Moving to a foreign country will absolutely test your body, your willpower, and your drive to keep the lifestyle you deserve. When I came to Korea 14 months ago, I was at my healthiest. Bikram yoga became my life. Talk to anyone who regularly practices Bikram.. they'll tell you it IS a lifestyle. I was in that studio 4-5 days/week. I have always been a health-conscious eater, so nothing new there. However a few months into my life in Korea I was quite noticeably gaining some weight. At first I didn't understand what it was. I stayed away from the white rice the second I stepped foot in this country. I wasn't overeating. I was being semi-active, though no where near when I was at home. I had worked so hard for the past year on reshaping my body, so it took an emotional toll. What I realized is that it was a combination of many things including, the lack of Bikram and less active lifestyle in general, the alcohol consumption similar to that of my freshman year of college, the salty Korean food, the bakeries on every corner, the coffee, and the change of environment and the stress that comes along with it.
Some advice on staying healthy in Korea
1. Stop eating the school lunches.
Or at least cut back. Yes, they are absolutely delicious. Yes, it's a great money and time saver, cutting back on food prep on your part. Yes, it's going to be somewhat of an internal struggle on the whole is this the "culturally appropriate" thing to do thing. In Korean schools, everyone (teachers and students) eat the school lunch and it is the time of day where the school community is brought together. However, your lunch at school alone will most likely exceed your daily salt intake. This is what I didn't realize until way later. That red pepper paste is filled with salt, and boy do those Koreans LOVE their red pepper paste. It's in soup, tofu, noodles, chicken, pork, veggies, and yes... even broccoli. Their meat is not lean, so you're going to get the fat in all its glory when you're served beef and pork. Most of their chicken is fried and/or breaded. The majority of the soups contain a good amount of oil, and the white rice.. well that speaks for itself. On some days your tray will contain noodles, rice, rice cakes, and a mini fruit filled croissant all in the same meal. Talk about carb and starch overload. So, this is where you should start. This is an entire meal- You are in charge of your own body and what goes into it.
*The only problem here is the culture aspect. It is considered rude to not eat with your co-teachers at school. Most will find it offensive. Some schools let teachers serve themselves (which helps with portion control. My school however- we are served by the lunch ladies, so even though I am constantly, kindly, telling them "jogeum juseyo" ("please give me a little") it is still hard for them to understand why I am wanting so little food. I admit I have yet to tell my school I am not eating their lunch anymore. Every time I go and try to tell them, I get anxiety and can't go through with it for this exact cultural reason. What I do do, is kindly refuse the rice (I mean I don't eat it anyway so why waste it), and choose very carefully what I eat. I waste a lot of food, but until I can decide to tell them I am no longer eating their lunches, this is okay with me for now. If you go this route- make sure you're bringing something for protein to school. I personally bring either hard boiled eggs, baked or boiled sweet potato, and/or nuts. **A piece of advice, Koreans know what "diet" means. Even though you're not dieting, you're living a healthy lifestyle, if you are getting looks and comments from co-workers as to why you're not eating certain things, just say "Moshisoyo! But I am on a diet." Personally, I've done the whole "Moshisoyo!! But makes me fat." Followed by a sad face and bringing my hand to my stomach and making a fat gesture. They'll laugh, and continue on with their day. In the end, it's just easier.
2. Cut back on Korean snacks.
I, unlike a lot of foreigners here, really enjoy rice cakes (tteok). I'm not talking about the ones in tteokbokki. I'm talking about the fancy ones filled with red bean or pumpkin. But they are not very healthy and so I've definitely had to put those on the back-burner. Accepting the occasional rice cake at a teacher's meeting will make everyone happy without seeming rude. Most meetings will have fruit. If I eat enough of that, they won't notice I haven't touched a rice cake. You need to just use your common sense, and living here for a year has taught me to see the difference between if I need to be accepting food even if I don't want to and when I can simply decline it with a smile. The quick rubbing of your stomach expressing you are "full" will aid in this.3. Western Food Cravings
Of course you're going to have cravings for your comfort food from home. Completely normal. After eating Korean food all week long, it's nice to spend your weekends indulging in some western-style food. However if you come from a small city like mine, you're not going to have the pleasure of sandwich places or restaurants with a nice salad that doesn't contain fried chicken. Instead you're going to get what Koreans think westerners eat... which is: spaghetti, fried chicken and pizza. That's all folks. You will find Mr. Pizza; Pizza Hut; Italian restaurants serving pilaf, pizza, and spaghetti combinations; 7 different kinds of Take-Out Fried Chicken places.
A couple of my favorites:
Seoul:
The Flying Pan Blue- western-style brunch, organic sandwiches, salads, soups, beautiful presentation, (Get there EARLY. Can't say that enough. This will forever go down as my top favorite.)- (Itaewon)
Buddha's Belly- Thai, romantic atmosphere, Vegan options (Itaewon)
Braii Republic- South African Have yet to go here =/ but have heard GREAT things from my SA friends (Itaewon)
Butterfinger Panckakes- western-style brunch, HUGE menu, amazing panckakes! (Gangnam)
Santorini- Greek, It's unbelievable that I haven't yet made it here, but it has definintely been recommended by friends. (Itaewon)
Daegu:
Dos Tacos- Mexican, delicious!!
Caliente- Mexican, great bar atmosphere at night, great drinks, a bit expensive but worth it
Berkeley- Italian, light salads, etc.
Mies Container- comfort food, huge salads, huge cheese dishes (like a cheese panini without the bread. Just the filling. Talk about heart attack- but soo good!) fun atmosphere, perfect for a hungover Daegu morning (minus the upbeat shouts from the Korean chefs every time someone puts in an order)
Busan:
Namaste- Indian, always has seating, dark/intimate setting, (Haeundae Beach)
4. Stay Active!
Most of us who are employed with EPIK have a lot of downtime. (Can't say the same for hagwon teachers.) This means I am sitting on my ass for a good half of the day. Korea has great hiking trails. They also have many gyms- you just need to look for them. I always say if you're living in a city, don't forget to look up! There's so much you miss on the top floors of these buildings. I joined a great gym in my city.
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| A break from my run at our Nakdong River track |
There have been many days where I have the gym completely to myself. Oh, and you think you're a celebrity on the street.. walk into the gym.. ALL eyes are going to be on you. But like everything, you will quickly become old news. Pheww. My gym has a few regulars, and they don't even blink an eye at me anymore. If anything, it's nice to feel like a part of the community when you walk into the gym and exchange smiles with the Koreans in there who see you everyday. Being that the weather is getting warmer, I stopped my membership for this month. I've been training for a 10k coming up next Sunday, so I've switched to our beautiful track at the river. But I'm already missing my weight training so I'll be back there soon! For right now, the warmth and the water is perfect =)
5. H20!
This is a given. If you've been living in Korea, you will quickly realize that they don't drink a lot of water. At all. I still don't understand it. No one really does. If you're still eating a ton of Korean food during the week... make sure you're staying hydrated. The abundant amount of salt in your system takes a toll. I personally have an issue with drinking enough water, so I labeled my water bottle with time-increments to keep me on track. It really helps.
6. Gmarket & iHerb
Korea does not have a lot of the supplements and health foods that are readily available back home. I would kill for a Trader Joe's or a Whole Foods, but I've learned to deal with what I have here. These two websites are amazing. Gmarket is extremely cheap. I bought myself a blender for around $20 USD and a mini-oven for around $34 USD. iHerb is a website based out of the States that ships internationally for cheap! I recently bought chia seeds, quinoa, whole wheat flour, sucanat, and whey protein powder. My next order will consist of coconut oil and raw honey. You name it.. they got it! Best part- they ship ridiculously fast. Especially Gmarket. I ordered my oven- two days later I was baking my chicken. BAM!
I think a big part of my problem was that I thought living in this country meant me having to change my lifestyle to make it fit theirs. But moving abroad doesn't mean you should throw away everything you've worked so hard for; everything you know. That's really not the right way to go about assimilating If you have the resources- use them! I know that now. South Korea has resources, you just need to do a bit of research. Hopefully this blog will help some of you out. Explore! My friend just recently found an Asian market around the corner from my apartment.. literally a 2 1/2 minute bike ride from my front door. There, I found chick peas, cilantro, mung beans, and a bunch of other goodies. I also have one cheat meal a week, where I let myself eat whatever meal I've been craving.
The last piece of advice I have is don't get too crazy. You're in a foreign country for godsakes! Enjoy their food! Try new things! Take it in.. because before you know it, before I know it, I'm going to be back home craving dakgalbi and bulgogi. So let yourself go a bit. That should be a given with anyone living a healthy lifestyle. Know your neighborhood. Know its markets. Know its specialty foods. Know your body. Know its limits. Experiment. Explore.
Some things I enjoy in my city of Andong:
> The most delicious carrot cake I've ever had (Cafe Life in Shinae)
> Delicious dakgalbi (in downtown Shinae)
> Andong jjimdak (Jjimdak Street in Shinae)
> Frozen yogurt (Yoger Presso across from Sungso Hospital)
> Vietnamese Shabu Shabu (in Okdong)
> Japanese (Katsura in Okdong)
> Fresh-brewed coffee (Zelkova in Shiane)
> Jajangmyeon (Chinese restaurant in Dangbukdong)
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| Kimchi Jiggae: my favorite take-out meal ($5 USD) |
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| Andong Jjimdak |
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| Shabu Shabu (Photo credit: Leandi Pienaar) |
This weekend has turned into quite the cooking and baking frenzy. I'm leaving you with some recent goodies I've experimented with. Enjoy!
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| I was on a smoothie kick all last week thanks to my delicious french vanilla whey protein. (This one had blueberries, walnuts, chia, flax, almond milk, and FV whey protein,) |
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| Baked sweet potatoes, red split lentils, onions, greens, carrots |
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| Blueberry Oatmeal Bake. Inspired by FitFoodieFinds |
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| Chickpea Breakfast. (chickpeas, egg whites, yellow peppers, tomatoes, kale, chia seeds) |
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| Homemade Tahini (sesame seeds & olive oil) |
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| Almond Butter (DIdn't come out right. Unfortunately my small blender does not have the power of a food processor or Vitamix) But I'll find something to do with what I did get out of it! haha |
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Chickpea Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies (flour free, oil free, egg free, sugar free) |
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| Clean Homemade Hummus: Kimchi Anyone? |
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Mung Bean Ball Salad- Inspired by Scandifoodie |
Korea has some delicious foods- enjoy them! But don't forget what your body needs. =)
