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The South Korean defense ministry has confirmed it will provide vegetarian and vegan meals, catering for Muslim military enlistees this year.
Anyone who joins the military will be asked to mark if they require meatless meals when they sign up, The Korea Times confirmed.
Meatless military
It will come into effect from this February when recruits take their physical examinations.
The news organization claims that there are currently two vegetarian soldiers in the country’s military, and both are Muslim. The change reflects a growing number of soldiers giving up meat.
A source told The Korea Times: “As soon as we identify the number of vegetarian and Muslim soldiers next year, we will develop customized menus.”
Criticism
Just over a year ago, a vegan who hoped to join the Korean military filed a complaint against the National Defence Commission for its failure to offer plant-based food.
Taehyun Jung said: “In Korea, almost all males must go to the army for about two years. There is no such thing as a vegan meal so vegans (and vegetarians) have to eat animals to survive.
He added on the Facebook page Vegan Korea: “This is a very important issue for me and other vegan Korean meals. Please share this issue so that everyone knows about!”
