Vegan Food in Incheon and Seoul
My visit to Korea isn’t complete without talking about the vegan food. In Korean families, instead of hearing, “How are you?”, you may hear, “Have you eaten yet?” That’s because food is considered a love language in Korean families. It brings people together, and eating is considered a social activity. It might be a challenge to find a restaurant that serves meals for one person, because many places serve at least two at a table. However, you can still dine by yourself if you please.
Food for survival and rebuilding
There’s a reason why food is a love language here.
My mother was born right before the Korean War. She spent her earliest years during the war and the rest of her childhood in meager conditions, when Korea was left a divided country in shambles. The Koreans had to rebuild their communities piece by piece. At the time, they scrounged whatever food was available. Meat was scarce and considered a luxury; they would have it during special occasions, such as birthdays. Omma and her family mostly subsisted on rice, vegetables, tofu, and some seafood. They cooked and ate together, because their survival depended on it.
As she raised me and my sister, our mother fed us comforting Korean dishes, such as kimbap, japchae, rice, kimchi, and fried tofu. While meat was a part of our diets, it didn’t feel like a big part of our lives (at least, not for me). Perhaps this is why I became vegetarian so easily as a kid: it was already written in our ancestral diets.
But taking Korean lunch to school was a different story. Growing up in the rural suburbs of Northern Virginia, the fear of immigrants was prevalent. As I mentioned in my previous entry, anything that wasn’t considered American was unfamiliar, gross, stinky, or even downright repugnant. Once, I brought Omma’s delicious kimbap and kimchi to school, where the smell of spicy fermented cabbage permeated my vicinity. And because kids were being kids, they never let me hear the end of it. For a while, my nickname was “garlic breath.” That was the last time I brought Korean food to school.
That never stopped me from enjoying it though. They can take away Korean food from my cold, dead hands.
Finding vegan food in South Korea
I’ll be honest: it was actually hard to find vegan food in South Korea, especially in Incheon. The country is surrounded by water, so seafood is abundant. Most restaurants have dishes with seafood or meat; there would be no vegan options on the menu. If I had to rate how easy it was to find vegan food, it’s a 4 out of 10. I definitely need more than a week to find more places!
Like all other trips, the Happy Cow app is a lifesaver to find vegan food. It costs $5 from the iPhone app store, but it’s worth it. I use it all the time, whether abroad or back home.
Since I was staying in Incheon, there weren’t a lot of vegan options around my hotel. Thankfully, I came prepared with enough energy bars to have breakfast for the week. Trader Joe’s has their name-brand energy bars for a little over a dollar, which saves time and money when starting the day.
After seeing our Imo in Incheon, I took Jess out to a vegan lunch at Gapyeong Suntofu Barley House. Run by an elderly couple, the restaurant specializes in barley rice and soft tofu that you mix with soy sauce. Although they do serve meat, most of the dishes are vegan by default. It’s served with doenjang (fermented soybean paste), gochujang (spicy sauce), and banchan (small plates of vegetables and kimchi for sharing). We ate, slurping our tofu with soysauce and topping spoonfuls of rice with pickled sides.
One day, I wandered around the enormous Lotte department store in Incheon. At the bottom floor, there are many restaurants and cafes. I found a vendor that makes tteok, which are sticky rice cakes that often have beans folded into the mix. Usually tteok is cheap, but these were kind of pricey, since they were in a department store. But the soft, comforting treat was what I had been looking for. It was legit.
Vegan Street food in Seoul
For lunch and dinner, I often went to Seoul, where vegan street food is more common. In the popular markets such as Myeongdong, Namdaemun, and Gwangjang, some street vendors offer classic Korean dishes:
- Kimbap: Savory veggies rolled up in rice and seaweed, kind of like sushi. But it’s not sushi.
- Japchae: Sweet potato-based glass noodles with spinach, carrots, and bean sprouts, and seasoned with black pepper, soy sauce, and sesame oil. It’s a childhood favorite of mine.
- Tteok: Sweet, sticky rice cakes. They come in different colors and may have a sweet red bean filling or even ground sesame. Others may have sweet peas or beans folded between layers. You have to chew the sticky morsels thoroughly to avoid choking. Another favorite growing up!
- Bindaetteok: Deep-fried mungbean pancakes. Many of them have bean sprouts and onions mixed in; others have meat. The vegan bindaetteok has lots of protein and fat to help keep me full and energized. In Gwangjang Market, there were plenty of bindaetteok vendors that had vegan options!
I would say that the expansive Gwangjang Market has the most variety of vegan options for cheap. Apparently, there’s even a vegan food tour, but they were unfortunately full. (There’s always next time!) You do need to bring cash, since most places don’t take credit cards. Many vendors speak minimal English, so having some Korean basics can go a long way when ordering.
Vegan Restaurants in Seoul
You’ll have a much easier time finding a vegan restaurant in Seoul than in Incheon. As I mentioned, while vegan options are expanding, sometimes it can still be hard to find food. For instance, I really wanted to find a tofu wrap by ByTofu, and it was across town. From Incheon, it took nearly a couple hours to get there. By the time I arrived, the cafe had closed to prepare for its dinner menu. I was so bummed, because the food looked absolutely scrumptious in the photos. It’s like that sometimes, though.
Plantude
I pulled up the Happy Cow app to find the nearest vegan spot, which was Plantude on the seventh floor within I’Park Mall at Yongsan Station. It took an hour to get there. By the time I arrived, I hadn’t eaten for four hours!
Plantude has Korean dishes with a Western twist. I had the “Soft Tofu in Hell” dish, which was like a spicy tofu jjigae (stew) with tomatoes. It’s served with rice and garlic bread. The dish comes piping-hot, so don’t touch the clay bowl like I did. I burned myself, so that dish really lives up to its name. Lol. In all seriousness, it really did hit the spot. It’s amazing how food can leave you feeling energized and happy.
Maji Temple Food
After having a photoshoot at Gyeongbokgung Palace, it was time for lunch. After turning in my rental hanbok, I walked over to the tranquil Maji restaurant, which serves traditional Korean temple food. Embodied by Buddhist spirituality, temple food is vegan and doesn’t use the five pungent vegetables—green onions, garlic, chives, wild chives, and Chinese squill—since they may disrupt the spiritual practice. It often uses fermented products, such as doenjang: a fermented soybean paste.
The main lunch item came as a variety of small banchan dishes with the sweet and sour shiitake mushrooms and japchae as the main dishes. The fragrant steamed rice came inside a wrapped lotus leaf, and the doenjang was aged for three years, which brings out a deeper flavor. Because I’m a japchae lover through and through, that was my favorite dish.
For dessert, the yugwa (puffed rice cake that melts in your mouth) and the little moist yakgwa cookie were adorable and paired well with the tea. They finished the meal off nicely.
It was raining hard outside, and I had my rain jacket and wide-brimmed hat. In Seattle, I’ve grown used to not using an umbrella, as long as I was dressed appropriately. When the owner of the restaurant asked how I was going to stay dry, I said that my jacket would do. Then she graciously pulled out her own umbrella and insisted that I take it. I tried to decline, but she put it in my hand and told me that it’s a gift. I was floored by the kindness of this woman! The umbrella did turn out to be useful, and I spent the rest of the day staying dry. People should eat at Maji Temple food, because it really is made with love and kindness.
Vegan treats in Seoul
As the vegan lifestyle becomes more popular, so does the variety of vegan treats that you can find in Seoul. If you’re tired of chewing sticky tteok, then I have a couple of delicious suggestions.
Overte Donuts
O.verte Donuts is a snug café that serves vegan donuts with sophisticated flavors such as raspberry pistachio, matcha glaze and crumble, and tiramisu glaze. I had both the matcha and tiramisu flavors, and the soft texture was divine! I wasn’t even looking for donuts, but this was certainly calling my name. They also serve coffee, but I didn’t have that in the evening. I bought the donuts as takeaway, since the café was inundated with exuberant Korean business men who sat around the only table. It’s all good!
Ashville Bakery
Asheville Cafe is a warm vegan bakery set just around a corner in the Bukchon Hanok Village. After walking up and down those steep hills, some treats were in order! You have to walk down some stairs to get to the hidden bakery. I ordered a pastry stuffed with a sweet, airy cream that’s reminiscent of a fluffy cloud. I also had a decadent ppat (red bean) pastry, a rich bread stuffed with sweet red beans. Usually, they’re made with butter and eggs. I used to enjoy them when I was a vegetarian. This vegan version tasted just like it!
The past, present, and future of Korean food
As I mentioned in my last post, Korean culture, products, and food are in vogue in the United States. I’m really glad that South Korea is finally getting recognition, since they’ve been fighting to get to where they are today. And the best thing is that Americans, particularly white people, are finally trying Korean food and actually enjoying it.
But something that tugs at me is, why did it also take white society’s stamp of approval to finally make this food popular in mainstream society? What was once considered stinky and gross—such as kimchi—is now touted as a health food by many white Instagram influencers and chefs while often ignoring the history behind it. (Though, the probiotics are actually good for you.) Sometimes, they’ll make their own “new and improved” kimchi at higher prices. What was wrong with it before? If you want kimchi, then try supporting a Korean-owned business who has the tried and true recipes.
Don’t get me wrong—I’m glad that more people of all walks of life are enjoying what Koreans have to offer. It really is good stuff! I truly hope that this is more than just a health fad, because Korean food has existed long before this current era, and it will exist long afterwards.
