SPECIAL FEATURE

Deodeok root with seasonal greens at Baru by Matthew Crompton

The Vegetarian Way

Korea can daunt vegetarian newbies, but with practice, patience,
and a dash of courage, you can be on your way to dodging the
meat without missing out on the cuisine.

Wo r d s by E v e E l l e n b o g e n

“C
hae-sik-ju-ui-ja.” It’s not that hard to translate “veg- that all you vegetarians out there have experienced at least one of
etarian” from English to Korean, yet it seems that these things since coming to Korea. While it can be challenging
there is so much room for error in a country that to be a vegetarian here, it’s a much more navigable road than one
just loves its meat. might think.
Have you ever bitten into something omelet-esque and found My key to dining out in Korea is to throw all assumptions out
yourself gagging on a piece of Spam? Have the window. Kamjatang (potato soup), kimchi
you ever specifically ordered a cheese pizza jjigae (kimchi stew), sundubu jjigae (tofu stew),
but found it covered in meat? (Or, for that kimbap—all of these dishes sound vegetar-
matter, been denied a cheese-only pizza
You might want to avoid the ian, but all of them usually come with meat or
because it wouldn’t be “delicious” without places that serve pig fish. Kamjatang has pork spine. Kimchi jjigae
the meat?) Have you ever tried to go out for intestines and dog soup, is made with pork, and kimchi itself is pickled
dinner with friends of a different eating style, while you’re at it. I doubt with fish. Sundubu jiggae contains either fish
only to end up picking ham broth or shellfish, and kimbap is made with

22
that any amount of
out of your 7-Eleven kimbap mystery meat. Even the Vietnamese pho that
language mastery will help
wh ile t hey chow dow n on I ordered for dinner a while back (which my
their galbi? Maybe I’ve just you there. waitress swore came without meat) had bits of
had bad luck, but chances are minced chicken sprinkled on it. (“Oh? So you
10 Magazine September 2010
don’t eat meat or chicken?”) Hence, my sacred rule: Always ask
about the ingredients.
Here are a few helpful words and phrases you will need to
know:
chae-shik-ju-ui-ja (채식주의자) vegetarian
go-gi (고기) meat
so-go-gi (소고기) beef
dalk (닭) chicken
haem (햄) um… ham
dwae-ji go-gi (돼지고기) pork
be-i-keon (베이컨) bacon
hae-mul (해물) seafood
saeng-seon (생선) cooked fish
jo-gae (조개) shellfish
cham-chi (참치) tuna
sae-u (새우) shrimp
du-bu (두부) tofu
ya-chae (야채) vegetables
gye-ran (계란) egg
u-yu (우유) milk
du-yu (두유) soymilk
yuk-su (육수) meat broth
mas-sal (맛살) crab meat
• mog-eo-yo ( 먹어요) —I eat .
ex. Ya-chae mog-eo-yo. – I eat eggs
• an mog-eo-yo ( 안 먹어요) —I don’t eat .
ex. Go-gi an mog-eo-yo. - I don’t eat meat.
• iss-eo-yo? ( 있어요?) —do you have ?
ex. Du-bu iss-eo-yo? – Do you have tofu?
• ppae-ju-se-yo ( 빼주세요) —No , please.
ex. Haem ppae-ju-se-yo. – No ham, please.

Let’s see how this works in practice. I was recently at my

favorite café in Hongdae in Seoul and decided to try their new,
seasonal pasta dish, which happens to come with squid.

Me: Haemul deureo isseoyo (해물 들어 있어요)?

– Is there seafood in this?
Sweetest waitress in Hongdae: Ne (네). – Yes.
Me: Ar-ass-eo-yo (알았어요)
– Okay.
I-geot ju-se-yo (이것 주세요)
– I’ll have this please.
Hae-mul-eun ppae-juseyo (해물은 빼주세요). –
– Please leave out the seafood.
Sweetest Waitress In Hongdae: Ne (네). Okay.

And there you have it. It was delicious.

So by now you are a pro with the veggie vocabulary and you
can eat at almost any non-galbi restaurant in this country. In fact,
you might also want to avoid those places that serve pig intes-
tines and dog soup, while you’re at it. I doubt that any amount of
language mastery will help you there. But what about restaurants
that specialize in vegetarian or vegan food? Believe it or not,
there are some authentic vegetarian havens in Korea. Here’s a
small smattering:

The Loving Hut

With over 37 restaurants in Korea (and hundreds scattered over
ten countries around the world), The Loving Hut offers savory
10 Magazine September 2010
 SPECIAL FEATURE

1
2

4
5

vegan food at affordable prices. My local Hut serves mandu 7

dumplings, jjigaes, noodles, and even has “burgers,” among other
dishes. In addition, most locations also offer vegan items for sale,
such as cookies, birthday cakes, frozen dumplings and veggie
burgers, among many others. Check it out: lovinghut.kr (English
translation on the upper right-hand side).

Cheong-guk-jang Restaurants
Upon walking into a cheong-guk-jang (청국장) restaurant, it’s
easy to mistake the smell of the food for the odor of rotten socks,
but don’t let that fool you! This tasty dish smells kind of funky at
first, but the goodness of those fermented beans mixed with rice
and vegetables is enough to make your mouth water every time
you remove your sweaty gym shoes. Yes, it’s that good. The best 1. Soybean Cutlet 2. Tossed Salad 3. Mushroom Noodle Soup
way to find one of these gems is by asking a local. 1-3 images provided by the Loving Hut (lovinghut.kr)

24
Juk
Juk (죽) warms you right down to the soul and
is used to cure illnesses the way we Western-
ers use chicken soup or, in my family, matzah
4. Dishes at Baru, Jujeonburi - fruit and vegetable chips (center),
soup made with soy beans (bottom center) 5. Baru 6. Rice
wrapped in wild leaves 4-6. Shots by Matthew Crompton
7. Buddhist monk food at Sanchon (sanchon.com/english) 8.
Bibimbap 7-8 Shots by Chalica Pack

10 Magazine September 2010

ball soup. Best described as rice porridge, juk comes in dozens
of varieties with a plethora of possible ingredients. Some of my
favorites are soft tofu and broccoli, sweet potato, and wild mush-
room. The Bon Juk (본죽) franchise is easy to find, but if you’re
not in the mood for restaurant dining, individual, ready-made
portions can be found in most supermarkets. bonjuk.co.kr

Buddhist Temples
Remember that scene in the original Willy Wonky and the
Chocolate Factory when Gene Wilder sings about a world of pure
imagination and then opens the door to chocolate heaven? That’s
what it was like for me the first time I entered the dining room
of a Buddhist temple in Korea. The tastiest, most wholesome,
homegrown, well-prepared and (gasp) vegan food I had ever
eaten. Even the kimchi is vegan! For fine temple dining, a good
place to start is Baru, located across from Jogyesa in downtown
Seoul. Fantastic taste meets exquisite presentation at this gourmet
temple food restaurant. baru.or.kr

Dishes Worthy of Honorable Mention

Bi-bim-bap (비빔밥): Better ask them to hold the beef. Note
that Jeonju bibimbap, a specialty that is different from normal
bibimbap, is made with rice soaked in meat broth (yuksu 육
수), so be sure to ask!
Ya-chae-rice (야채라이스): If you can keep the ham out, this
vegetable and rice dish is a good staple for a late-night session
at the kimbap shop. Similar to this is omurice (오무라이스),
which is like yachaerice, but with an omelet on top. Again, be
sure to ask for it without meat.
Kal-guk-su (칼국수): This hearty noodle soup is a good find, as
long as you overlook the shellfish-based broth. Some restaurants
will make this completely meat free. So, once again, just ask.

W
ell, now you know all that I know, and maybe more.
You should be ready to hit these meat-loving streets
with the kind of ravenous fervor known only to veg-
etarians living in Korea. At times, you may come eye-to-eye,
or even tongue-to-flesh, with a bit of dead animal. In my early
days on the peninsula, I greeted those moments with the most
adolescent behavior I could muster. (I once slammed the door
to my hagwon bathroom before attempting to vomit loudly after
eating a serving of supposedly vegetarian bibimbap that actually
contained beef. I lost a lot of pride that day.) And yet, I still love
Korean food and Korean restaurants. They’re part of my experi-
ence, good or bad, and I’m planning on saving the worst stories
for my memoirs. So no matter your own experiences, remember
to be bold, be strong, and be dedicated in your vegetarian pursuit.
The world needs you to keep on saving those animals, one chae-
sik-ju-ui-ja at a time.

10 Magazine September 2010