallops, tuna, mackerel (sometimes) and salmon, and even then I only eat them in a few specific forms. It took people a while to get used to that, and only after I said the word CAN'T. Some Koreans just don't seem to get that people can be picky about what they eat.

[IncognitoHFX2]

[tardisrider]

I think this has been sort of noted above, but just to be clear: many foods that appear to be vegetarian are made with brine shrimp or other animal products (fish sauce, etc) as a seasoning. Almost all kimchi and many, many other side dishes are made this way.

Just because your favorite ajumma leaves the ham and egg off your kimbop, it doesn't mean that you're really getting a vegan product. FYI.

[CentralCali]

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