Can you survive as a vegetarian in Korea? In short, absolutely! The strictness of your diet will dictate to what extent you might struggle to find food, but in general, there are many vegetarian dishes in Korean restaurants. Below, I’ve compiled a list of common dishes that are vegetarian or can be ordered without meat. If you’re new to Korean food and have dietary restrictions, I recommend keeping this list on hand and also practicing the helpful phrases that I’ve also listed below. I’ve included the Korean names and phrases along with their Romanizations, but I strongly recommend learning hangul, the Korean alphabet. It’s quite simple and makes pronouncing words more accurate and it’s helpful for recognizing keywords on Korean menus. Type these words and phrases into Papago and listen to how they’re pronounced.
If that seems overwhelming, don’t worry! With a dietary restriction, it does take an extra step or two to find food but simply being able to say “Is there meat” will get you through most scenarios. The phrase that has been most helpful despite its simplicity is “고기 있어요?” and simply adding the name of the dish I’m inquiring about in front, or pointing at the food while saying this. In this way I am very basically asking “Is there meat (in this)”? I’ve found Korean food workers to be very patient despite my poor pronunciation and grammar, and have always been able to understand the purpose of my questions and requests.
Dishes: Vegetarian or Can be Made Vegetarian
순두부찌개= Soft tofu stew
된장찌개= Soybean stew
냉면= Icey buckwheat noodles
비빔밥= Bibimbap
김밥= Kimbap
칼국수= Kalguksu
볶음밥=Kimchi fried rice (kimchi is technically not vegetarian)
우동= Udon
잡채 = japchae
Helpful Phrases to Know
고기 있어요? (Gogi Issuh-yoh)= Is there meat?
___하나 주세요? (___hana juseyo) = Can I have one of ____ please?
고기는 빼주세요 (gogi-neun pay juseyo)=Without meat please.
저는 고기를 못 먹어요 (jeonen gogi-uel mote moe-gayo) = I don’t eat meat.
저는 채식주의자 예요 (Jeoneun jishig-joowuija yeyo)= I am vegetarian.
Vegetarian Food in Korean Convenience Stores
It’s easy to eat vegetarian in Korean restaurants, so here’s how to navigate convenience stores. One of the first things I noticed when I landed in Korea is the abundance of GS25, CU, and 7/11 shops. They’re just about everywhere, from hotel lobbies to baseball stadiums. Before arriving in Korea, one of my biggest “to-do’s” for my stay was to visit a pyeonuijeom. TikTok’s and Instagram reels had inflated my excitement about stocked ice cream drawers, ice cups galore, and kimbap arrays. Armed with my basic Korean skills, I was sure finding vegetarian food in these corner shops would be a breeze. Unfortunately, the options are limited and life as a Uni student means more frequent corner shop visits than I could have imagined. I’ve found most prepared foods contain meat, meaning I have to read every food label. Luckily, all these corner shop stops means I can offer other vegetarians some assistance.
Here’s some tips to prevent wasting time with translation apps. Learn common Korean words for meats (and other dietary restrictions), or keep the list I’ve added below on hand. Prepared food wrappers often have a grey or black box below the ingredients that says “함유”, meaning “contains.” Before “함유” is a list of allergens and sometimes meat. This is the quickest way to see if there is something you can’t eat inside of the item. If you don’t recognize a word, it’s worthwhile to look it up. Over time they will become familiar. Beware that translations are oftentimes wrong, especially for ingredients which have no sentence context. For example, Papago often translates the Korean word for soybean to “big head.” Luckily, I have never found a big head in my kimbap.
Words to Recognize
고기(gogi)= meat
돼지고기 (dwaejigogi)= pork
햄 (haem) = ham
베이컨 (baeicon)= bacon
해물산/해물 (heymulsan)= seafood
비간 (peegan)= Vegan
재식 (jaeshig)= Vegetarian
While kimbap is one of the most popular convenience store foods in Korea, there don’t seem to be many meatless options. So far, I recommend Signature brand egg kimbap, and anything by Veggie Garden who makes ready-to-eat vegetarian foods. Check the ingredient lists before you purchase anything seemingly vegetarian because they often have hidden meat. For strict vegetarians, be cautious about the addition of kimchi to these fridge items since it’s made with fish ingredients. I’ve also frequently seen boxes of inari which is tofu skin stuffed with rice and toppings. It’s easy to remove meat from the rice pockets since they’re just toppings.
My favorite way to eat at a pyeonuijeom when I need a meal, is to get creative and build my own rice and banchan set. Choose a microwavable rice and some packaged side dishes like marinated quail eggs, pickled radish, and soft tofu and you have a personalized meal! Instead of rice you can also grab porridge or ramen. Since ramen aisles are overwhelming here, I recommend searching up vegetarian versions first and then looking for them in the shop. Some convenience stores also have roasted sweet potatoes and cheese dogs in their hot food area which is a great meatless pickup for anytime of the day.
A final note I’ll make is that there are vegan restaurants in Seoul and Buddhist temples serve vegetarian meals. So, if you’re really hankering for some veggies without any hassle, those places are your best bet. Save the images in this blog for reference during your next Korea trip, and enjoy eating all the delicious food!
Breegan O’Hearn, William & Mary, is studying abroad in South Korea with TEAN.
