How to Survive Seoul With Food Allergies 2023

Food allergies shouldn’t be an obstacle from traveling to Asia. In fact, you’ll miss out in experiencing the rich culture that countries like South Korea can offer if you don’t go.

In preparation for our trip to Seoul and Tokyo, comments posted on travel blogs were often discouraging and depressing at best. I’m sure you’ve seen them too. Many of them follow the same themes. A few examples include:

“Please Help: Traveling with Food Allergies!”

“Need advice on surviving a trip to Asia with sesame and nut allergies…” “Should I even go?

The most upbeat responses to these questions were appropriately focused on setting expectations and appropriate caution:

“I think it will be frustrating, but you shouldn’t let it stop you. Will you have a culinary adventure? No…”

Contents

1 Reasons to Travel To Seoul Despite Multiple Food Allergies
2 How To Travel With Confidence To Asia (With Multiple Food Allergies)
3 What food/places are best to avoid with food allergies?
4 Are there places that will cater well to food allergies?
5 What Can I Do To Be More Prepared Before I Go?
6 7 Quick Tips To Be More Prepared When Traveling to Asia (With Multiple Food Allergies)

Reasons to Travel To Seoul Despite Multiple Food Allergies

For us, we were psyched to visit my twin’s family. We were also excited to totally immerse ourselves into new and different cultures. After limiting travel for 3 years, we looked forward to travel again, with a healthy dose of optimism and caution.

It was Lily, our fearless foodie, notwithstanding her multiple food allergies, who was the most determined. Although sesame is a main staple of Korean cuisine, her strong will was driven by her fierce love for her cousins. Additionally, some of her best friends are Korean and she’s a big fan of K-Pop, fashion, and culture. I was determined to make sure the trip to Asia was a positive one. Specifically, I wanted to make sure it was positive experience, in spite of her food allergies.

Now that we have made a successful trip to Seoul and Tokyo with food allergies, I want to share some of our lessons learned. If you’re planning a trip to Asia and thinking about how to navigate food allergies we hope to offer some tips here. Although we had our share of stressful moments, it was an incredible experience. And we can’t wait to return as soon as possible!

We’ve developed confidence that we can safely travel to places where sesame, nuts, and shellfish are main food staples.

How To Travel With Confidence To Asia (With Multiple Food Allergies)

Step 1. Educate Yourself On Regional Cuisine

My first step was to educate myself on the cuisine, popular foods, and classic ingredients used to make them. This knowledge helps us better prepare when eating out and talking to restaurant staff. Asian cuisines may incorporate common western allergens in uncommon ways.

We had to learn to look for hidden allergens. Allergens may be used in ways in which we’re unaccustomed and cross-contamination can be an issue. If you’re interested in reading more about some of the foods you must try while in Seoul, you can read about it on my post 13 Korean Foods to Try While In Seoul.

Step 2. Learn Societal Norms For Dealing With Food Allergies

My second step was to understand the societal norms around food allergies. I learned that Koreans generally have very different types of food allergies. Therefore, they may lack the general awareness of our top 9 allergens common in the U.S.

Their top food allergens are remarkably different from those who eat more western diets. The top Korean food allergies include pupa honey, tomato, cherry, celery, crab, chestnut, kiwi, and shrimp.

As you may already know, of the top 9 food allergies in the US, crab is the common allergen we have with Koreans. For us, we classify crab under the shellfish category. So as pupa honey is less likely thought of as a common food allergy to us, so too might sesame for our Korean counterparts. Therefore, awareness can be suboptimal for more western allergies, so be sure to speak to managers and chefs who can take your food allergies seriously.

Occasionally, you may find that some people can confuse your allergies for pickiness. They may even suggest that you “eat around the shrimp”. This is not uncommon, as I have often had the same experience here in the US. In fact, I’ve experienced it with family members who don’t understand the nature of food allergies.

Step 3. Be Patient And Direct About Your Food Allergies

The online advice from native Koreans is to take into consideration the cultural perspectives. Please try not to be offended, and be extremely clear and overt about your allergy. Take the time to determine for yourself if a dish contains something unsafe for you.

If you’re like me, you might ask yourself 3 questions:

1. What foods/places are best to avoid with food allergies?
2. Are there places that will cater well to food allergies?
3. What can I do to be more prepared before I go?

What food/places are best to avoid with food allergies?

Over the 3 weeks that we were in Seoul, we had two cross-contamination incidents. On both occasions, we managed the situations with antihistamines due to their mildness and our precautions. In short, we learned that it’s best to avoid stir-fried foods cooked in woks.

If the dish is made without seafood but prepared in a wok that was used to cook shrimp, some shellfish proteins can contaminate the food. This can lead to an allergic reaction. It did for us when Lily tried my lunch dish at a small Vietnamese eatery after touring the Bukchon Hanok Village neighborhood. Fortunately, we had our medication on hand for the mild reaction that followed.

The second occasion occurred in a café where we were assured that there were no nuts in the apple crumble we ordered. As my sister bit into what tasted like a walnut, she urged Lily to stop eating it immediately. While the reaction Lily had was mild (itchy mouth and nausea), the reaction could have been much more severe.

In short, just as you do in the US, you may want to avoid bakeries. If you do try any baked goods, make sure to take the appropriate precautions. We recommend staying away from any pastries that may typically contain nuts or other allergens that are common ingredients. And ALWAYS carry your medications and epi-pens.

Are there places that will cater well to food allergies?

When dining out, we were biased toward restaurants that catered to more international audiences. We often visited places where expats lived and worked. See my post 5 Places to try in Seoul with food allergies for places we found that catered to us well.

We considered going on an organized street food tour with English food guides, but didn’t have time. By doing so, the tour guide can ensure food allergies are addressed ahead of time. My sister and I had an opportunity to go on a full-day Busan sightseeing tour two hours by train south of Seoul. This guided excursion, which we booked through Booking.com was terrific. It took us by bus to see Busan’s main attractions with an English-speaking tour guide. In fact, the tour had two guides. We joined the tour with fellow tourists from Singapore, Australia, and China. With a stop over for lunch, our tour guides were very attentive to our food allergy challenges. They also made sure to clearly communicate with restaurant managers our shellfish allergies so we felt confident in our food choices.

I would be interested in hearing from any of you if there are food tours or companies you might recommend Please share if you have any ideas in the comments section!

What Can I Do To Be More Prepared Before I Go?

7 Quick Tips To Be More Prepared When Traveling to Asia (With Multiple Food Allergies)

Bring a chef card:

The most important thing to bring along are Chef/Food Allergy cards. These can be translated from English to your destination’s language. We ordered ours from Equal Eats and we were able to receive them in less than a day. They were conveniently delivered electronically and customized to our food allergies. These cards were fantastic tools– double sided with one side in English, and the other side in Korean. We found that restaurant servers were receptive to reading them. In fact, they often brought them back to the kitchen to review with the chefs and kept them back there while preparing the order.

I carried a card with me in my wallet. I laminated several before leaving home, and I also made an 8×11 version for easier reading. What didn’t go as well was when we tried to hand the card over to restaurant staff while initiating a conversation at the same time. This often seemed to scare some away before they understood our intentions. The common sentiment was that we were soliciting something more from restaurant staff. Making our intentions clear that we were diners without handing the card to them before speaking is the best approach.

Talk to everyone.

What worked best for us was when we approached servers and staff in a friendly manner. Direct eye contact, a smile, and a lot of patience always worked best. Engaging them with a few simple phrases we learned in Korean helped increase receptiveness to helping us out. Within the Seoul Tourist Guide, it brought me comfort to see the section under the Useful Expressions including the following phrases:

Korean	*English*
I’m allergic to…	[__e ellelugiga is-eoyo]
Nuts	Gyeongwalyu
Seafood	Haesanmul
Dairy products	Yujepum
Egg	Dalgyal

Download translation apps.

Make sure to download and use your Google translate app when you need it. South Koreans tend to be tech savvy. In fact, more than 97% of the population use smart phones. We found that on many occasions, the restaurant staff would take our phones and directly read from the app. They were also accustomed to hearing us play the phrases we were trying to communicate. Papago was another app I recommend. This translation app is developed by native Asian speakers, so translations tend to be more accurate.

Ask what’s in your dish and how it’s prepared.

Managers or chefs often offered to read ingredients to us on sauces used. Sometimes allergens may be incorporated into foods even though ingredients aren’t always listed. Carefully reading menus and labels before engaging with restaurant staff can also help facilitate the conversation.

Never be embarrassed if you feel you’re not communicating well, and always trust your gut.

Don’t get frustrated and practice patience when there is a language barrier. You may find yourself having to speak to multiple people in a restaurant. Sometimes, you may even move on to another restaurant as we did on a number of occasions.

Keep it simple and bring back-up food.

Stay with foods that work. Make your focus about enjoying the social activity with your group in that restaurant you choose to patronize. This takes the focus off the food, and more on the fun with family and friends. This allows you to still get exposure to the culture you traveled to experience. Before you go, shop at big grocery stores or convenience stores for simple foods to carry along with you. Seoul has a plethora of large grocery stores that sell international food with English labels and simple foods. And if you’re able to make the food you bring with you work, as we always did, you’ll always be grateful.

Be prepared.

Finally, we always brought medications and epinephrine auto-injector with us. For emergencies, know where the nearest clinics and hospitals are located and emergency numbers. For Korea, the equivalent of our 911 is 119 for Emergency Medical Services. Seoul has multiple hospitals that provide interpretation and translation services.

Know the symptoms for a suspected food allergy reaction. That way you can recognize and respond to anaphylaxis. Recognizing how mild and severe symptoms manifest themselves is important so you can be prepared. Don’t depend on antihistamines, and when in doubt, use epinephrine. For more information, you can find how to recognize and respond to anaphylaxis here on the Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE) website.

I hope this advice is helpful, and please feel free to add your thoughts so we can better support our food allergy community. Also, as mentioned above, if you have any recommendations on food tours that you’ve been on, please let me know.

Thanks for stopping by as always! Enjoy your trip!