Vegetarian and halal food in Korea: how to find it and what to ask

By the Real Korea 101 editorial team · Published November 13, 2026 · Sources checked November 13, 2026

Short answer: Vegetarian and halal eating in Korea is possible, but you need to ask, because many Korean dishes use meat or fish broth and kimchi is usually made with salted seafood or fish sauce. For halal food, the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) sorts restaurants into four groups: Halal Certified, Self-certified, Muslim Friendly and Pork-free. Only the first group holds certification from an accredited halal certification agency. For vegetarians, Buddhist temple food is the most reliable Korean option, since it excludes meat and fish.

The KTO's four Muslim-friendly restaurant categories

The KTO's Muslim-friendly Travel pages say it selected restaurants that meet set requirements and grouped them into four categories. The definitions below are the KTO's own:

The KTO's 2022 guidebook, Muslim-Friendly Restaurants in Korea, explains the criteria in more detail. A Halal Certified restaurant holds halal certification from an agency recognized by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and employs at least one Muslim operator or cook. A Self-certified restaurant identifies as halal and has a Muslim operator or cook. The guidebook defines a halal menu as dishes using ingredients such as halal meat, seafood, vegetables and tofu, with no pork. It also says it received input from the Korea Muslim Federation as well as Islamic culture and halal food experts.

Each listing also uses pictograms: Muslim owner or chef, halal menu available, reservation required for the halal menu, alcohol-free and pork-free. The KTO adds one important warning: hotel restaurants and buffets in the "Muslim Friendly" category may serve dishes that contain pork.

Ordering halal: what to ask

The KTO guidebook includes a communication sheet, in English and Korean, for Muslim visitors to show restaurant staff. It covers five questions:

1. Does this restaurant provide a halal menu for Muslims?
2. Does this restaurant have a pork-free menu?
3. Does this dish contain any pork or pork-derived items, including bacon, sausages, lard, gelatin, shortening or emulsifier?
4. Can this restaurant provide vegetarian or seafood dishes?
5. Do you have a space that can be used for prayer?

The third question is the one most visitors forget. The guidebook's definition of a pork-free menu excludes not only pork but pork-derived ingredients such as lard, gelatin, shortening and emulsifier. The guidebook also gives a phrase asking staff not to put alcohol in the food, which is worth using when you order dishes with sauces or marinades (see the phrases below).

If you are not in a certified restaurant, seafood and vegetable dishes are the usual fallback, and the guidebook classifies Korean dishes into vegetables only, seafood-based, vegetable or seafood-based, and meat-based without pork. Even then, ask about broth and sauces.

Eating vegetarian in Korean restaurants

The KTO's Tips for Vegetarians page (last updated October 2023) says the number of vegetarians in Korea is rising and that restaurants, bakeries and cafes for vegetarians are increasing. It also gives the core problem plainly: Korean food is often prepared with meat or fish broth, and many restaurants do not have separate vegetarian menus. Its advice is to tell the server about your diet in advance and to say clearly which ingredients to leave out, preparing phrases such as "I am a vegetarian" or "I cannot eat meat, eggs and seafood" in Korean.

Two warnings from the same page are worth knowing before you sit down:

• Kimchi is usually not vegetarian. Kimchi seasoning most often contains salted seafood, fish sauce, meat broth or similar ingredients, and some regional recipes use abalone, cutlass fish or pork.
• Tofu dishes may contain seafood. Soft tofu stew (sundubu-jjigae) and braised tofu (dubu-jorim) mostly add salted shrimp for flavor.

For packaged food, the KTO suggests looking for a vegan certification logo. It names several certifiers, including the Korea Agency of Vegan Certification and Services, the Vegan Society, V-Label International, EVE Vegan, Vegan Standard Certification International Institution and Cruelty Free International.

Dishes to try and what to check

For more about these dishes and their official English names, see our Korean food list. Street food is harder for vegetarians, since broths and fish cakes are common; our street food guide explains what each item is made of.

Temple food

Korea.net, the government's official English news site, reported that the Korea Heritage Service announced on May 19, 2025 the designation of Buddhist temple food as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage. Based on Buddhist precepts, the food is vegetarian and excludes meat, fish and oshinchae, the five forbidden pungent vegetables: garlic, green onions, chives, Korean wild chives and heunggeo, a type of leek. The heritage service also noted that recipes differ by temple.

Because temple food leaves out garlic and green onion as well as meat and fish, it suits strict vegetarian diets and people avoiding alliums. Temples themselves have long been producers of fermented foods such as tofu, meju (fermented soybean blocks) and jang (soybean sauces and pastes), according to the same report. The KTO's vegetarian page notes that temple food can now be found outside temples, with a growing number of temple food restaurants. If you are vegan, ask whether dairy or egg is used, as practice can differ by restaurant.

Useful Korean phrases

The KTO guidebook's "finger conversation" page lists phrases you can point to. The first five below come from it; the last two are simple sentences in the same style for vegetarians.

• Please remove pork, ham and bacon. 돼지고기, 햄, 베이컨 빼고 주세요. (Dwaeji gogi, ham, bacon ppaego juseyo.)
• Please remove all meat from the food. 고기 빼고 주세요. (Gogi ppaego juseyo.)
• Please do not include alcohol in the food. 음식에 술 넣지 마세요. (Eumsige sul neochi maseyo.)
• Is the meat halal? 할랄 고기예요? (Halal gogi yeyo?)
• Where is the prayer room? 기도실 어디예요? (Gidosil eodi eyo?)
• I am a vegetarian. 저는 채식주의자예요. (Jeoneun chaesikjuuija-yeyo.)
• I do not eat meat, fish, seafood or eggs. 고기, 생선, 해산물, 달걀을 안 먹어요. (Gogi, saengseon, haesanmul, dalgyareul an meogeoyo.)

If you get stuck, the KTO lists the 1330 Korea Travel Hotline (+82-2-1330), which offers help in several languages including English. For general ordering habits such as call bells and paying, see how to order at a Korean restaurant.