Interest in vegan food continues to grow across South Korea. This prompted new and old organizations to start programs to certify products as vegan. Here is more information on one such organization, the Korea Agency of Veng Certification and Services which created a Certified Vegan label in Korea. Some Companies Cerifying Food Vegan in Korea In South Korea, several organizations certify products as vegan. Businesses can hire such companies to review their products and provide a certification that helps boost consumer faith that these products are indeed vegan. These organizations also offer consultation on creating vegan products and often help promote veganism within the culture. It is important to note that companies certifying vegan products operate within a capitalist framework. This presents a business opportunity, so businesses should consider this when searching for vegan food certification. Smaller vendors might not afford these certifications, but this does not make their food any less vegan. Therefore, businesses should learn to read labels effectively to find “accidentally vegan” products. Learn how to read labels to find “accidentally vegan” products. Five Companies Organizations Capitalizing on Vegan Labeling Businesses can hire the following organizations to certify their products as vegan. Such certifying companies ensure businesses meet specific criteria that exclude animal-derived ingredients and animal testing: Korea Agency of Vegan Certification and Services (KAVCS): (Which we further discuss in this article) Korean Standards Association (KSA): WECERT Korean Vegetarian Union (KVU): Vegan Society of Korea: The previous organizations play a crucial role in supporting the growing demand for vegan products in Korea. Their certification marks help consumers easily identify products that align with vegan values and contribute to the overall growth of the vegan market in the country. Now, let’s take a closer look at how the largest of the vegan certifying organizations operates. About the ‘Certified Vegan’ Status in Korea The Certified Vegan labeling is managed by the Korea Agency of Vegan Certification and Services (KAVCS). Founded in 2018, the KAVCS made itself responsible for evaluating and certifying products as vegan, ensuring producers meet the standards and requirements necessary to be considered free from animal-derived ingredients and animal testing. The agency provides certification for food and cosmetics. KAVCS is a Private Organization It is important to note that the KAVCS is a private organization. Headquartered at the Hanyang Institute of Technology on the campus of Hanyang University, KAVCS operates independently to provide certification services, ensuring products meet the vegan standards required for certification. As a private entity, it works with manufacturers, producers, and businesses to certify their products as vegan, ensuring transparency and reliability for consumers looking for vegan options. Although a private organization, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety approved KVAS as a vegan certification agency in 2018.  KAVCS Responsabilities The organization provides oversight of the following: Obtaining a Certified Vegan Certification To obtain a Certified Vegan certification in Korea, businesses must follow a series of steps typically outlined by KAVCS. The below information represents an overview of how such a certification occurs according to their website: KAVCS Funding Sources The KAVCS, being a private organization, typically receive funded through various sources such as: It is unclear which specific funding sources the KAVCS utilizes, but their website implies that they collect Certification Fees, charge for consulting services, and provide training programs. If anyone knows the specifics, further information would be appreciated. It is desirable that organizations are more transparent about the costs of certification, as these numbers are often kept private. In other countries, certification may range between 500 USD to 5,000 USD depending on the complexity of the product. Not All Vegan Korean Food is Certified Vegan Since becoming certified as vegan in Korea is new and privately managed, many vegan food items may not be labeled vegan. This is why consumers also need to know how to identify “Accidentally Vegan” food in Korea. Read More About Living as a Vegan in Korea More articles about veganism on the South of Seoul Blog. Lanae Rivers-Woods, MAITLanae Rivers-Woods moved to Korea in 2011 where she lives in the countryside with her family, friends, and puppies. She holds a BSSW (Bachelor’s of Science in Social Work), a MAIT (Master’s of Arts in International Teaching), and registered by the Pyeongtaek Korean Times with the Korean government as a Cultural Expert. Ms. Rivers-Woods used her 15 years experience as a social architect, UX/UI designer, and technology consultant to found South of Seoul in 2015. South of Seoul is a volunteer organization that leverages technological tools to mitigate cultural dissonance in multi-cultural communities. Through South of Seoul, Ms. Rivers-Woods works with independent volunteers, non-profit organizations, businesses, local & federal government, universities, and US military organizations to develop solutions to support English speaking international residents in rural South Korea. Additionally, Ms. Rivers-Woods founded the South of Seoul smart phone app available for Google Play and iPhone. The app provides information a resources for those living and traveling in South Korea. When she isn’t in South of Seoul development meetings or working her day job, Ms. Rivers-Woods loves to be outside at skate parks, the beach, or playing in the mountains. www.southofseoul.net

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Navigating the aisles of a South Korean grocery store can be an adventure, especially if you’re not familiar with the language or the art of decoding nutrition labels on Korean food packaging. Understanding these labels can be a game-changer when it comes to making informed food choices. Before we continue, it’s important to note that this blog does not intend to provide medical or nutrition advice. Instead, we aim to equip you with the knowledge and skills to decipher South Korean food labels confidently. So, let’s dive into the world of Korean nutrition labels! Listen to the BlogCast Don’t want to read? Listen to the South of Seoul BlogCast which provides accessible content through the use of AI technology. We don’t have time to read each article, but we do our best to make more of our content accessible. If you would like to join our Accessibility Team apply to volunteer with South of Seoul. Please note that the pronunciation of some Korean words may be inaccurate due to AI technology’s limitations. Where to Find Nutrition Labels on Packaging In South Korea, the location of nutrition labels varies depending on the food’s packaging. You’ll typically find the labels on the back of the packaging, but not all packaged foods follow this pattern. Nutrition information may also appear on the front of packages (shown in the images of Hetbahn Cooked Multi-grain Rice below) or on the sides of packages (shown in the images of Peacock Egg Potato Salad below). These label placements might differ from what you’re accustomed to in your home country, so it may take you some time to adjust. Since each section of the overall nutrition label may also appear in different locations depending on the package, so it’s important to use keywords to identify the various components of nutrition labels. For example, the ingredients list has been highlighted with an orange box in the images below to show some variations of the placements. Rather than relying on the location of the list to be consistent, look for the word “원재료명” to identify the ingredients list (also highlighted with an orange box in the images below). From there, you can analyze the ingredients using translation apps, as we’ll discuss later in the blog. The Basics of Korean Nutrition Labels Before we dive into reading the nutrition labels, let’s address some basic information related to Korean nutrition labels. Overseeing Authority The South Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) is responsible for overseeing nutrition label standards. They ensure that labels provide accurate and useful information to consumers. Be sure to refer to information from the MFDS for the most up-to-date nutrition label standards. Comparing with Labels from Other Countries If you’re accustomed to labels from other countries, you might notice differences in layout and terminology used in Korean nutrition labels compared to labels from your country. The information required to be reported on Korean food labels may be different from the requirements of other countries, and vice versa. Still, the overarching principles of nutrition labels are universal. “kcal” vs “cal” for Calories Calories are a measure of energy, particularly in reference to the amount of energy in food or drinks. For some readers, it may be puzzling to see “Calories” or “Cal” expressed as “kcal.” Don’t worry; “kcal” is simply another way to express calories. One big Calorie (that’s a calorie with a capital ‘C’) is equivalent to 1 kilocalorie, both of which are equal to 1,000 small calories (that’s a calorie with a lowercase ‘c’). For more information on the topic of caloric units, you can check out the following articles by the American National Health Library and the United Kingdom National Health Services. Now, let’s break down the various components of Korean nutrition labels. Calories and Serving Size Let’s start by dissecting the calorie and serving size information. This information is listed on the same line as the nutrition information label, which is written as “영양정보” in Korean. Calorie Breakdown Nutrition labels in Korea use “kcal.” As discussed in the section above, a “kcal” is equivalent to the ‘Calories’ terminology you may be familiar with on other countries’ food packages, such as the United States. Serving Size Understanding serving size is important because it determines the nutritional values provided by a food product. Serving sizes can be presented in several ways on packaged food. The serving sizes are generally listed by mass (e.g., 30 grams). Here are a few examples of how serving sizes may be denoted: Example: Calories and Serving Size Using the Peacock Egg Potato Salad as an example, we will highlight the nutrition label, serving size, and calories. A serving of 110 g of Peacock Egg Potato Salad contains 200 kcal, which is equal to 200 Calories (with a capital ‘C’). As shown in the image below: Ingredients and Allergens Identifying the ingredients and allergens in a food product is important for making conscious and safe food choices. We will give an overview of how to identify the ingredient list, allergens, and possible risk of cross-contamination when reading Korean nutrition labels. Ingredient List The ingredient list on the nutrition label will tell you what’s in the product in descending order of quantity, similar to the US. You can identify the ingredient list on a nutrition label by the Korean word “원재료명.” You can use translation apps to help you read through an ingredient list, and we’ll discuss some translation resources later in the blog. Allergens: “Contains” and “May Be Produced In a Factory That…” In this section, we’ll look into a critical aspect of Korean nutrition labels: allergens. These labels provide essential information to help you identify and steer clear of common allergens in food products, ensuring safe and informed consumption. Allergens are usually highlighted with a contrasting background color at the end of the ingredient list. The allergen box may be a variety of colors, such as yellow, red, and gray. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) sets the required allergens for listing on food packaging. This list includes some common allergens that packaged food in Korea may contain, but it’s not an exhaustive one. You can use translation apps to identify allergens not listed below. Manufacturing facilities can sometimes handle allergens that aren’t part of the final product, which could lead to potential cross-contamination. As a result, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety mandates including this information on the product’s packaging. You’ll usually find this cross-contamination disclosure in a bulleted list, often positioned near the nutrition or ingredient information. The wording of the disclosure may include variations such as: Example: Ingredients and Allergens Using the Dongwon My Plant Vegan Tuna as an example, we will highlight the ingredient list, allergen list, and cross-contamination risk disclosure. As shown in the image below: Nutrient Breakdown Now, let’s decode the nutrients, vitamins, and minerals section on Korean food labels. Like the calories and serving size, this information is found under the nutrition information (영양정보) section of a food label. Macronutrients Some of the most common macronutrients displayed on Korean labels include the following with their Korean translations. You can use translation apps to identify nutrients not listed below. Vitamins and Minerals This nutrition label section highlights the key vitamins and minerals included in the food item. The vitamins are not necessarily present on all food packaging, but we have included an example of a vitamins and minerals section in the image below. The word “비타민” is accompanied by its corresponding English letter and number. For example, “Vitamin B6” would be written as “비타민 B6” in Korean. Daily Values (DV%) This percentage indicates how much a nutrient in one serving contributes to a daily diet. The percent daily values on Korean labels are based on a 2,000-calorie daily intake. This daily caloric intake may not align with your country’s guidelines or physician’s recommendations, so you can adjust your intake as needed. The product label will list each nutrient in its appropriate units, such as milligrams (mg), grams (g), or micrograms (µg). Alongside, you’ll find the corresponding percent value, calculated based on a daily intake of 2,000 calories. Example: Nutrient Breakdown Using Market O Nature O! Granola Pop as an example, we will highlight the macronutrients, vitamins and minerals, and percent daily values. As shown in the image below: Additional Information Here are a few additional tips for navigating packaged food in Korea. Expiration Dates Ensure your food is fresh and safe by following these instructions. Keep in mind that in Korea, dates follow the order of year/month/day. Expiration dates on food packages may vary in location and can be represented by a few words, such as: We have highlighted two examples of expiration dates with an orange box in the images below. Special Symbols or Icons Keep an eye out for any unique symbols or icons on labels; they may convey important information. Storage When exploring Korean packaged food, keep an eye out for storage symbols. These small icons guide you on how to store your food for optimal freshness. Food that should be frozen will usually have a snowflake symbol. The image below of Mom’s Dish Chicken shows an example of the snowflake icon in a light blue square. For items requiring refrigeration, keep an eye out for the term “냉장 제품” or simply “냉장,” accompanied by various symbols. You might see icons like a refrigerator or a snowflake (which can be confusingly similar to frozen). The image of Maniker Mung Bean Chicken Stew Package below has an example of the fridge icon outlined by a blue square. The Joowon Duck packaging uses a leaf symbol alongside “냉장” to indicate that the product should be refrigerated, as shown in the blue square. Recycling Check for recycling symbols and guidelines on food packaging. Keep in mind that garbage and recycling regulations differ by district, so consult your local waste disposal resources. You can watch the video below made by Seoul National University Office of International Affairs students to learn some of the basics of waste disposal and recycling in Korea. Cooking Instructions Packaged foods may have cooking instructions on the packaging when appropriate. Cooking instructions may be displayed in a number of ways and can be identified by images, times, and numbered steps. The orange boxes below highlight a few examples of how cooking instructions may be displayed on different products. Reading Korean Nutrition Labels Practice Let’s analyze the nutrition label from a T Asia Kitchen Pu Phat Phong package to put all the previously outlined information into practice. The first image below shows the front of the T Asia Kitchen Pu Phat Phong package, and the second image shows the back. We will number and identify each section on the food nutrition label below. The front of the package may offer a preview of some nutrition information for a product, such as: Now, when you look at the back of the package, you can see the following information moving from the top to the bottom of the package. Overall Example Translations Translation resources, such as Papago or Google Translate, may be helpful tools if you need language assistance while navigating Korean food labels. Using Papago to Read Labels Papago is a great tool for translating ingredients on food packaging. With the Papago app, you can snap a photo of the ingredients list and have the information translated in seconds. However, as with any translation app service, the information may not always be translated accurately. Watch the video below for a tutorial on how to use the image translator on Papago. Additional Resources For Reading Korean Food Labels Our Muslim readers can learn more about navigating food labels to find halal-friendly packaged food by checking out the blog Looking for Halal: Reading Korean Food Labels. For more information and handy tools on Korean nutrition labels: Conclusion Understanding Korean nutrition labels is a valuable skill when navigating South Korean grocery stores. Navigating Korean nutrition labels can seem daunting at first, but with the insights shared in...

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Let’s have a quick talk about shoe sizes and shopping in Korea. It’s nothing exciting, but those with larger feet need to be prepared for some challenges. Shoes are something people feel very attached to and not being able to find shoes in Korea that meet a lifetime of expectations may feel hard. So let’s talk about it. Journey Into the World of Korean Shoe Shopping Moving to the Land of the Morning Calm or just visiting? Either way, you might wonder about shoe shopping and finding your sizes in Korea. Well, it’s not as tranquil as you might think. In fact, it’s the one struggle I’ve never fully overcome. Navigating shoe sizes, styles, and stores can be quite an adventure, especially for foreigners with “large” feet. Don’t fret, though. This guide will walk you through the ins and outs of buying shoes in Korea, along with some tips for overcoming potential hurdles you might face on your shoe-shopping expedition. Culture Shock and Shoes For international residents (expats) in Korea, shoes may feel like one of the most frustrating experiences. The shoes in Korea don’t match their expectations. Many international residents complain about sizing (both length and width), quality of shoes, styles of shoes, and comfort of shoes. Keep in mind, these types of international resident complaints aren’t unique to Korea. This is a common experience around the world. People have spent their whole life in their home countries figuring out exactly what works for them and where to find it. Then, suddenly, when they move abroad they have to figure this out all over again. It’s not a fun or good feeling. In fact, I have Korean friends who went to the USA for a holiday and came back with the same complaints. They couldn’t find their shoe sizes and styles in the US. The shoes in the USA were too wide, too chunky, not the right colors, etc. Me and My Partner’s Experience with Shoes Both my partner and I have shoes that fall outside the regular size range for our genders in Korea. However, for me, this hasn’t been as much of a problem because I have always preferred unisex shoes. Since I’m tall and very active, women’s shoes never worked well for me in the US either. I already exclusively purchased men’s sports shoes before moving to Korea and couldn’t find women’s shoes I liked. Once I moved to Korea I had more unisex shoe options. I love the comfort of the cute unisex styles that fit my active lifestyle better. Then, for dress shoes and boots, I decided to simply have them made since they cost the same as a nice pair of brand shoes. For cheap work shoes, I purchase a few pairs of Clark’s when I am in Europe or the US for a holiday. This has been my system for over 13 years. My partner, on the other hand, shops for shoes online. He buys from Van’s in Korea or from Amazon. He rarely visits the US or Europe, so he has relied entirely on the Internet since he moved to Korea. Now that you know our experience, here are things you might need to shape your shoe experience while living in South Korea. Navigating Shoe Size Differences First things first, let’s talk about shoe sizes. Korean shoe sizes operate on a different scale from what you might be used to. So, before you set foot in a shoe store, it’s essential to know your Korean shoe size. Here’s a handy conversion chart to help you figure that out: US Men’s US Women’s UK Men’s UK Women’s EU Korea 7 8.5 6.5 5 40 250 7.5 9 7 5.5 40.5 255 8 9.5 7.5 6 41 260 8.5 10 8 6.5 42 265 9 10.5 8.5 7 42.5 270 9.5 11 9 7.5 43 275 10 11.5 9.5 8 44 280 Remember, these conversions are not 100% accurate across all brands, so it’s always a good idea to try on shoes before buying. As they say, if the shoe fits, wear it! Shoe Size Systems Vary Also, know that not all shoe stores use Korean sizing, some stores will actually use EU sizes. Yes, that’s right, not every shoe shop uses the same sizing system. Additionally, some shops may offer a US size conversion comparison but not clearly clarify if it’s a men’s or women’s shoe. Therefore, make sure to know both your EU and Korean sizes when shoe shopping. Pro-Tip For Using Sizing Charts Since sizes can vary a lot. Don’t just look at the Korean size, choose your shoe size based on the country of manufacture, not necessarily where the brand is headquartered. For instance, some American shoe brands are produced in Spain or Italy, leading to frequent mislabeling of sizes. Here are some tips based on where the shoes are made: This doesn’t always work, but it sometimes does so keep it in mind. This tip came from MOMOTHEROSE and we love it. Asking for Your Shoe Size A really easy way to ask for your shoe size is to show the staff your Korean shoe size on your phone. It can get stressful trying to say the Korean for your size, so just navigate around this by visually sharing the information. It’s easier on everyone. Unisex Shoes Korea offers quite a few unisex shoe sizes designed to look great across genders. I personally choose these types of shoes quite often. Since Korea requires a lot of walking, I want to wear cute comfortable shoes all the time anyway. My lifestyle in Korea doesn’t even allow space for fancy shoes anymore. Well-Documented Shoe & Size Issues When it comes to shoe shopping in Korea, foreigners might face a few challenges. Here are some tips to make your shopping experience as smooth as possible: Less-Documented Issues Foreigners May Face Shoe Shopping Options When You Can’t Find Shoes in Stores So what do you do if your feet are too big or you don’t like the styles? How do you manage the situation? Here are a few ways that my community has found: Additional Information Don’t just read the South of Seoul perspective on shoe sizes and shopping in Korea, also ready these useful articles which may include additional useful information: Volunteer With South of Seoul Lanae Rivers-Woods, MAITLanae Rivers-Woods moved to Korea in 2011 where she lives in the countryside with her family, friends, and puppies. She holds a BSSW (Bachelor’s of Science in Social Work), a MAIT (Master’s of Arts in International Teaching), and registered by the Pyeongtaek Korean Times with the Korean government as a Cultural Expert. Ms. Rivers-Woods used her 15 years experience as a social architect, UX/UI designer, and technology consultant to found South of Seoul in 2015. South of Seoul is a volunteer organization that leverages technological tools to mitigate cultural dissonance in multi-cultural communities. Through South of Seoul, Ms. Rivers-Woods works with independent volunteers, non-profit organizations, businesses, local & federal government, universities, and US military organizations to develop solutions to support English speaking international residents in rural South Korea. Additionally, Ms. Rivers-Woods founded the South of Seoul smart phone app available for Google Play and iPhone. The app provides information a resources for those living and traveling in South Korea. When she isn’t in South of Seoul development meetings or working her day job, Ms. Rivers-Woods loves to be outside at skate parks, the beach, or playing in the mountains. www.southofseoul.net

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