Seoul City releases vegetarian restaurants guidebook

A guidebook for restaurants, cafes and bakeries in Seoul offering vegetarian or vegan options /Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government

By Bahk Eun-ji

With a growing number of people opting for vegetable-based diets, Seoul City has released a list of restaurants, cafes and bakeries offering vegetarian food in the capital area.

The guidebook has information on a total of 948 restaurants ― 580 franchise outlets and 368 independent restaurants. They include both vegetarian restaurants offering only vegetarian or vegan dishes, and general restaurants that include such options.

While there are 1,555 restaurants in Seoul offering vegetarian options, the 948 listed were those that agreed to provide information to the city government.

The guidebook categorizes these eateries based on the vegetarian classification of the International Vegetarian Union (IVU), and people can check whether the dishes of the listed restaurants are suitable for various diets such as vegan, lacto-ovo vegetarian and pescatarian.

Copies of the guidebook were distributed to local health centers in each district. It also provides stickers labeling the meat-free options of the 948 restaurants for customers to easily recognize.

By district, Gangnam had the largest number of such restaurants with 110, followed by Jongno with 70, Songpa with 68, Mapo with 57, Yongsan with 54, Seocho with 52 and Jung with 47.

Seoul City said it created the guidebook to provide citizens with easier access to vegetarian options, researching the restaurants from July to December last year.

"We planned the guidebook to help citizens increase vegetable intake to prevent chronic diseases through a more balanced diet, and to guarantee their right to choose eating options," said Park Yu-mi, head of the public health department of the city government.

"Vegetarianism and veganism are on the rise in the country as citizens are interested in healthy food due to the prolonged pandemic. We will continue to create an environment where citizens can access various food options."

The list can be found online at?news.seoul.go.kr/welfare/public_health/status-of-vegetarian-restaurants.

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