Is Veganism Taking Off in South Korea?
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- Опубликовано: 22 май 2024
- Today we're discussing a recent Washington Post article that details all the ways veganism is on the rise in South Korea.
How to go vegan in South Korea, a meat lover’s paradise:
www.washingtonpost.com/world/...
Why do people hate vegans?
www.theguardian.com/lifeandst...
Survivorship in International Chain Restaurant in
Korea:
digitalcommons.fiu.edu/cgi/vi...
Intro 00:00
State of veganism in South Korea 01:16
Meat eating and wealth 02:10
Korean barbecue and banchan 03:39
Food "experiences" 04:58
K-BBQ and Figure Skating 06:25
The appeal of Korean barbecue 08:13
Korea's rising meat consumption 09:19
American fast food chains in Korea 10:55
Challenges of being vegan in Korea 11:52
"Bideong/no-chunk" approach 12:50
Korean vegan social media challenges 13:55
Pollution and factory farming 15:45
Korean alt meat companies 16:47
Korean government support 17:22
Pushback 18:26
Final thoughts 19:37 
Развлечения
Imaginary voice: bet you can’t incorporate figure skating into a video about veganism in South Korea.
Me: watch me.
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lol for me, eating normally is to avoid murdered animals on my table.
Yes! People are buried so deep in willful ignorance it’s shocking.
It's only difficult if you don't consider the victims. This is clearly the case in South Korea also. When you are mostly concerned about the environment and haven't made the connection to the animals you are going to struggle 😑😐
I started solely because of the environment. David Attenborough RUclips movies and other documentaries about the environment and I learned it was a huge contributing factor to the climate crisis. And I'm actively looking for ways that I can make adjustments to help and I wanted to advocate those ways. I know now if I think about it I'm a rare case I guess. I literally walk around town because if I'm only going a few kilometers away I think it's ridiculous to start up a car and drive there if I'm leaving town to go somewhere I try to get everything that I need to get for a while so I don't have to leave town as often yes I will go out once in awhile.. taking climate action doesn't mean your life has to stop but it sure means we need to stop and consider what we're doing and see where we can come back and I do that. But then after all this I switch to a bully completely plant-based diet. I started listening more and more too and animal rights activists. And it clicked and. Now I truly am vegan. Vegan is not about the environment. I know that but it wasn't until it clicked that I really understood it. And it wasn't until I stopped eating animals that I was completely open to listen to the to the criticism I mean really listen and really question my behavior. So today my focus is on animal rights I still do what I can to lower my environmental impact. But I like that there are other things like health and environment out there floating around hopefully getting other people to do something similar to what I've done. Because unfortunately the way that our brains are set it's really difficult for most people to really question their habits their culture of their behavior their food choices and be fully critical without their biases overriding and then deflecting and not really soaking in the information. People don't make excuses because they're bad people. If it were not socially acceptable to eat animals and we had a large amount of vegans in our society. Maybe then it would be really strange to see people use the types of arguments they do today. But if we look through history people have always made lame excuses to carry on doing horrible things whenever it was widely acceptable to do that thing in their culture.
You are right though it's going to be easier for most people if they really make that connection to animals and seeing them for the truly sentient innocent beings not so different from ourselves in the ways that matter in regards to how they're treated to make them into food products
It would be awesome to see Asia go back to its innovative roots. So many mock meats and other alternatives that we still use today were pioneered there
They are still doing great stuff in Taiwan! Though a lot of the older, more staple mock meats contain egg...
Yes!! I find that so interesting as well. It seems like they should be leading the vegan food movement given their historical food culture.
Have you read The Vegetarian by Han Kang? It paints an... interesting picture of the Korean reaction to going meat-free.
Having lived in Korea, I can say that the holdover of meat being thought of as a luxury is definitely in part influenced by Korea's obsession with status. Also, the rapid growth in the 80s-90s came together with a rapid increase in general nutritional health, so I think many Koreans associate meat with good health, and it shows in the way they speak about food.
I think that another major issue people curious to a plant-based diet face in Korea is social pressure, which I believe is more pronounced than in other countries. It is kind of rare for (especially young) people to cook their own meals, so most people go out with friends every night. There is also a huge stigma against eating alone. Work gatherings (often mandatory) are usually held at bbq or fried chicken joints. The pressure to conform to societal norms (as is the case in most of east asia) is huge, so few end up going against the grain.
I wonder how things will turn out.
I'm in Korea and you nailed what I wanted to say.
Wow, your comment gives so much interesting insight! I had wondered about the "status" aspect, and the correlation between economic growth and nutrition awareness seems significant as well. I had also wondered about cooking vs going out. In the US I would say most vegans cook their own meals but since going out seems to be a huge part of Korean work and social culture, that would create a huge obstacle for sure.
Thank you for the book recommendation; I will check it out!
There was a health based korean vegan channel on youtube and I saw a comment from someone saying how hard it was to convince his family to eat healthy so I responded by suggesting that he watch DOMINION with his family because that's going to make it easier to eat healthy if you consider the animals, he got FURIOUS with me for bringing up the lowly animals when he was concerned about his precious family's health....
It’s so frustrating when people won’t at least acknowledge that what’s good for them is also good for the animals, is also good for the planet! Why do people have to be exclusionary in their thinking?!
@@TotallyForkable Because the concept of being against animal cruelty doesn't even exist in Asia. Which is crazy because actually historically Asians followed more plant based diet and was actually more against animal cruelty via buddhist influence, etc. Today's asians think that being told to think about the animals is actually insulting to their superior humanity.... It's really REALLY depressing. Until ethical veganism takes root there's no future for veganism in Asia.
@@animalsarebeautifulpeople3094you should totally see Christspiracy this Sunday if you can. It goes into the mental gymnastics religions, including Buddhism, go through to justify eating animals.
@@animalsarebeautifulpeople3094 uh... thats really oversimplification and generalization, dont you think
Vegetarianism exist here in Asia for thousands of years and part of many communities and faiths. Its actually possible to try to encourage vegetarians into veganism, especially since a lot of people do hold some animals as sacred and people tend to shift their diet to what was accessible and cheap. But trying to anthromorphize and prioritize only on animal pain and death to motivate countries to not eat meat is still a very privileged western mindset. And think very hard when criticizing people who have suffered through famine and many food insecurities. Why do you think kimchi exist?
I read that article, too! And, I loved your video.
I will have to check out your recipes, Mrs. Plant--I'm sure they are great as everything you make looks fabulous!! It seems like, at least in Seoul, there are quite a few vegan establishments!
As a healthy 13 year Vegan and now 71 who served in the US Army in Korea in the late 70's, your information is correct. Given a choice between the mess hall and going off base and eating real food, I had countless dozens of meals at local restaurants and I enjoyed pretty much all of them. If there was any meat at all served, it was a small gristly garnish, and at the time I was well aware that this "meat" could have been from a dog, so I didn't even bother with that. Often the garnish was a few shreds of fish which was fine at the time. Everything was Rice based with plenty of vegetables and spices, particularly Kimchi, and the food was incredible. I would also note that virtually everyone was very trim and I honestly can't remember seeing anyone fat over there. All of that is now different. Problems with overweight, and obesity are very widespread, and Diabetes now afflicts 1/6 Koreans and the rates and highest in the younger people. The Koreans my age are usually trim, and have far fewer health problems as most of them eat the old fashioned way. Anecdotally I would suggest those young aspiring "No Chunkers" go see their grandparents about what to eat. They will know. I still love Korean food, and I do enjoy it, but I make it at home and shop the Asian grocery stores. Korean restaurant meals are now 99 percent meat laden and I have to specially request it my way.
This was really interesting insight; thank you so much for sharing!! I have actually heard other veterans who served in Korea talk about how amazing the food was when they were there and how it shaped the way they eat to this day! It's sad to think the food has gone from incredibly seasoned rice, veggies, and smaller bits of protein to the pure gluttony that is K-BBQ. Hopefully this is a pendulum that will swing back at some point.
I really enjoy your informative videos. I mentioned your video about breakfast to Sky on VOC when he talked about the dismal hotel breakfast options during his Abduction Tour and he reached out.
As for South Korea’s tentative baby steps towards veganism, I see this as a very welcome development. It’s like people in other developed nations going plant-based for health and environment and evolving to veganism as they learn and make the ethical connection, but on a national scale. In the meantime, there are clearly South Koreans who have arrived there despite cultural inertia. Compassion and ethics know no bounds. I’m excited for veganism to take hold there.
In the meantime, Cheap Lazy Vegan has some great videos about vegan food in South Korea. Thanks again for the good work. Keep it up!
Yes I think there are multiple paths toward making the ethical connection and it's good to see so many people seemingly going down those paths in Korea. I'll have to check out CLV's Korean food vids! So glad you're enjoying my videos, and thank you for the support!
We live in hope, nice video lass fair play.🌱🌠🍀
💯 Well said, and so glad you enjoyed it!!
As a brand new vegan of Korean descent, I do not approve of the "bbq" sponsorship. Why? Anyhow, going vegan was the best decision I've ever made. Should have done it a long time ago. Oh, I love figure skating, too! 💚🌱
I think every vegan feels that way (wishing they had done it sooner) but congratulations on the best decision ever!! And yes, I don't know how much BBQ those skaters are eating 😭 Hope you're enjoying the World Championships so far; the Korean women skated so well!! 👏🏻💖
@@TotallyForkable Thank you! Yes, the BBQ sponsorship of the South Korean figure skating team makes me cringe. Haven’t been keeping up with the World’s yet, been busy. Glad the Korean women are doing well, but I’m rooting for the USA all the way, Miss. My beloved adoptive country. 💚🇺🇸🌱🇰🇷💙
Aww nice!! My response it late but hope you got a chance to catch up on Worlds. It was truly unbelievable!!!
Oh yes! I read that article too. I was really disturbed by a quote from someone interviewed for the article who said, “I think 100 imperfect aspiring vegans are more valuable for our planet than a single perfect vegan.” What is an imperfect vegan? Someone who exploits and kills animals occasionally? Only does that on Sundays? Setting aside that there probably is no such thing as a "perfect vegan," I think 100 "almost perfect" vegans are far better for animals and the planet than 100 imperfect aspiring vegans. Oh well, I suppose you have to learn to crawl before you can walk.
That stood out to me as well! "Vegan" has pretty clearly defined standards but "imperfect vegan" could literally mean anything. I also think people tend to overestimate/overstate their vegan efforts. There have been a number of times when people have said things like "I eat mostly vegan; I'd say I'm 95% vegan" then over the course of a few days together I will see them consume animal products at almost every meal 🧐 There's something to be said for giving yourself a label and boundary to stay within. That said, of course making a concerted effort to reduce is better than doing nothing.
Unfortunately Asia is extremely backward when it comes to animal rights. There was actually a DIRECT ACTION group there but the ridicule they received was greater by orders of magnitude than in the west. (Yeah it's actually possible to be worse)
Yes like I said it almost seems like the “animal rights movement” is defined a bit differently there-like I said, somewhat behind other cultures which may be at least partially due to their history.
I went to South Korea’s direct action everywhere RUclips and the comments where horrible I thought vegans in the USA and uk had it bad lol
@@SSStofu008 Exactly - they really have zero concept of animal rights, whereas even the naysayers in the west have to admit that that it's bad to be pro animal cruelty. Asia is like 30 years behind.
@@TotallyForkable it's not that "animal rights movement" is defined differently - it's that it doesn't exist because people have zero concept of it - it's not just korea but China, indonesia most countries in Asia are the same. Like I said they are like 30-50 years behind. Most people can't even understand the concept of being against animal cruelty.
Omg that stat of 225 lbs meat consumption per person per year in the US 😶 That's close to the weight of 2 people! I'm not even sure I eat this much tofu.
Absolutely crazy!! And when you remove vegans and vegetarians from the equation, the average meat-eating American is eating more than 225lbs 😷
@@TotallyForkable Yess! Exactly! That's even worse. Oof
What the heck are "invisible values"? Is this some sort of subtle dissociative disorder symptom? Anyway, this is not a subject I would have given any thought when not watching Cheap Lazy Vegan or The Korean Vegan's videos, and you have evidently given it a great deal of thought, and spent a lot of time researching (with the help of your former coworker, whose channel I'll check out) to shed light on this complex cultural issue. That humans still need to satisfy primitive primate status requirements by commodifying and exploiting fellow animals--I wonder if human rights abuses in South Korea have increased with the increase in animal foods consumption, as one would expect--is a sign that real civilization continues to elude us as a species. [sigh] Thanks for posting!
"Subtle dissociative disorder symptom" 🤣 Yes, it truly was a strange way of putting it; values are inherently "invisible" but they are meant to guide one's decisions and behaviors. I haven't watched too much Cheap Lazy Vegan but yes watching Korean Vegan's videos you'd think Korean food is inherently vegan-friendly (and indeed it mostly is, with small modifications here and there). And interesting question about human rights abuses; exploitation of living beings is interconnected so I wouldn't be surprised...
Right, who wants to open a Korean style VQQ? I think we can make a fortune guys ❤
"JOKES" aside:Mariel you did great as always ❤
OMG love the idea of "VVQ" Chantal!! Brilliant!
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I haven't seen anyone do a video about the cancer risk to fast food workers cooking and inhaling meat fumes for hours on end.
Ugh, I can only imagine 😞 I'm not sure there have been any studies done; may be hard to get funding for those with the power of the fast food industry 🤦🏻♀️
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