What to Ask in a Korean Restaurant

Here's the single most useful thing I can teach you about eating Korean food with a dietary restriction: you don't need fluent Korean, and you don't need to memorise every dish. You need a few specific questions — and the confidence to ask them before you order.

I've spent years on both sides of this: ordering carefully myself, and working in kitchens that handled these questions every day. Allergy and diet questions are normal and welcome in Korea. Here's exactly what to say.

The core phrasebook

• "What's the broth made from?" — 육수가 뭐로 만들어졌어요? (Yuksu-ga mwo-ro mandeureojyeosseo-yo?)
• "Is there meat or fish in this?" — 고기나 생선 들어가요? (Gogi-na saengseon deureoga-yo?)
• "Can you make it without meat?" — 고기 빼고 만들 수 있어요? (Gogi ppaego mandeul su isseo-yo?)
• "I have a food allergy." — 저는 음식 알레르기가 있어요. (Jeoneun eumsik allereugi-ga isseo-yo.)

The one question that matters most — find yours

Those four phrases cover the broad ground, and if you only ever learn those, you'll be fine most of the time. But every restriction has one question that does more work than all the others put together, because it targets the ingredient that hides best. Learn yours and you've done most of the job.

The pattern barely changes: 여기 ___ 들어가요? (yeogi ___ deureoga-yo? — "does this have ___ in it?"). Drop your word into the gap.

• Vegan or vegetarian — fish sauce and anchovy broth: 여기 액젓이나 멸치 육수 들어가요? Fermented seafood is what quietly disqualifies otherwise-plant dishes. Vegan guide →
• Sesame — the finishing oil: 참기름 들어가요? It goes in last, off the heat, so a kitchen may not think of it as an ingredient at all. Why the label won't help you →
• Soy — the two seasonings underneath almost everything: 여기 간장이나 된장 들어가요? Soy guide →
• Shellfish — the salted shrimp inside kimchi and stews: 여기 새우젓 들어가요? Shellfish guide →
• Peanut and tree nut — the pine-nut garnish on the gentlest dishes: 잣 들어가요? Nut guide →
• Gluten — soy sauce, which is usually brewed with wheat: 여기 간장 들어가요? Gluten-free guide →
• Egg and dairy — 여기 계란 들어가요? and 여기 우유나 유제품 들어가요? Egg and dairy guide →
• Halal — pork first, then the cooking alcohol nobody mentions: 돼지고기 들어가요? and 소스에 술 들어가요? Halal guide →

Screenshot the line that belongs to you. One sentence, ready on your phone, is worth more than a vocabulary list you half-remember at the table.

First, read the menu before you ask

Half the battle is recognising a few Korean words on the menu, so you can rule dishes out before you even open your mouth. The ones to watch for:

• 육수 (yuksu) — broth or stock, the number-one hiding place for anchovy or beef.
• 다시 · 다시다 (dashi · dashida) — a fish or beef bouillon, invisible in the finished dish.
• 젓갈 · 액젓 · 멸치 (jeotgal · aekjeot · myeolchi) — fermented seafood, fish sauce, anchovy.
• 고기 · 돼지 · 소 · 닭 (gogi · dwaeji · so · dak) — meat, pork, beef, chicken.
• 해물 · 해산물 (haemul · haesanmul) — seafood.

Point Papago's camera at the menu and these words jump out instantly. Spot them and you already know which dishes need a question — and which to simply skip.

What "no meat" does and doesn't cover

One thing catches people out constantly: in Korean, gogi (고기) usually means land meat — beef, pork, chicken. Say "no meat" and a kitchen may still leave in anchovy broth, fish sauce or seafood, because to them that simply isn't "gogi." So if you don't eat fish either, say it explicitly: "고기랑 생선 다 안 먹어요" (gogi-rang saengseon da an meogeoyo — "I don't eat meat or fish"). Egg and dairy are separate categories again, so name those too if they matter to you. The more specific you are, the fewer surprises arrive at the table.

Why a truthful "no" can still be wrong

This is the part I most want you to understand, and it's the reason I keep pushing you toward naming specific ingredients. I've spent years on the kitchen side of restaurants, and an honest, well-meant "no, there's none in it" can still be wrong — not because anyone lied to you, but because of how a working kitchen is actually put together.

• The broth was made this morning. One pot, made once, ladled into a dozen different dishes all day. The person taking your order didn't make it, and once the anchovies have been strained out there is nothing left to see.
• A lot of the banchan didn't come from that kitchen. Small restaurants buy side dishes in ready-made from a supplier. Ask what's in the seasoned spinach and sometimes the honest answer is that nobody there knows.
• Some things aren't thought of as ingredients. Oil drizzled on at the end, a scatter of seeds, a spoonful of sauce mixed up before service — those are finishing touches, not components. Ask "what's in this?" and they genuinely won't come to mind.
• Sauces arrive pre-mixed. The red sauce on your tteokbokki was blended in a tub hours ago. Whether there's soy or fish sauce in that tub is a question about a recipe, not about your plate.

None of this means Korean kitchens are careless. They aren't, and allergy questions are taken seriously — more seriously than in a lot of places I've worked. It means the useful question is narrower than instinct suggests. Not "is this safe for me?" but "does this have sesame oil in it?" A named ingredient is something a person can picture and go check. A category is something they have to interpret, and interpretation is where things go wrong.

Ask before the dish is assembled, not after

Timing changes the answer you get. Ask while you're ordering and the kitchen can simply leave something out. Ask once the bowl is in front of you and your only options are eating around it or sending it back — and eating around it doesn't work for an allergy, because by then the broth is the broth.

So the sequence is: photograph the menu, narrow it down, ask your question, then order. If the side dishes matter to you, say so in the same breath — banchan arrives unrequested, usually before your food, and it is far easier to say "none with fish sauce, please" up front than to send back five small plates afterwards.

One more thing about timing: quiet hours get better answers. A kitchen at half past twelve on a weekday is not in a position to have a careful conversation with you. Eat a little early or a little late and you'll find people have time.

The extra question for your situation

Which dishes adapt easily — and which don't

A made-to-order dish is easy to change; a pre-made one isn't. Bibimbap, Korean BBQ, fresh stir-fries and soups assembled when you order can usually be done without meat, egg or a particular sauce — you just have to ask. But a broth that's been simmering since morning, or the little banchan already plated in the fridge, can't be un-made. Aim your requests toward the adaptable dishes and you'll get a yes far more often.

How to ask politely (it's easier than you fear)

Two things make this painless. First, be specific, not vague: "is this vegetarian?" can confuse, because the concept isn't universal in Korea — naming the actual ingredient ("is there fish sauce?") always works better. Second, lean on tools and gestures: Papago translates your written request out loud, and pointing at the menu with a clear "이거 (this one), 고기 빼고 (without meat)" carries you a long way. A smile and a screenshot of the phrases below do most of the work — Korean kitchens field these questions every day and won't be the least bit offended.

At Korean BBQ specifically

BBQ is one of the easier places to eat carefully, because you control the grill. You pick the cut, so choose an unmarinated one (plain pork belly or beef) over the soy-and-rice-wine marinades if alcohol or sauce is an issue, and ask for a fresh grill and clean tongs if cross-contamination matters. The wraps, rice and most vegetable sides are naturally fine, and ssamjang (the dipping paste) is soybean-and-chilli based. The only things to confirm are the marinade and, for a meat allergy, whether the same grill cooked pork.

Set menus need a heads-up

Course meals are the hardest to adjust on the spot — a traditional hanjeongsik banquet or a temple-food set is built in advance, with a dozen small dishes already decided. If you want one of these, call or message ahead (or have your hotel do it) and explain your needs; given notice, many places will happily prepare a version for you. Walking in and asking to remove half the dishes rarely works.

The mistakes that trip people up

• Assuming "no meat" excludes fish — it usually doesn't. Spell out fish and seafood separately.
• Trusting the English menu — translations often skip the broth and the seasonings entirely.
• Forgetting the banchan — the free sides are the most overlooked source of fish sauce and tiny dried anchovies.
• Not re-asking at a new branch — recipes vary between locations and cooks, so confirm each time it matters.

When you can't communicate at all

If language fully breaks down, you still have good options. Convenience stores are a reliable fallback — plain rice triangles, roasted seaweed, soy milk, bananas and boiled eggs are easy to identify. In restaurants, default to dishes that are hard to get wrong: plain rice, grilled meat or fish you can see, and simple stir-fries you watch being made. And keep a written card in Korean on your phone that states exactly what you can't eat — handing it over removes all the guesswork in one move.

Order positively, not just negatively

It's easier on everyone if you can name a dish you can eat, instead of only listing what to remove. Keep a couple ready: for vegans, kongguksu (cold soy-milk noodles) or bibimbap without egg; for halal diners, grilled fish or a seafood stew; for a meat allergy, a chicken or seafood dish you can watch being cooked. Walking in and saying "I'll have the kongguksu, please" is far smoother than negotiating a dish down ingredient by ingredient. Our meat-free dishes guide gives you a full list to draw from.

Apps and tools worth installing

A little tech makes all of this easier. Papago (by Naver) is the best Korean translator — its camera mode reads menus in real time, and you can play your request aloud at the counter. HappyCow maps vegan and vegetarian restaurants, which is genuinely useful in the bigger cities. For halal travel, Korea's tourism body classifies Muslim-friendly restaurants into tiers (certified, self-certified, Muslim-friendly, pork-free), and a few halal-restaurant finder apps cover Seoul well. And the simplest tool of all: a note saved on your phone, written in Korean, listing exactly what you can't eat — show it, and the conversation is over before it starts.

Three phrases to practise out loud

If you drill only three, make them these. "Gogi-na saengseon deureoga-yo?" (고기나 생선 들어가요? — is there meat or fish?) covers the broadest ground. "Gogi ppaego juseyo" (고기 빼고 주세요 — without meat, please) makes the request. And "eumsik allereugi-ga isseoyo" (음식 알레르기가 있어요 — I have a food allergy) raises the stakes so the kitchen takes extra care. Say them a few times before your trip; even rough pronunciation, backed by a screenshot, gets the message across.

Walk through a meal, start to finish

Here's how a careful order actually goes. You sit down, open Papago, and photograph the menu — the fish-sauce and broth words light up, so you already know two or three dishes to avoid. You pick something made-to-order, point at it and ask "이거, 고기랑 생선 빼고 돼요?" (this one, without meat or fish — is that possible?). The server checks with the kitchen; if it's a yes, you add "계란도 빼주세요" (no egg either) when you need to. When the banchan arrive, you ask which are seafood-free and quietly set aside the ones you're unsure about. If anything stays unclear, you fall back on a dish you trust — rice, a kelp-broth stew, or grilled fish you can see. The whole exchange takes a minute, nobody's flustered, and you eat a proper Korean meal. Do it two or three times and it stops feeling like a hurdle at all.

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Default to the dishes you trust

When in doubt, fall back on dishes that are easy to make safe: a kelp-broth doenjang jjigae, plain tofu and rice, or one of our genuinely meat-free Korean dishes. And if you keep halal or eat vegan, our dedicated guides on halal Korean food and vegan Korean food go deeper.

When the answer is fuzzy, that's an answer

Sometimes you'll ask and get a shrug, a pause, or a "probably fine." Treat that as information rather than as something to push past. A clear yes is useful. A clear no is useful. "I think so" is neither, and the gap between them is exactly where the bad meals live.

Walking away costs you one meal. There is always another restaurant, a convenience store two minutes down the street, or a dish you already trust. If your restriction is a medical one, choosing something else isn't being difficult — it's the entire point of having asked. And nobody in the restaurant will think twice about it; I've watched this from behind the counter more times than I can count, and a customer who changes their mind is the least memorable thing that happens all day.

The flip side matters too. If you get a clear answer, take it and enjoy your food. The point of all these questions isn't to make you anxious — it's the opposite. Ask once, properly, at the right moment, and then put your phone down.

Bottom line

One calm, specific question saves the whole meal. Screenshot the line that belongs to your restriction, ask before you order rather than after, and name the ingredient instead of the category — that's the whole system. Korean kitchens deal with these questions every day, and asking is completely normal.