Korea and Taiwan convenience stores: ready meals

Convenience stores in Seoul, Busan and Taipei are brightly lit, open late and full of ready meals, and some of them are built on pork, pork floss or a stock you cannot see. You can still eat from them if you read the right lines on the pack. This guide shows what is likely lower risk and what hides a broth.

What is lower risk in a Korean convenience store?

Items with a short, readable ingredient list are the safest starting point.

• Triangle kimbap with plain fillings: tuna and mayo, or plain vegetable, after you have read the list.
• Hard-boiled eggs and sweet potato: whole, sealed.
• Fruit, nuts and plain dairy: milk, plain yoghurt without gelatin.
• Plain rice cakes or plain bread: check the sauce, if any.

What should you avoid in Korea?

• Ham, spam and sausage fillings in kimbap, sandwiches and rice bowls. These are pork.
• Hot dogs and corn dogs from the counter.
• Instant noodle cups and ramyeon, where the broth powder can hide pork or an unnamed extract. See instant noodles abroad.
• Tteokbokki and fish-cake soups, where the stock needs a question.
• Pork bulgogi and jeyuk bowls, which are pork.

JAKIM recognises two Korean bodies, the Korea Muslim Federation in Seoul and the Korea Halal Authority Corporation in Cheongju¹. A logo from one of them is worth reading carefully; our guide to Korea halal certification explains what to look for.

What is lower risk in a Taiwanese convenience store?

• Plain onigiri or rice balls with plain fillings, after you have checked the sauce.
• Whole fruit, nuts and sweet potato.
• Plain soy milk, milk and plain tea in sealed bottles.
• Sealed vegetarian items, with the label read.

What should you avoid in Taiwan?

• Rice balls and sandwiches with pork floss (rousong), which is a standard filling there.
• Braised pork rice (lu rou fan) and minced pork sauce (rou zao).
• Steamed buns and dumplings, where pork is the default filling.
• Oden (guandongzhu) and soup pots: the broth is shared and can hold pork.
• Tea eggs, where the broth can include wine or pork stock.

JAKIM recognises two Taiwanese bodies, THIDA in Taipei and THCD in Kaohsiung². See Taiwan halal certification for how to read a mark.

Which label words matter?

Korean	Chinese	Meaning
돼지 / 햄 / 스팸	豬 / 火腿	pork, ham, spam
라드	豬油	lard
젤라틴	明膠 / 吉利丁	gelatin
술 / 맛술	酒 / 料理酒	alcohol, cooking wine
육수 / 엑기스	高湯 / 萃取物	stock, extract

An extract or stock that does not name its source is unknown. Take a photo of the list and use a translation app.

Your next step

For the full picture of each country, read the South Korea Muslim travel guide and the Taiwan Muslim travel guide. For a bigger shop, see self-catering at supermarkets abroad. The rest of the checks are in our halal food hub.