As some of you may or may not know, I live in Portland, Oregon. The winters here are extremely long, dark, and wet.

This winter in particular, we had so much snow and rain that I was trapped at home for days at a time. This gave me a bad case of cabin fever and gave me the urge to travel somewhere warm.

As this was my first vacation abroad as a vegan, I wanted to choose a place that was fairly vegan friendly, yet full of culture and history. After doing a few searches on HappyCow, I decided to go to Mexico City.

In this post, I want to share with you what and where I ate and provide tips on how to stay vegan in a meat loving city. 
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Food is such a central part of Korean culture. In every occasion, whether it's meeting friends, spending time with family, or going out with co-workers, Koreans always eat or drink something as it's seen as a way to socialize and bond.

In the past, Korean food was mostly vegan or vegetarian - simply because that's all we could afford. Meat and seafood were only enjoyed by the wealthy or on rare special occasions such as birthdays.

However, as Korea developed into a wealthy, first-world nation, meat and seafood have become increasingly popular. These days, many Koreans will find it hard to imagine having a meal without some kind of meat, eggs, or seafood. 

When I went vegan, I began to notice how meat and seafood heavy modern Korean food was. When I view Korean dramas, I see celebrities eating Korean fried chicken and grilled pork belly on almost every episode. And with growing Western influence, coffee shops serving dairy laden lattes and desserts have taken over every corner of our country. 

With this change, vegetarian Korean cooking has been neglected and seen as something only Buddhist monks eat in temples. 

On top of that, I could not find a solid online English OR Korean resource on vegan/vegetarian Korean cooking. Where are all the vegetarian Koreans at?! 

As a result, I wanted to create a website that laid out the basics of Korean vegetarian cooking, explored ingredients, and how to make the basics like soup stock and rice.