Tuesday, August 16, 2016

A Vegan Dinner Party in Seoul


In the midst of editing footage from Myanmar and Vietnam I quickly whipped out this video as a recap to a great Korea trip I had post missions.

A few friends and I stayed at Hostel Seoul for the few days we had in South Korea. On the second day as one of the hostel mates (VV a.k.a. Vincent the Vegan) and I were chatting, he told me that he also was vegan (for 5 years and vegetarian for 4!) and that he was throwing a dinner party that following day and that I should join them. Of course I said yes!

Two weeks prior to arriving in Korea I was incorporating meat/animal products back into my diet (after 6 months of cutting them out) due to missions. Being in those other countries, I felt the need and push to respect the cultures and the people I encounter by eating their food and not pressing my own dietary restrictions on them. (For I'm there to serve THEM, not for them to serve ME.) But halfway through the trip, the animal products started to take a toll on my mood and health, giving me stomach issues and weighing me down. So when I came to Korea and had to opportunity to join these awesome people for a hearty vegan dinner, it made me realize how much my body responds better to a plant based diet.

What surprised me the most was even finding a vegan community in South Korea. Walking down the streets and seeing all the signs for restaurants and street vendors, every meal is packed with either meat or seafood. Being vegan in South Korea is not easy, and these people I met at the party expressed that to be true. I respected their endurance and resistance against participating in the consumption of animals even in a country where less vegan resources are available.

I'm so thankful to have met these awesome people, best of luck to all of you in your lives. Thank you for sharing your stories and positive energy and of course thank you for your welcoming hearts and making my time in Korea so exciting and unique.

1 comment:

  1. Pleased to know about this dinner party. Recently, I arranged a dinner party with my family at one of exemplary Seattle venues. Hired an expert party caterer and he prepared quite delicious food for this event. Everyone liked yummy food a lot.

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