30+ Most Common (and Unique!) Vegetables in Korean

Need some color in your Korean studies? Why not throw in some greens?

And no, you can’t just avoid them like you (and I) may have done as a kid during dinnertime.

After all, knowing your Korean vegetables is essential to a healthy language-learning diet!

In this post, you’ll learn the names of some must-know vegetables in Korean. They’ll be welcome starters or additions to your mental Korean food vocabulary pantry.

Contents

• Common Vegetable Names in Korean
• • 아티초크 — Artichoke
  • 아스파라거스 — Asparagus
  • 콩나물 — Bean Sprouts
  • 피망 — Bell Pepper
  • 브로콜리 — Broccoli
  • 양배추 — Cabbage
  • 당근 — Carrot
  • 콜리플라워 — Cauliflower
  • 셀러리 — Celery
  • 옥수수 — Corn
  • 오이 — Cucumber
  • 가지 — Eggplant
  • 부추 — Leek
  • 상추 — Lettuce
  • 양파 — Onion
  • 버섯 — Mushroom
  • 완두콩 — Pea
  • 고추 — Pepper (spicy)
  • 감자 — Potato
  • 호박 — Pumpkin
  • 무 — Radish
  • 시금치 — Spinach
• Unique Vegetables and Greens in Korea
• • 깻잎 — Perilla Leaf
  • 청양고추 — Cheongyang Chili Pepper
  • 애호박 — Korean Zucchini
  • 총각무 — Chonggak Radish
  • 고구마 — Sweet Potato
  • 콩나물 — Soybean Sprout
  • 숙주나물 — Mung Bean Sprout
  • 달래 — Korean Wild Chive
  • 취나물 — Aster Scaber 
  • 쑥 — Mugwort

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Common Vegetable Names in Korean

These are the typical veggies that you can encounter anywhere. Some of the names are just Korean transliterations of the English names, likely because the vegetable in question wasn’t native to Korea.

아티초크 — Artichoke

아스파라거스 — Asparagus

콩나물 — Bean Sprouts

피망 — Bell Pepper

브로콜리 — Broccoli

양배추 — Cabbage

당근 — Carrot

콜리플라워 — Cauliflower

셀러리 — Celery

옥수수 — Corn

오이 — Cucumber

가지 — Eggplant

부추 — Leek

상추 — Lettuce

양파 — Onion

버섯 — Mushroom

완두콩 — Pea

고추 — Pepper (spicy)

감자 — Potato

호박 — Pumpkin

무 — Radish

시금치 — Spinach

Unique Vegetables and Greens in Korea

Overall, Korean cuisine really loves utilizing its vegetables. And of course, many Korean dishes get their signature taste and appeal due to the special veggies they use. I sometimes even throw in Korean vegetables to non-Korean dishes, just because I think they would benefit from them.

There are several Korean vegetables that can be difficult to find in any place other than a Korean-based grocery store or market. They’re well worth the search, however, because they have tastes that can’t be fully replicated by anything else.

깻잎 — Perilla Leaf

If you ever sit down for a traditional Korean meal, you’re very likely to see on the table a plate of either raw or seasoned perilla. These bitter leaves are often used as wraps to bundle up rice plus other sides into a neat package you eat in one bite. I personally prefer seasoned perilla paired with some fresh Korean grilled meat—the taste is astounding!

청양고추 — Cheongyang Chili Pepper

You can never be too sure with these green peppers. With one bite, you may enjoy a sharp but deliciously tolerable level of spiciness…or you may be gulping down water with tears streaming down your eyes (as is usually the case with me, with my pitiful inability to handle spicy foods). It’s a gamble that’s worth braving, because they can provide a fresh kick to any dish.

애호박 — Korean Zucchini

It may look like a run-of-the-mill zucchini, but the Korean 애호박 is a notably different specimen. It has a juicy texture and softer flesh, and its flavor is rather subtle. The 애호박 is typically eaten fried or seasoned. My favorite use of this vegetable is when it’s incorporated into Korean stews known as 찌개 , in which they become wonderfully tender as they soak up the broth.

총각무 — Chonggak Radish

This radish’s name translates to “bachelor radish.” That’s because its shape resembles the long hairstyle of unmarried Korean men in ye olden days. The vegetable is commonly made into kimchi, with its body left mostly intact. If you love the standard lettuce type kimchi, I suggest you try the radish variant as well—it has a delicious, thick crunchiness that just can’t be beat.

고구마 — Sweet Potato

Sweet potatoes have a special place in my heart—Korean ones especially so. Yellow-fleshed and covered in a ruddy skin, Korean sweet potatoes have a more earthy taste than Western yams. They’re often classified into two types: 밤고구마 , which is chestnut-like in taste and drier in texture, and 물고구마 , which is softer and more watery. In Korea, they’re a popular snack that’s often eaten fire-roasted or steamed.

콩나물 — Soybean Sprout

It’s not a joke to say soybean sprouts are used practically all the time in Korean cuisine and are just universally loved by Korean cooks—I literally see them poking out of any meal (Korean-based or not) my mother makes. They can be incorporated into all kinds of dishes, whether vegetarian or not, to provide them with a nutritious crunch. They’re also boiled or seasoned and eaten as a side.

숙주나물 — Mung Bean Sprout

Mung bean sprouts are quite similar to soybean sprouts, though they have smaller yellow heads and are a little shorter overall. They also tend to be more watery. You can find mung bean sprouts used as a topping in many Korean dishes. Mung beans themselves are also used to create a tasty fried pancake known as 빈대떡 .

달래 — Korean Wild Chive

This spring green consists of a long leaf and a small bulb. It may not look like much, but the Korean wild chive has a notable onion-y taste that can be a refreshing addition to whatever you cook. Like many other Korean greens, it can be seasoned and eaten by itself, though I prefer to eat it as a topping for meats or stew.

취나물 — Aster Scaber 

Appreciated for its abundance of vitamins, this bitter herb is often seasoned and eaten as a side or atop rice. Its strong taste makes it pair well with a variety of foods. It can also be dried out and rehydrated for later use, a trait that makes the aster scaber a popular food item during the winter season.

쑥 — Mugwort

In food, mugwort can be eaten in its original form or in powder form (such as in the case of mugwort-flavored 떡 rice cake, which I highly recommend you try). But the plant isn’t just used for Korean cuisine—it’s also used in some skincare products due to its purported antibacterial and cleansing properties.

If you watch K-dramas or Korean cooking vlogs, you’ll see these vegetables pop up! To practice these vocabulary, you can watch related Korean videos on FluentU’s language learning program—each video comes with interactive subtitles and a personalized quiz, plus there’s also a multimedia flashcard deck specifically for vegetables in Korean.  

Feeling sufficiently nourished? Good!

Now you can take what you’ve learned and head out to a Korean market to test out what you’ve learned.

You may soon be cooking up some exquisite and healthy meals, all while relishing in your newfound knowledge.