Eating with Seoul: a vegans guide to surviving in South Korea.

It’s no secret that following a plant based diet in Korea hasn’t been the easiest of things. It’s the land of the meat eating, BBQ loving, fried chicken partying. Korea and ‘vegan’ do not usually come hand-in-hand; it was difficult and daunting arriving in a foreign country with this extra obstacle to overcome. But fear not my fellow vegan explorers – Korea is not a total meat frenzy. As I approach the one year mark, I’ve found some awesome vegan havens, some quirky alternatives to traditional cuisine and a few useful phrases – so here’s my guide for surviving in Korea on a plant based diet.  

A hearty bowl of Ma La Tang – the ultimate comfort food.

Now that I’m approaching the six-month mark in Korea, Ma La Tang (마라탕) has become a kind of ‘home comfort’ – with no access to a nourishing roast dinner or a traditional Friday night trip to the chippy, this is the closest I’ve had to ‘proper family food’ (sounds like something Jamie Oliver might say?). My favourite food in Korea is healthy, veganish and ironically, not Korean.