Koreans embracing 'vegan revolution'

Pizza at Nammi Plant Lab. Korea Times photo by Olivia Han

By Olivia Han

Every year, more and more people around the world are embracing a plant-based, vegan lifestyle. Often dubbed the "vegan revolution," it is more a practice of abstaining from the use of animal products for health reasons, to prevent animal cruelty and to protect the environment.

Despite kimchi, bibimbap, and the array of plant-based side dishes, Korea is not a country that first comes to mind in terms of veganism. It is indubitably a meat-centric society and unsurprisingly, the Huffington Post called Korea one of the 13 worst countries for vegans in 2014. One central role in stigmatizing vegan diets are the lack of plant-based only options in school meals across Korea. Introducing meat from a young age also unintentionally creates an addiction to its taste, making a transition into a vegan diet even harder at an older age.

Also, joining the small 1 percent of Koreans that are vegan can lead to social isolation or ostracism. One strategy to avoid spending the night endlessly eating side-dishes during a work event or dinner is to have plant-based food prepped.

Sprout, a vegan, packaged to-go delivery service located in Haebangchon ships throughout Korea, and has been growing in popularity. According to Sprout's General Manager Jon Collins, many of their customers are actually not even vegan or vegetarian. Most are described as "reducetarian," meaning that a lot of them actively choose to consume less meat to "improve their health, protect the environment, and spare farm animals from cruelty."

"Korea is a global hub of innovation and exporter of culture and cuisine but also a major customer of international media and pop culture. Obviously the vegan or plant-based trend has been cultivating and growing for quite a while in the West," said Collins in an email to The Korea Times. "In addition to these external influences, there is a local grassroots movement that can be seen around universities like the popular weekend nightlife neighborhood around Hongdae," says Collins. He said he has seen animal rights Activists like Anonymous for the Voiceless and other small groups generally working to raise awareness about the treatment of livestock animals.

With many in Korea having growing interest in a healthier diet, they are making the shift to veganism. As Collins said, "When people have a viable and delicious alternative to eating animal meat, many are willing to make the switch to a plant based diet."

As a result, more vegan restaurants and delivery services can be found, especially in Seoul. "Happy Cow," a website that features vegan restaurants, now has 371 listings for South Korea, with 217 of them in Seoul.

Korean mobile app "Go.Greenfeed" filters vegetarian and vegan restaurants based on your live location. Attendance at the annual Korean Vegan Festival has increased by 15 percent since its creation in 2013, drawing 10,000 people this year.

Burger at the Plant in Itaewon. Korea Times photo by Olivia Han

The spike of interest in vegan, plant-based cuisine has created not only an influx of restaurants and cafes, but also the revival of traditional Korean temple foods. One of the most popular and prominent vegan restaurants in Seoul with two locations in Itaewon is Plant Cafe Seoul. Plant is passionate about making the plant-based lifestyle more easily adopted in Korea by providing an array of vegan dishes and baked goods on sale.

Everything from wraps, to pastas, burgers, and curry are made 100 percent vegan at Plant. Best selling dishes include the hummus & roasted squash salad, tempeh (deep-fried fermented soy beans) rainbow wrap, lentil veggie bowl, and chilli "cheese"burger which features cashew-based "cheese" and a veggie patty. There are also rotating daily dinner specials that can't be found on their permanent menu. Customers not looking for a full meal can also opt for dairy-free cakes and desserts. Plant's smoothies are also very popular as they are jam-packed with high protein micronutrients such as spirulina and kale.

Head Chef Yourie Choe of Plant stated that "plant-based options should be more easy available and accessible to everyone, regardless of whether or not you adhere to a vegan lifestyle," on the restaurant's website.

Interested in giving a plant-based diet a try? Check out delivery service Sprout (www.sproutseoul.com / Yongsan) and these restaurants in Seoul: Nammi Plant Lab (Seocho), Monk's Butcher (Itaewon), Yummy Yomil (Hapjeong), Root (Hannam) and Veg Green (Gangnam).

Olivia Han is a Korea Times intern.

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