Increasing number of restaurants in Korea serve veg, vegan, and temple food: KTO

SEOUL: As the number of Koreans preferring vegetarian, vegan, and Korean Temple food increases in Korea, the count of restaurants serving meat-less food is also on the rise, especially in the capital city Seoul. As many as 17 restaurants in Seoul out of major 136 serve vegetarian and vegan food, says “Korea Tour Guide for Asian-Middle East Tourists” published by the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO).

With Indian travellers in mind, the KTO has published one more “FOOD GUIDE FOR INDIANS” that also specifically mentions the names, their locations and kind of food the  Korean restaurants are serving vegetarian, vegan and Korean Temple Food. Korean temple food does not use any animal products except dairy products. Korean Buddhism forbids meat. Korean temple food does not include five pungent vegetables (onions, garlic, chives, green onions and leeks) and is cooked without strong spices.

With this, Indian travellers especially those who come from states like Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan from a select community with vegetarian food habits due to their faith and religion can now easily find such restaurants in Korea.

According to LEE Young-geun, Executive Director, International Marketing Department, KTO the number of vegetarian and vegan food lovers was increasing in Korea, and so was the number of the restaurants serving such food.

“As the number of restaurants serving vegetarian and vegan food is increasing in Korea, it is not difficult for Indian people to spot or find a vegetarian and vegan restaurants. You can see a number of Koreans enjoying vegetarian and vegan food at these restaurants,” said LEE while interacting with Indian media delegation at a Korean restaurant serving 100 percent vegetarian food in Seoul.

As per KTO’s Korea Tour Guide, some of the restaurants serving vegetarian food in Seoul include Maji, Vegan & Beyond, Drunken Vegan, The World is a Playground, Lazy Farmers, Camouflage, Breaghetti Itaewon Branch, Monk’s Butcher, Loving Hut Café, Loving Hut Land, Loving Hut Yeoksam Branch, Plantude, VFUS, etc.

KTO’s another “FOOD GUIDE FOR INDIANS” says that taking into account the most common customs pertaining to food, following are the criteria based on which restaurants have been selected.

These are the restaurants that serve exclusively Indian cuisine, restaurants that serve cuisine familiar to the Indian subcontinent such as Nepalese, Pakistani, etc., restaurants that serve vegeterian or vegan food, restaurants are Halal friendly hence none of the restaurants would serve pork as part of the main offerings, and restaurants serving Korean temple food have been included as the cuisine is vegetarian in nature.

It says, “Navigating the variety of dietary choices in Korea can be a challenge for any world traveler, even more so for those that have dietary constrictions due to faith. That is why we prepared this book, a guide to acceptable food for Indians. It includes a catalogue of dishes with informational tags to help Indians make informed food choices.”