Dear Dr. P,
Hi,
I have accepted an offer from Seoul, and I will be working on a scientific project there. My question is regarding the availability of vegetarian food in Seoul. I am from India and am very strict in my food habits. I do not take any non-vegetarian stuff. I am very much worried, whether I will be able to manage in Seoul. Let me mention that I prefer cooking myself. But I would like to know, whether raw vegetables, rice, dal and other grocery items will be available at Seoul without any problems? Hope your answer will provide me more idea about this. Thanks in advance.
In Korea, it is very hard to find a pure vegetarian restaurant, but they do exist, and many are creating vegetarian options.
If you use facebook, I strongly suggest you join the Seoul Veggie Club, which is on facebook at www.facebook.com/groups/seoulveggieclub.
Regarding the ingredients you listed, the best places to go shopping are located in and around Itaewon. The Seoul Veggie Club members are great at giving out advice on where to buy specific ingredients.
Traditionally vegetarian Korean choices include temple food, which is vegan, tofu dishes, and bibimbap without meat or egg if so desired. Thank you.
If your column in the Korea Times is intended as a joke or humor, disregard the following. However, if you are attempting to be sincere, you ought to know that your advice comes across as comedic and phony.
Your language ability might be the cause of some of the awkwardness in your responses, but your biased Korean background makes you sound like some backward thinking, ignorant, chauvinist Korean man.
If you are going to continue, you might consider having a qualified professional edit the idiocy out of your advice. From the little things, like addressing people as "Dear Sender" to re-posting crap from 11 years ago as if it were current.
Thank you very much for your frank remarks.
I have been operating the Personal Therapist Forum in the www.lifeinkorea.com since 2001. During that time, I received considerable appreciation for providing a resource to those who may not otherwise have access to a doctor’s advice ― especially in the expat community. I feel it is especially tough to be a foreigner in Korea, Hence, I decided to put in some extra effort to support the foreign community of Korea.
As my forum gained popularity, I was asked to create “On the couch with Dr. P” in keeping with the same principles my forum is based on: love, support and compassion for those who may not have access to a professional. I have been running both corners since this May.
Clearly, the questions from readers are the essence of the Q&A corner. In the beginning, we used past topics to until the column became known. We felt that the advice was still beneficial, and it helped us launch a valuable resource which has since grown.
Thank to our readers, the number of our questions is increasing. We hope you continue to read, ask, and critique as you see fit. Thank you.
Park Jin-seng is a psychiatrist who runs a clinic for foreigners in Seoul and operates the personal therapist forums on www.lifeinkorea.com. Please submit questions for Park to mdoctor@korea.com or call the hotline at 02-563-0678.