Dylan Coyle moved to Korea to teach English, but fell in love with the country and is now attending university there. His participation in the Seoul Veggie Club helped him find lots of support for his vegan diet. Dylan is full of extremely helpful advice for vegetarians planning a visit to Korea. He took the time to answer all my Korea questions for the upcoming edition of Vegetarian Asia: A Travel Guide.

Teresa: Where are you from?

Dylan: I was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. 😀

Teresa: How did you become a vegan?

Dylan:  I became vegetarian when I was 12. It seemed like a spontaneous choice at the time but I was taking a media literacy class in middle school. We watched some videos about all the tactics advertisements used to persuade kids and it really gave me permission to make my own decisions. I was getting chubby from too much fast food, and didn’t really understand the logic between having pets but also eating animals, so vegetarianism fit into my life well. I gradually cut out eggs and dairy until I was 19 when I became officially vegan. I also became a latchkey kid around 12, so learning to cook vegetarian food for myself was fun and easy.

Teresa: What made you choose Korea as a place to teach?

Dylan:  Food was one of the big reasons to come here. I was sitting in my car in California eating rice cake while trying to make my decision, and knew that I would love eating and cooking here every day. My plan was originally to go to London for grad school afterwards, but I fell in love with Korea and I’m studying international development at Yonsei University in Seoul now! So technically I’m not a teacher anymore, and I’m looking at working at an NGO, IGO, USAID, or UN project here.

Teresa: How do Koreans react to your veganism?

Dylan:  I have had nothing but great support here. People have introduced me to their favorite veggie restaurants and dishes. When I was teaching, my institute was very sensitive to my diet and took the whole staff a few times to some really nice traditional style vegetarian dinners.

Teresa:  Do you know many Korean vegans/vegetarians?

Dylan:  Yes! There are so many Korean vegetarians. The Korean vegetarian group is called Hanulvut. Their events are bigger than the international ones, and they have speakers like famous doctors. The programming is all in Korean but I’ve gone anyway and made friends. I also met a few Korean vegetarians and vegans at Yonsei.

Teresa: What’s it like staying vegan in Korea?

Dylan: I say it’s a worthwhile compromise. I could have stayed in San Francisco where it was easy to be a perfect vegan, but I think it is worth taking the meat off of some dishes that were messed up from communication mistakes, or conceding that some of the flavoring in some dishes probably has seafood in it. It’s easier the longer I stay here, as I learn more strategies and language, and I only hope I can help others adapt and enjoy a more veggie life style here.

Teresa: Any advice for travelers?

Dylan: 1. Avoid Western style restaurants when asked where you want to eat.  They are still a choice between French fries and expensive salads.

2. Side dishes are your friends. Korean meals come with 3 to 30 different vegetable dishes. They are refillable, so don’t feel bad about going crazy on them.

3. Timing is important. When the meat in the middle of the Korean meal is gone, then everyone leaves. I eat half the side dishes by the time half the meat is gone, and finish them when everyone else does. If you finish them early, they will be refilled.

4. Don’t be shy. If you’re with a huge group (like teacher orientation), then you can switch places as few times with others so they can eat the meat by your place and you can eat all their side dishes while talking to new people.

5. “Bap-man” means “just rice.” I’ve ordered this lots of places and then added my own fixings.

6. Kimbab! Kim is a type of seaweed and bap is cooked rice, so it’s the Korean equivalent to sushi. If you go to a place where they have all the ingredients out, you can point to the egg, fishcake, and ham, and make a big X with your arms, and then you can watch as they are made. (Yachae kimbab means vegetable kimbab, but always includes the egg, fishcake, and ham unless you ask for it without)

7. Halal food in Korean is harder to find than vegetarian food, but most cities have foreigner marts that specialize in it, and the area by the Mosque near Itaewon has tons of options. Supermarkets also have some Halal food.

8. Ssamjang is a culinary secret weapon. It’s garlic pepper paste, normally used as a condiment, but goes well on everything. I dip fruit in it, stir fry with it, mix it in my rice. It comes in a green tub.

9. Communication is hard even when people use the same language. Mistakes will happen, refunds are difficult to get, but being friendly will be remembered by everyone you are with.

10. Prepare for lots of questions. A lot of questions that are considered rude in other countries are standard in Korean. Age, martial status, religion, and why you’re vegan are asked without thought that you might be offended.

11. Make local friends. Join clubs and message boards for things you are interested in doing here.

12. You can rent a phone in the main airports. They have Korean-English dictionaries on them, and there are free translation services that you can call any time. The government tourism phone number is 1330 (02-1330 from a cell) and BBB volunteer translator service is 1588-5644. Smart phones are available too, and having a map and fast internet access helps no matter what you eat.

13. I could go on but this is a good start. Seoul Veggie Club on Facebook is a great place for anyone to ask more questions about vegetarian and vegan food concerns!