Vegetarian in Korea

By: TheYeogiyo.com | Dec. 01, 2009

 

After half a decade in Korea, we can’t possibly count the number of times someone has said to us, “oh, you’re vegetarian? Vegan? It must be hard to find something to eat!” Both locals and foreigners alike, dizzy in the midst of streets dedicated to galbi and holiday parcels crammed full of spam, seem to be certain that our not-so-common diets have caused us to be starving this entire time.

 

We admit that our mealtimes haven’t always been convenient (when I say no meat, I usually include ham in that category), but with a little patience, perhaps some illustration on a napkin and an occasional bout of ‘picking it out,’ (* sigh *) you’ll be able to eat to suit your diet, whatever that might be. Just the same, if you haven’t set foot on the plane yet, know that it’s easy to find soy milk in Korea, but almost impossible to find soy cheese. Brown rice isn’t as common as white, and vegetarian (not vegan) fake meat is becoming increasingly easier (not necessarily easy) to find. Pack your bags with must-haves if you have room!

 

First of all, you’ll find plenty of foreign restaurants that offer a vegetarian option. You don’t have to look far to find veggie burgers in Itaewon (like at the Wolfhound) or Haebongcheon (Jocoby’s Burgers has a burger that Vegetarian in Korea swears by) tacos in Gangnam or Hongdae and Indian food in Busan or Seohyun. If you’re having trouble finding something to suit your craving, ask on TheYeogiyo.com forum and surely someone will jump at the chance to share news of a suitable menu.  

 

Secondly, definitely learn enough Korean to be able to communicate your needs. Like at home, vegetarianism can still sometimes be vastly misunderstood here and sometimes you have to be very specific about what you want or don’t want. Absolutely use these phrases to help you get by, and ask TheYeogiyo.com’s free translation service if you need something we haven’t mentioned. If Korean is still a struggle but your tummy is grumbling, click on the links below and print these cards out. Laminate them and throw them in your wallet so you will never go hungry again!

 

 

Printable Phrases

Click on the links below to print:

I’m a vegetarian.
저는 채식 주의(고기나 생선을 먹지 않는) 입니다.

I can’t eat red meat (seafood and cheese are okay!)
저는고기를 먹지 않습니다. (생선 류와 치즈는 괜찮습니다.)

I can’t eat seafood
저는해산물을 먹지 않습니다.

I can’t eat fish
저는생선을 먹지 않습니다.

 

I can’t eat pork
저는 돼지 고기를 먹지 않습니다.

I can’t eat animal products (any kind of meat including seafood or ham and I don’t eat dairy products like cheese or milk.)
저는 고기류가 포함된 음식을 먹지 않습니다. ( 동물에게서 나오는 치즈나 우유 그리고 햄 종류도 먹지 않습니다.)

Can you please make me this or something on your menu but don’t include any animal products (including meat, seafood, eggs, milk or cheese).
이 음식에 들어가는 고기,생선,해산물, 계란, 우유 그리고 치즈를 제외하고 만들어 주실 수 있으십니까?

Can you make me a vegetarian pizza with no cheese?
치즈 없이 야채만으로 피자를 만들어 주실 수 있으십니까?

Can you make this soup without any meat, seafood or fish stock?
스프를 고기와 해산물 혹은 육수(생선, 고기의 육수)없이 만들어 주실 수 있으십니까?

 

 

More words to help you order

 

 

Restaurants

If you’re tired of not being able to order every single thing on a menu or you want the chance to try some Korean food, check out some of the vegetarian or vegan joints below (these are just some of our favourites, but by all means take a look at the links just under them for more, or let us know if you’ve found something that absolutely must be shared).

 

Bundang – Ori Station

Eden Valley

http://vegetarian.co.kr/
Take the subway (Bundang line, exit 2) to Ori. From Exit 2, turn right and walk about 200 m to a three-way junction. Turn left at Nak Saeng Nong Hyup Bank, walk 100 metres to Wa Bar. There’s an entrance just on the left of the Wa Bar, and Eden is on the second floor.
Eden is easily one of our favourite vegetarian restaurants near Seoul, and is worth the drive from the city. The English-speaking couple that own the place are Seventh Day Adventists (so expect this restaurant to be closed on Saturdays) and are often found cooking, celebrating birthday parties, playing the guitar and chatting with you without driving you nuts (don’t worry, they might invite you to the church, but they won’t insist).
You can expect quite possibly the best deep-fried mushrooms you’ve ever had in your entire life, spaghetti that you’ll crave once you’ve left, glass noodles, faux meat, a salad bar, brown rice, homemade brown bread with peanut butter and jam, a few selections of soup, and kimchi, mandu/dumplings (occasionally) and kimbap. This is an all-you-can-eat buffet with some local and organic ingredients that costs about W8,000 for lunch and W10,000 for dinner and includes a small store of goods (like veggie hot dogs) that you can take with you for an additional price.
Open: Sunday - Friday, 11:30 – 2:30, 5:30 – 8 p.m (we’ve gone on the off-times and you’re still welcome to eat, but the food isn’t as fresh).

 

Bundang – Seolleung Station

New Start Restaurant

http://www.newstartvege.com/
At Seolleung Station (yellow Bundang line, exit 2), walk 50 m past Burger King to the top of a small hill where you’ll see an intersection. On the left is an office supply store (Link O) – turn left and walk until you see Holly’s Coffee on your left. The restaurant is across the street (fourth building on the right from the intersection) and is located on the second floor). You’ll see a large green sign with white letters.
Of veggie restaurants in Seoul, this is one of the most well-known. For about W12,000, you’ll score the food you’ve been craving – whole grain bread, organic ingredients, brown rice and local seasonings and vegetables from a farm owned by the restaurant.
Open: Sunday – Friday, 11:30 – 3 p.m., 5 p.m. – 8:30. Shop is open from 9 a.m. – 9 p.m.

 

Busan – Seomyeon subway station

Vegetarian Buffet

http://www.happycow.net/asia/south_korea/busan/
Take the subway to Seomyeon subway, exit 11. Go straight out from the stairs, walk a block and a half, pass the KB Star and take the first door on your left - it’s on the second floor, on the other side of the sliding glass door.
This relatively cheap veggie buffet (mostly vegan) has plenty of Korean food to offer, including kimchi without shrimp and lots of faux meat.
Open: Throughout the week only, 11:30 – 2:30 and 5:30 – 9 p.m.

 

Incheon – Shinchon Intersection

Sandle Baram – Organic Wind

http://www.happycow.net/reviews.php?id=18034
Call for directions and reservations – 032-502-0633
This super all-you-can-eat buffet is a bit pricey at W15,000, but good food is worth it and this stuff is chock-empty of artificial additives and GMOs, plus it’s mostly local and organic. You’ll find brown rice sushi (yeah, remember that?), salad, mandu/dumplings, rice cakes, deep-fried vegetables, salad, noodles, faux-meat and plenty of sides.
To boot, Sandle Baram has an environmentally-sound interior, supports organic farming, and profits benefit a local library for kids.
Open: Monday – Saturday, 12-2:30, Friday, 6 p.m. – 8:30 (closed Sundays and holidays).

 

Seoul – Various locations

Purely Decadent Soy Ice Cream Café

http://decadent.co.kr
(Various locations, including COEX Mall, Mokdong, Yangjae (Exit 5), Anyang, Hwehwa and Yeongdeungpo)
Even if you’ve been here a short amount of time, you must know that a vast majority of Koreans will eat ice cream at any time of day regardless of the weather outside. There was a time in Korea when it could be hard to be a vegan on a hot day (though we’re not knocking the traditional Korean dish of ice flakes mixed with red bean and fruit minus the cream or ice cream), but no longer. Besides working Purely Decadent products into random convenience and grocery stores (we’ve seen ice cream tubs, chocolate ice cream bars and coconut-flavoured ice cream sandwiches lately), there’s a Purely Decadent café to be found at COEX Mall as well. The other products might not necessarily be vegan (the chocolate brownies do seem to be lacto-ovo vegetarian), and the scoops are expensive, but we have a feeling you won’t care much when you’ve finally found a flavoured ice cream you can eat.
Open: Hours vary depending on location

 

Seoul – Insadong

Sanchon

http://www.sanchon.com
Take the subway to Anguk Station, exit 6. Along Insadong-gil/road, turn at the Sanchon café and walk all the way down the alley until the entrance at the end– call to make reservations, especially on performance nights(02-735-0315).
Of all the vegetarian restaurants in Korea, this is the one that we are most likely to take our visiting, non-vegetarian friends to see. Owned by a former monk of eighteen years, the vegan temple food at this charming, hidden spot is completely vegan and based on a traditional monk’s feast. You pay one amount (about W40,000) for a massive set of side dishes, including pancakes, soups, porridges, vegetables, and desserts. If there are two of you, you’ll get two of most things and bowls of the rest, and somehow it will all work out. Go before 8 p.m. on weeknights, so that you can take in the traditional dancing show that takes place from 8 – 8:45 each night (you’ll want to eat first – the lights go out for the show). We recommend a spot on the floor and an empty belly – you’ll be full but won’t be able to stop eating. You can also order (at an additional cost), homemade wine or soju. Trust us – take your foodie friends (the NY Times - http://www.sanchon.com/english/photo2.asp - loved it in the ‘80’s) and anyone from out of town. There’s also a shop that sells lots of unique goods at non-Buddhist prices. Please note that Sanchon doesn’t always use garlic, onions, etc. but sometimes they do, so if your diet doesn’t include them, call ahead to give advance warning to the chefs and they’ll try their best to accommodate you.
Open: Daily, 11:30 a.m. – 10 p.m.

 

Seoul – Yangjae

SM Vegetarian Restaurant

http://www.smvege.co.kr
Take the subway to Yangjae Station, exit 5, and turn right. Walk about one minute to the bus stop, and take bus 4430. Get off two stops later. There’s a Starbucks across the street. Cross the street and turn right. You’ll see the restaurant sign on your left. (We find it’s easier to take a cheap taxi straight from Yangjae station the first time).
With similar religious beliefs as The Loving Hut, this restaurant airs 24-hour Supreme Master Ching Hai television which kind of distracts from the buffet but adds to the conversation at your table (you can sit outside at the outdoor patio if you’d rather avoid it). For about W12,000, you can take in an all-you-can-eat buffet featuring vegan, organic and Korean food including ‘pork’ cutlet, kimbap, noodles, brown rice, and pancakes (the menu changes, but a lot of the mainstay dishes remain the same). You can also do some grocery shopping and pick out some cooking or meditation books in English.
Open: 12 – 2:30 p.m. and 6 – 9 p.m.

 

Various locations (Seoul, Busan, Jeonju, Jeju, Wonju, Ulsan, Gwangju, Daegu, Ansan, Andong, Daejeon, Yeongdong)

The Loving Hut

http://www.lovinghut.com/kr/index.htm
Seoul’s Sinchon location - Take the subway to Sinchon stop (green line 2, exit 2), walk straight for about four blocks, the restaurant is on your left, a few buildings down from Starbucks on the corner.
This restaurant is affiliated with followers of Supreme Master Ching Hai, a blonde Vietnamese leader with an interest in vegetarianism. Don’t get freaked out by the 24-hour channel dedicated to her, and instead be grateful that she is at least partially responsible for cheap veggie food in Seoul. Not only can you get veggie food here, but it’s deli-style, so you can score burgers, hot dogs, sandwiches and salads as well as Korean-style goods (soups, kimbap, mandu/dumplings) and dessert if you can make it fit.
A store will let you fill up on stuff to take home, and you can expect lots of food for very cheap prices – check the English menu on the web site if you need to know before you go.
Open: Hours of each location vary…

 

Various locations (Myeongdong, Mokdong, Gangnam, Jamsil, Bundang)

Sticky Fingers

http://www.stickyfingers.co.kr
(Shinsegye department store basements in Myungdong and Jukjeon
Hyundai department store basements in Mokdong and COEX
Lotte department stores in Gangnam and Jamsil
AK Plaza in Bundang – basement of main plaza, near the escalators)
After all of those buffets, surely you need something sweet and delicious to wash down the faux-meat and fish-free soup. Sticky Fingers, a bakery chain from Washington D.C., offers baked goods with no butter, no milk, no egg and no trans fat. The prices aren’t necessarily comparable to those at Paris Baguette, but neither is the taste of cookies, pies, bread, cinnamon rolls, and pastries. Our favourites are the jam-filled cookies and the chocolate muffins, but we’ll take anything you’re buying. It doesn’t hurt that anytime we’ve visited any of the locations, they’ve taken pity on our scrawny frames and offered us service/free cookies with our purchases. Note – the English American version offers different products then you’ll find in Korea, but no fear, you’ll still find something sweet to sink your teeth into.
http://www.stickyfingers.co.kr Hours vary by location (typically close at the same time as the department stores they’re located in)

 

 

Links we like:

 

The International Vegetarian Union’s listing of vegetarian phrases in different languages – bring these with you when you travel outside of Korea!:
http://www.ivu.org/phrases/index.html

 

Happy Cow (while in Korea or not)
http://www.happycow.net/asia/south_korea/

 

PETA (What? Just saying…)
http://www.peta.com

 

Animal Rights Korea
http://www.animalrightskorea.org

 

Seoul Vegetarian Club (see them on Facebook as well)
http://seoulveggieclub.wordpress.com/

 

Alien’s Day Out (vegan in Seoul)
http://aliensdayout.blogspot.com/

 

Vegetarian Korea’s Freewebs listings
http://www.freewebs.com/vegetariankorea/index.htm

 

Five Recommended Restaurants
http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_6.jsp?cid=260443

 

ROK Organic Farming Group (only some is English)
http://www.organic.or.kr/

 

Seoul Eats
http://www.seouleats.com/2008/08/vegetarian-restaurants-in-seoul.html

 

WWOOF Korea
http://www.cityfarmer.org/wwoofkorea.html

 

Vegetarian in Korea
http://www.vegetarianinkorea.com

 

The Vegan Korean
http://thevegankorean.wordpress.com