Is Korean Food Healthy? (5 Tips For Weight Loss) 

Korean food is extremely popular as it features a variety of many dishes, snacks, and desserts that offer unique flavors and textures.

From different types of meats and side dishes, Korean food really has endless amounts of dishes you can choose from. 

Although Korean food is delicious, is it healthy?

Generally, Korean food is very healthy and offers many foods that have a smaller amount of fats and carbs than food you can usually find in the states.

However, there are some foods that are fattening and unhealthy which are usually foods that aren’t traditional Korean dishes such as Korean Hot Dogs, Fried Chicken, and Pizza. 

We summed it down to five facts and tips to help you lose weight and stay healthy while eating Korean food.

Here are the five facts and tips that will allow you to eat Korean food and stay healthy. 

1. Understand Which Korean Foods Are Healthy 

2. Understand Which Korean Foods Are Unhealthy

3. Understand How Many Calories You Should Eat In a Day 

4. Workout Consistently & Build Muscle

5. Keep Active When Eating Korean Food 

Now that we know the five steps needed to eat healthy when eating Korean food, let’s take a look at the details and see what we can do to stay fit. 

Tip 1: Understand Which Korean Foods Are Healthy 

With any type of cuisine, you can find some dishes that are great to eat and some dishes that are bad to eat.

Both will usually be delicious but some will be delicious and beneficial for your health. This section will focus on the healthiest Korean dishes that are both flavorful and popular amongst Koreans.

 Banchan (Side Dishes) 

When you think of Korean food, you have to talk about Banchan which are the side dishes you get when you go to a Korean restaurant.

Banchan usually consists of vegetables and certain rice dishes that aim to compliment the main dish or main meal. 

Typical Banchan entrees are spicy bean sprouts, kimchi, broccoli with sweet and spicy chili paste, and tteok.

There are some, however, that are higher calorie and contain more fats which can be the fishcakes or the japchae (glass noodles with sesame oil).

They are not really unhealthy but can quickly add in calories if you are unaware. 

The trick to eating healthy Banchan is to simply stick with the vegetables.

They offer a ton of flavor and are going to be low in calories while rich with micronutrients.

Korean offers a ton of variety of healthy foods and we haven’t even gotten to the main courses yet. 

Let’s take a look at some of the soups or stews that offer low calorie meals with rich micronutrients that will keep you healthy. 

Soups (Jjigae) 

What I think Korean chefs specialize in has to be the different types of soups and stews that come from fermented meats, beans, and aromatics.

The flavors you get from these soups are off the charts and they also offer healthy solutions to your diet. 

Some healthy soups are seaweed soup (Miyuk Gook), spicy beansprout soup (Kongnamul Gook), kimchi soup (Kimchi Jjigae), fermented bean soup (Dwaenjang Jjigae), and soybean soup (Konguksu).

All of these are great for dieting and are packed with amazing micro and macronutrients. 

From creamy to spicy to sour and refreshing, Korean cuisine really dominates the Asian soup scene.

There’s something very special about the different types of soups you can get from Korean cuisine and it pairs so amazingly with a bowl of rice.

Most of the soups you can find in Korean food will be healthy so make sure you try them out the next time you’re craving Korean. 

Let’s take a look at some of the noodles you can get from Korean cuisine.

Korean noodles can be heavy but we’ve picked out the healthiest noodles you can find in Korean cuisine. 

Noodles 

Some Asian noodles can be very delicious, however, very fattening and detrimental towards your fitness goals.

What Korean food offers that no other Asian cuisine offers are light noodle dishes that stray away from the typical beef and chicken broth. 

These noodles are usually made from buckwheat or rice so they’re thinner and lighter than the typical egg or flour noodle.

There are really three noodles that Korean food has to offer that are both low in calories and micronutrient dense. 

The first is a cold noodle dish called Naengmyeon which is a buckwheat noodle dish that is seasoned with a vinegar base stock.

It’s light and refreshing which is perfect for eating on a summer day with some meat and vegetables.

It only costs you around 540 calories for a whopping bowl of noodles so you can eat this dish to your heart's content. 

The second is my favorite Korean noodle dish which is called Kongguksu or Soy Bean Noodle Soup.

It’s creamy and served cold which offers a super refreshing and delicious flavor. It’s a dish that requires a lot of labor and effort to make but it’s definitely worth it as it’s flavor profile is unmatched. 

A typical bowl will only cost you 600 calories which is amazing for the amount of food you get.

It’s a vegan dish so you can expect the noodles to be a lot lighter and a lot less substantial than many other Asian noodle dishes you can find. 

The third item on the noodle list is a glass noodle dish called Japchae which can be a little more substantial than the first two.

It’s delicious flavors come from sesame oil and garlic but the main feature of this dish is that it comes with a ton of awesome vegetables that really add an extra layer of texture and flavor. 

It’s not a dish that you should eat a lot of, however, which is fine as it usually comes as a side dish anyway.

You can expect a bowl of Japchae to be around 275 calories which is not bad for the amount of noodles you get.

We mentioned this in the banchan section but just make sure to be aware of how much Japchae you eat in a serving.

I find that this dish is very easy to overeat as it isn’t that filling. 

Meats 

While there are many unhealthy meats in Korean cuisine, there are some that are lean and great to eat when dieting.

We will go over which meats to avoid in the next section but, for now, let’s focus on the ones that are great to eat as they offer low fats and high protein per serving. 

Brisket is a meat that Koreans love to eat as it offers both flavor and texture while staying relatively low in fats.

It’s a dish that is usually unseasoned and dipped into either sesame oil or a soy sauce based dipping sauce.

What’s great about brisket is that Koreans eat it within a lettuce wrap which saves on a ton of calories and gets your veggies in. 

You can expect to get a very lean meal out of brisket and lettuce wraps while getting a ton of flavor.

Most Korean meats, however, are marinated in a lot of brown sugar which can add a ton of carbs to the meats.

We’ll discuss more about them in the next section. 

Fish is also a very prominent ingredient used in Korean cooking as is either served grilled or raw in the form of sashimi.

Koreans have their own style of sashimi where the fish is dipped in gochujang (chili paste) rather than soy sauce and wasabi.

While Japanese sashimi focuses on salmon and tuna, Korean sashimi focuses on yellowtail and albacore. 

Now that we know a little bit about the healthier options that Korean food has to offer, let’s take a look at the foods you should avoid when trying to stay healthy. 

Tip 2: Understand Which Korean Foods Are Unhealthy

Every cuisine, unfortunately, has the list of foods that are pretty unhealthy.

Korean food is no different in this aspect and has some foods that you should avoid when trying to stay on a healthy diet.

These are foods that you should eat in moderation instead of cutting out completely. 

It’s all about controlling calories and macronutrients which we will get to in the next section of this article.

It’s just harder to stay on track with some foods than others but it’s definitely manageable if you understand which foods to be weary of.

Let’s take a look at some of the foods that Korean food has to offer that can set you back from your fitness goals. 

Korean BBQ 

Korean BBQ is unfortunately one of those foods that can really set you back in terms of reaching your fitness goals.

It’s really not as bad when you go to a restaurant that serves plate by plate or has a set menu.

The reason for this is that it sets a cap on the amount of calories you receive which allows you to get fresher cuts of meat.

What I’m really talking about when I say Korean BBQ is AYCE (All You Can Eat) restaurants that send plate after plate of delicious meats.

When you get AYCE, it’s extremely hard to stay on track and you’ll start to see that you can easily go over 1,000 kcals in one meal.

Also, when you eat meats such as samgyeopsal (pork belly) and galbi (short ribs), most of those calories are coming from fats rather than protein. 

You really want to make sure that you eat a balance of macronutrients with fat as the lowest of the three.

I find that when I eat Korean BBQ, I can easily eat over 90 grams of fat which is way over most people’s limits.

Our tip here is to stick with the plate by plate restaurants as you will get fresh meat and stay within a healthy range of calories. 

Here is an article where we go in-depth on Korean BBQ and how you can stay healthy while eating your favorite Korean foods. 

https://www.aspirefitnesswalnut.com/is-korean-bbq-healthy

Let’s get into some other foods that can set you back 

Korean Fried Chicken 

This one makes me truly sad as Korean fried chicken has to be one of my favorite foods in the world.

It’s definitely a food you have to be careful of especially since the combination of Korean fried chicken and beer is incredibly delicious and addicting.

There’s nothing quite like it but it’s a meal you should really have in moderation. 

Korean Fried Chicken is high with two macronutrients: fat and carbs.

Although there is some protein in there, you can expect most of the calories to come from fats and carbs.

Paired with beer which has its calories coming from alcohol and carbs is a recipe for disaster. 

A single Fried chicken meal can end your day right there and will take out most of the calories you need to eat in a day.

There is no balance when you eat Fried chicken with beer as the majority of your calories will come from alcohol, carbs, and fats. 

Let’s take a look at the calories you can find in a single serving of Korean fried chicken.

A single drumstick has 9.1 grams of fat, 14 grams of carbs and 12 grams of protein.

This is definitely not optimal for losing weight and staying lean as most of the calories come from fat and carbs. 

You can definitely enjoy this on your cheat days and have a good time with friends or family but eating this on a regular occasion is something you should definitely avoid.

It’s one of my favorite meals of all time but I’ll definitely be mindful of how many times I have it in a year. 

Balance of carbs, fats, and proteins is crucial when staying fit so just keep in mind of how many grams you are getting from each meal. 

Some Korean Noodles 

This is another sad section of Korean food that you have to be worried about.

In the previous section we talked about the healthier noodle dishes that are light and rich with micronutrients.

In this section, however, we want to showcase some of the noodles that can really set you back. 

The first has to be jajangmyeon (black bean noodles) due to its high fat and carb count.

What’s worse is the fact that it's usually paired with a sweet and sour fried pork dish called tangsuyuk.

You’ll be getting carbs on top of fats on top of fats and more carbs. If that makes any sense. 

This dish severely lacks in protein and you can expect a lot of the fats to be saturated as lots of lard is used within both of these dishes.

Once again, you should just eat jajangmyeon in moderation as it can really take away your calories for the day. 

There are some other noodles you should keep in mind which are Jjamppong (Korean spicy noodle soup), Kal Guksu (Knife Cut Noodles), and Shin Ramen (Instant Noodles).

These are really the staple noodle dishes that Korean food has to offer which you can expect to be over 700-800 calories per bowl. 

It’s best to stick to the healthier options as you can definitely fit those into a normal day of eating without too much guilt or setbacks.

Moderation is key when eating these noodles so make sure to have them when you earn yourself a nice cheat day. 

There’s a lot more Korean foods out there that might be fattening and unhealthy but these are the ones that you will see most in Korean cuisine.

Just because they’re unhealthy, however, does not mean that you can never eat them. 

Let’s take a look at understanding how many calories we need to eat in a day and the importance of a concept called energy balance. 

Tip 3: Understand How Many Calories You Should Eat In a Day

Calories are really what determine how we look and feel so it's crucial that we understand how many we should be eating day by day.

There’s a concept called energy balance which determines if we lose weight, maintain weight, or gain weight. 

Simply put, if the calories we burn in a day is more than the calories we consume, then we will lose weight.

If the calories we burn in a day is less than the calories we consume, then we will gain weight.

If the calories we burn are equal to the calories we consume, then we will maintain our weight. 

This is how we determine whether we are eating at a deficit, maintenance, or a surplus of calories.

So, how do we figure out how many calories we should be eating in a day?

Well, it really comes down to trial and error and being honest about how active we live. 

There are two methods that are good starting places, however, are inaccurate in terms of assessing for the individual.

The first method is to use an online TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) calculator and choose whichever goal you’d like (weight gain, weight loss, maintenance). 

Assuming the goal is to lose weight, another method is to simply multiply your bodyweight by 12 and see what that number gets you.

Let’s take a 130 pounds female for example. The equation should result in 1,560 kcals a day in order to lose weight.

This is very inaccurate towards a specific person as it does not account for activity or lean body mass. 

So, in order to figure out the correct number, trial and error is necessary. Let’s say that she eats 1,560 kcals and does not lose weight.

She then needs to adjust her calories by dropping until she finds the perfect range.

Slow and steady is the key here as the body will adjust to low calories which could lead to extremely low calorie ranges down the line. 

Simply drop the calories by 100 every week or two until 1 or 2 pounds of weight come off.

Some patience is required in this process so make sure to wait for the results to come.

If you want a more in-depth article on figuring out your calories and slimming down in general, then make sure to check out this blog where we break it down to 5 simple steps. 

https://www.aspirefitnesswalnut.com/how-to-actually-get-a-six-pack-after-30

Finding your calorie range is really the foundation to a healthy diet. This allows you to eat your favorite foods and still stay on track with your diet.

It’s all really a numbers game and fitting your food into your daily allotted calories.

It’s simply harder with certain foods than it is for others which is why some are labeled “healthy” and others “unhealthy”. 

Let’s take a look at the importance of building muscle and staying consistent with working out and exercise. 

Tip 4: Workout Consistently & Build Muscle

Calories act as the foundation of a healthy diet and muscle assists as it allows us to burn more calories at rest.

Muscle is so important when dieting as it looks great and really slims you down over the course of time.

It’s like a long term investment that you place onto your body that will prove its results as you get slimmer and leaner. 

Resistance training is necessary in order to build muscle which can be a little intimidating if you’re just starting off.

The best way to start is to find a workout plan that is simple and effective while allowing you to stay consistent for a year or more. 

Here is a workout plan that we recommend for someone who is just starting off. It’s a basic plan but it’s a good place to start as it’s not too daunting. 

WOMEN 

Monday (Full Upper):  

• Seated Shoulder Press: 4x20 

• Lateral Raises: 4x15

• Lat Pulldowns: 4x12

• Dumbbell Row: 3x10

• Dumbbell Fly: 3x10 

• Knee Push Ups: 4x20

• Weighted Crunches: 3x35 

Wednesday (Back/Hamstrings/Biceps) 

• Assisted Pull Ups: 3x10

• Lat Pulldowns: 4x12 

• Cable Row: 4x15

• Stiff Leg Deadlift: 4x15

• Hamstring Curl: 4x15

• Bicep Curls: 3x10

• Hammer Curls: 3x10

Friday: (Legs/Butt/Abs): 

• Squats: 5x5 

• Goblet Squats: 4x20

• Glute Bridge: 4x20

• Glute Kickbacks: 4x20 each leg

• Jump Squats: 4x20

• Weighted Crunches: 3x35 

• Leg Lifts: 3x35

MEN 

Mon: Chest, Shoulders, Triceps, Abs (Push Day) 

• Bench Press: 3 sets 10 reps

• Dumbbell Press: 4 sets 12 reps

• Shoulder Press: 3 sets 10 reps

• Lateral Raises: 3 sets 15 reps

• Triceps Rope Push Down: 3 sets 15 reps

• Cable Crunches: 4 sets 15 reps 

Wed: Legs & Abs

• Goblet Squats: 4 sets 20 reps

• Weighted Walking Lunges: 2 sets 20 steps

• Stiff Leg DeadLift (Romanian Deadlift): 4 sets 15 reps

• Glute Bridges With Weight: 4 sets 20 reps

• Jumping Squats With Resistance Bands: 5 sets 20 reps

• Weighted Sit Ups: 4 sets 25 reps

• Weighted Toe Touches: 4 sets 25 reps

Fri: Back & Biceps (Pull Day)

• Assisted Pull Ups: 3 sets 10 reps

• Lat Pulldowns: 4 sets 12 reps

• Dumbbell Rows: 4 sets 10 reps (Each Side)

• Seated Cable Rows: 4 sets 15 reps

• Bicep Curls: 3 sets 10 reps

• Hammer Curls: 3 sets 10 reps

Whether it’s at the gym or in the safety of your own house, this workout plan will get you to learn about the different parts of your body and effectively build some muscle.

If the gym isn’t for you and you’d like to try making one at home, then check out this article where we go over the few pieces of equipment you need to start working out at home. 

https://www.aspirefitnesswalnut.com/home-workout-equipmen

Now that we know the importance of building muscle. Let’s figure out the last piece of the puzzle which is movement and activity. 

Tip 5: Keep Active When Eating Korean Food

There’s one factor of our daily calories we can control which is movement and activity. TEPA (thermic effect of physical activity) accounts for 15-30% of our total daily energy expenditure.

This means that 15-30% of the energy we burn is up to us and is something that we can actively control day to day. (1) 

Movement is so crucial when staying lean as it allows us to eat more and feel great.

While some factors like adding muscle mass can take time and effort to accumulate, movement is something we can add right away to expedite fat loss.

I understand that it can be difficult to add movement into a busy work life but it’s totally possible to seek it out after a long day. 

It requires some dedication but it’ll definitely provide the results that you’re aiming for.

When you eat something like Korean food you can expect a lot of calories to accumulate whether it's healthy or not.

The goal is always to eat more and to feed the body as much as we can especially when dieting and working out. 

Activity allows us to do so and to do so right away.

Whether it’s 30 minutes of walking every night or some active stretches at night, movement will be so beneficial and will guide you towards your goals! 

There It Is! 

In this article we went over both sides of Korean foods that feature healthy dishes and the not so healthy dishes.

We also went over the importance of understanding daily allotted calories and the value of movement and building muscle. 

If you want more articles on healthy Asian foods and healthy tips and tricks you can implement into your life to stay fit, then make sure to check out our other articles! 

RECENT POSTS

LOOKING FOR SOMETHING?

RECENT POSTS