the foreigner 15

11Feb10

For many expats, transitioning from Western to Korean cuisine can be tough. For some, it’s the foreign flavors and fear of trying something completely new. For others, it’s the spicy seasonings that can make the digestive process feel like all-out warfare. For me, it was the weight gain.

I was shocked by it. It wasn’t that those six or so pounds snuck up on me. It was the idea of weighing more in Korea than in the United States, the verifiable Fast Food Nation. Weighing more in a country with a 2005 obesity rate of just 3.2 percent than in the fattest country on the planet? What?! It didn’t make sense.

And from what I’ve seen and heard, plenty of other foreigners deal with this very same problem. They come to Asia expecting to lose weight but end up gaining it instead. It’s so prevalent, it’s managed to stop surprising me. But it’s still a little perplexing. Call it the phenomenon of the “Foreigner 15.”

But is it truly an enigma that Western expats would pack on the pounds in Korea, one of the world’s thinnest industrialized countries, with an obesity rate that’s nearly five times smaller than that of the United States? Not really. Maybe these expats always opt for the safest, most familiar foods that are calorie and carbo-loaded and deep-fried to boot. Maybe they sneak away to the nearest McDonalds, KFC or Dominos every chance they get to enjoy a fattening taste of home. Or maybe they actually like Korean foods, but develop an addiction to the unhealthiest variety.

The latter was my case. I loved the adventure of tasting new flavors. I loved the heat and spice. But I also loved some of the worst perpetrators of unhealthy eating: samgyeopsal (fatty pork galbi), ddeokbokki (glutinous rice cakes), donkkasu (fried pork cutlet), galbitang (oily beef rib soup), and, to top it all off, starchy rice with every meal. And it certainly didn’t help that my idea of being social was limited to drinking five nights a week and never going to the gym. Logically, I was bound to put on a few extra pounds. I suppose I’m fortunate not to have put on more.

These days I’m back down to my original weight. And I’m happy to report that it wasn’t all that difficult to do. I cut back on my beer consumption. I joined a gym and began to exercise regularly. I continued to eat all of my Korean favorites in moderation. And I discovered some healthier dishes to add to my list of favorites. All in all, pretty simple fixes that are proven tenets of any healthy lifestyle.

And that’s the key: to view Korea with the proper perspective. For a long time, I mistakenly thought of my time in Korea as an extended vacation, not as the way of life that it actually is. Vacations promote overindulgence, the disposal of habits, shortsightedness and the neglect of personal health, while lifestyles demand balance and moderation, good habits, long-term planning and responsibility for your own wellbeing. Korea isn’t a one or two or three-year vacation. It’s a way of life.

So, if you’re an expat concerned about gaining the Foreigner 15, my advice is to remain mindful of your mindset. Just because your world has been turned upside down doesn’t mean your healthy habits should too. Go ahead and explore as many new places as possible, meet as many new people as possible and try as many new foods as possible. But remember to keep some parts of your old routine, like working out and eating well. Good luck!

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Tags: ddeokbokki, donkkasu, galbitang, rice, samgyeopsal, weight gain