Nithya Kamakshi Pradeep.
Part of living in a new country is trying new things, which includes trying new food, but when new foods contradict your personal ethics or philosophies, this can be hard. Eating out as a vegetarian in Korea can be tiring, but Ulsan takes the cake. Ulsan’s restaurants offer some fine options for the less particular amongst us, but the majority is hardly vegetarian friendly.
The vegetarian diet has increased in popularity. While many people are vegetarian for cultural, religious or ecological reasons, sticking to ones principles while socializing in Korea is difficult but not impossible. Contrary to the general belief, a county with Buddhist influences such as South Korea has very little to offer for vegetarians and vegans. And the worst part is being scorned at by meat-lovers who invariably fail to understand that vegetarianism is a choice of life for many.
The health benefits associated with vegetarianism go beyond simply having better eating habits. According to dieticians around the world, “Vegetarian diets have been credited with decreasing the incidence or severity of heart disease, hypertension, biventricular disease, cancer, colon, prostate and lung, and osteoporosis and gallstones. In addition to being richer in fruits and vegetables, vegetarian diets tend to be lower in total fat”.
Most vegetarians do much of the cooking at home, not for the love of cooking, but for the satisfaction of not eating any meat accidently. Korea is not an easy place to be a vegetarian but having a Korean write down on a piece of paper what you don’t want in a dish, works out much simpler. In spite of being specific, sometimes your food could still contain animal products, Korean call it “service”. People here just take the animal product out of the dish while the taste and partial remains still exist. Unfortunately, it will probably happen that you will accidentally eat animal products here, even if you are careful. Why does being a vegetarian pose such a dilemma in Korea? Vegetarianism is not a Korean concept and Koreans pity people who do not eat meat. Instead of blaming them, we should try to work our way around.
If you have decided to cook your own meal, then locating the right ingredients could pose a major problem. Finding lentils, chickpeas, extra-firm tofu, Indian spices, coconut milk, good cheese and other staples of the vegetarian diet might be next to impossible in a normal Korean store. There are several grocery stores that cater to the foreign pallet, like the Foreigner’s Town (052-245-5161, 227-2010), Asian Food Mart (in Bangeojin), and Asia Shipping Co. (018-580-1031) all offer a good variety of lentils, chick peas, curry powders and more. In upscale department stores, like COSTCO there is usually a foreign food section offering a wide variety of canned food.
If you are not the kind who would like to toil in the kitchen and would prefer to eat out, then there are vegetarian options in Ulsan, although few. Indo Yohang restaurant in old downtown (behind CGV), Ocean View restaurant near Ilsan Beach (052-235-7777), CHAI restaurant in Samsan-dong (052-903-8889), and Ulsan Vegelove Vegetarian Restaurant in Jung-Gu, Boksan (052-297-4844, 017-872-2038) are excellent vegetarian options. Veggie-specific restaurants are not abundant in Korea other than offering the temple food, but most foreign restaurants and Indian restaurants offer delicious vegetarian dishes.
Being a vegetarian in Korea requires more determination than what is required back home. It takes more work to maintain a healthy veggie lifestyle in Korea with a lack of dining out options, but it’s worth it in the long run!
Part of living in a new country is trying new things, which includes trying new food, but when new foods contradict your personal ethics or philosophies, this can be hard. Eating out as a vegetarian in Korea can be tiring, but Ulsan takes the cake. Ulsan’s restaurants offer some fine options for the less particular amongst us, but the majority is hardly vegetarian friendly.
The vegetarian diet has increased in popularity. While many people are vegetarian for cultural, religious or ecological reasons, sticking to ones principles while socializing in Korea is difficult but not impossible. Contrary to the general belief, a county with Buddhist influences such as South Korea has very little to offer for vegetarians and vegans. And the worst part is being scorned at by meat-lovers who invariably fail to understand that vegetarianism is a choice of life for many.
The health benefits associated with vegetarianism go beyond simply having better eating habits. According to dieticians around the world, “Vegetarian diets have been credited with decreasing the incidence or severity of heart disease, hypertension, biventricular disease, cancer, colon, prostate and lung, and osteoporosis and gallstones. In addition to being richer in fruits and vegetables, vegetarian diets tend to be lower in total fat”.
Most vegetarians do much of the cooking at home, not for the love of cooking, but for the satisfaction of not eating any meat accidently. Korea is not an easy place to be a vegetarian but having a Korean write down on a piece of paper what you don’t want in a dish, works out much simpler. In spite of being specific, sometimes your food could still contain animal products, Korean call it “service”. People here just take the animal product out of the dish while the taste and partial remains still exist. Unfortunately, it will probably happen that you will accidentally eat animal products here, even if you are careful. Why does being a vegetarian pose such a dilemma in Korea? Vegetarianism is not a Korean concept and Koreans pity people who do not eat meat. Instead of blaming them, we should try to work our way around.
If you have decided to cook your own meal, then locating the right ingredients could pose a major problem. Finding lentils, chickpeas, extra-firm tofu, Indian spices, coconut milk, good cheese and other staples of the vegetarian diet might be next to impossible in a normal Korean store. There are several grocery stores that cater to the foreign pallet, like the Foreigner’s Town (052-245-5161, 227-2010), Asian Food Mart (in Bangeojin), and Asia Shipping Co. (018-580-1031) all offer a good variety of lentils, chick peas, curry powders and more. In upscale department stores, like COSTCO there is usually a foreign food section offering a wide variety of canned food.
If you are not the kind who would like to toil in the kitchen and would prefer to eat out, then there are vegetarian options in Ulsan, although few. Indo Yohang restaurant in old downtown (behind CGV), Ocean View restaurant near Ilsan Beach (052-235-7777), CHAI restaurant in Samsan-dong (052-903-8889), and Ulsan Vegelove Vegetarian Restaurant in Jung-Gu, Boksan (052-297-4844, 017-872-2038) are excellent vegetarian options. Veggie-specific restaurants are not abundant in Korea other than offering the temple food, but most foreign restaurants and Indian restaurants offer delicious vegetarian dishes.
Being a vegetarian in Korea requires more determination than what is required back home. It takes more work to maintain a healthy veggie lifestyle in Korea with a lack of dining out options, but it’s worth it in the long run!
