Enjoying Korean food as a vegan

Jacques asks his friends where to find vegan food in Korea, as his vegan brother will visit Korea in a month.

Jessie: Hi, Jacques, how are you? How's life as an exchange student in Seoul?

Jacques: I'm OK. Seoul is even more exciting than I anticipated. But I've faced a big difficulty here.

Su-hyeon: What difficulty? Maybe we can help.

Jacques: I heard that much of traditional Korean food is made out of vegetables, so I thought there'd be plenty of restaurants for vegetarians or vegans in Korea. But instead, I see many chicken and other meat restaurants.

Jessie: That's true. I also saw a lot of meat restaurants when I first came here. But I think the options for vegans have increased lately.

Pedro: That's right. A new vegan menu was added this year at the restaurant where I'm working, and a lot of people request it.

Jacques: Really? It's still hard for me to find restaurants with vegan menus. I wonder if it's because my Korean is weak.

Su-hyeon: Why are you looking for vegan restaurants?

Jacques: My vegan brother will visit Korea a month from now.

Pedro: You mean he's the type who consumes no animal ingredients whatsoever?

Jacques: Yep. So I've been looking all week for a restaurant where he can eat, but it's harder than I thought. What kinds of vegan food are available in Korea?

Su-hyeon: I've also gotten interested in vegan food myself, so I've looked into them as well. I'll share what I know.

Jacques: Thank you so much.

Su-hyeon: First, if you ask for food without animal ingredients at restaurants, you can get vegan food most of the time. For instance, bibimbap (rice mixed with assorted vegetables or meat) often has minced meat or an egg, but you can request that both be excluded in your dish.

Jessie: Kimchi is often made out of jeotgal (salt-fermented seafood) such as shrimp or fish, so keep that in mind.

Jacques: Ah, thanks. Do you also know any vegan restaurants?

Su-hyeon: Sure. Have you heard of temple food? It's vegan food that Buddhist monks and followers eat at temples.

Pedro: That's right. All the food Jessie and I ate during our temple stay were completely vegan.

Jessie: It's milder than typical Korean dishes and tastes really good.

Su-hyeon: The cooking of temple food requires seasonal vegetables whose natural flavors are fully preserved. You can order any food without wondering if they're vegan at temple food restaurants.

Jessie: They also have a wide variety of menu selections. The last time I went to the restaurant Sanchon in Seoul's Insa-dong neighborhood, it not only had seasonal namul (seasoned herbal dishes) but also other temple food such as jjigae (stew), dumplings and jeon (pancake).

Pedro: I know another vegan restaurant near there, Osegyehyang. It has Korean food such as ssambap (rice and vegetables wrapped in leafy vegetables) and chaegaejang (spicy vegetable soup), as well as Chinese food such as jjambbong (spicy noodles) and jjajangmyeon (black bean noodles) and processed vegan food.

Jessie: The food was great my last time there. If you want vegan Western food such as hamburgers, pizza or pasta, I recommend Nammi Plantlab near Sadang Station or Vegetus near Noksapyeong Station.

Jacques: Wow, there are more places to choose from than I thought. Do these restaurants have websites?

Pedro: Yep. Sanchon has an English-language website (www.sanchon.com) and so does Osegyehyang (www.go5.co.kr). You might want to send these links to your brother in advance.

Su-hyeon: Try using the app Chaesikhankki (Vegefeed) if you want to find a vegan restaurant on your smartphone. You can search by location, menu and vegetarian types. The app offers services in both Korean and English, so it's convenient.

Jacques: Oh, I can easily find a vegan-friendly restaurant through the app. Thank you, guys. I think I'll have no trouble finding a place to eat for my brother.

Su-hyeon: Just ask us again if you have further questions. Have a great time with your brother here.

Written by Kim Hyelin
Translated by Lee Jihae
Illustrated by Yuhaill
kimhyelin211@korea.kr