8 Korean phrases for allergies, vegetarians and anyone who can't eat spicy food

I'm vegetarian.

Understood everywhere, applied loosely: anchovy stock, egg and a little ham often do not count as meat to the kitchen. Follow it with the specifics below. 비건이에요 (I am vegan) is understood in Seoul and less so outside it.

I don't eat meat.

Clearer than 채식주의자 in practice. To most people 고기 means red meat and poultry; add 해물도 안 먹어요 (I do not eat seafood either) if that is you, and ask about 육수 (broth).

I don't eat pork.

For halal and other religious diets. Pork is the default meat in Korea (삼겹살, 김치찌개, 돈가스), so say it early, and ask whether a soup uses 돼지 육수 (pork broth).

Without the meat, please.

Literally: Leave out meat and give.

빼고 (leaving out) is the key word for any ingredient: 햄 빼고, 계란 빼고, 고수 빼고 (no coriander). Works where food is cooked to order; less so in a soup place where the broth was made at dawn.

I have a peanut allergy.

Swap the first word: 새우 (shrimp), 우유 (milk), 밀 (wheat), 계란 (egg), 견과류 (tree nuts). 알레르기 is pronounced the German way, al-le-reu-gi, and the English pronunciation will not be understood.

What's in this?

Literally: This, what goes in?

Natural at a counter or a market stall. The answer comes fast, so listen for the words that matter to you (고기, 새우, 땅콩) rather than trying to catch the whole list.

I can't eat spicy food.

못 (cannot) rather than 안 (do not) frames it as a limitation, not a preference, and people respond with sympathy and a recommendation. The reliably mild dishes are 설렁탕, 삼계탕, 김밥 and 불고기.

Less spicy, please.

Literally: Make it less spicy and give.

덜 is 'less', a request kitchens honour more readily than 안 맵게 (not spicy), which many dishes cannot be. For truly mild add 하나도 (at all): 하나도 안 맵게 해 주세요, and taste before committing.