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Only a year after the first World Vegetarian Day celebration in Seoul, the nation's veggie movement is taking off in leaps and bounds. With some 17 groups scheduled to participate, this year's events promise even more energy and enthusiasm than ever before, starting with a vegetarian festival on Sept. 22.The performance at Seoul National University will include original works of dance, music, theater and mime by the newly formed Earth-love Vega, a vegetarian club whose members aim to address serious issues in a lighthearted way. The next day, a wide array of groups representing environmental, religious, health, animal protection and other concerns, as well as several vegetarian food companies, will gather in Seoul Station Square for a huge celebration led by the Korea Vegetarian Union (KVU). On both days, of course, delicious food will be served in generous quantities.

The diverse groups, ranging from the Buddhism Environmental Education Center to Green Korea United and many others, share a common goal - raising awareness about vegetarianism and its benefits to humans, animals and the planet. Lee Kwang-jo, the KVU's leader, advocates this lifestyle primarily for six reasons. Respect for animals is one; other reasons include concern for human health, the environment and starving people. Lee pointed to the vast amount of land and resources that must be used to grow animal feed, suggesting that many more people could be fed if society moved toward a plant-based diet. Two final reasons - spiritual benefits and the potential to create a more peaceful society - are especially important to Lee, who said he believes vegetarianism is a small but important step in creating a world that respects life.

Compared to Western countries, Lee said the face of vegetarianism is slightly different in Korea, where it's generally difficult to find vegetarian options in most restaurants and there hasn't been much support for the lifestyle until recently. He said that in the past, Korean vegetarians were most often motivated by religion, although the focus is now shifting to concern for animals and the environment. Yet Lee said spirituality is still important to many vegetarians in this country, and the experiences of several Earth-love Vega members seem to bear this out.

Jeon Sang-joon, a 28-year-old civil engineering student at Hanyang University, founded Earth-love Vega in December 2000 to fill a need that, in his view, wasn't being met by existing vegetarian groups. Member Mira Koh said it offers a different atmosphere, and for the most part serves a younger age group: Those who attended a recent meeting ranged in age from 22 to 35, and many were college students just starting out as vegetarians. Most emphasized compassion for animals as their main reason for choosing a vegetarian diet, although the group also shares the KVU's environmental and health concerns.

Overall, the members of Earth-love Vega seem to favor an approach that is nonconfrontational and passionate at the same time, and this will undoubtedly be reflected in their performance next week. Noh Tae-bok, 32, said the group isn't interested in forcing its views on others, but gives its members a chance to share their experiences as vegetarians in a non-vegetarian world. The performance, he said, will address not only the health, environmental and animal welfare implications of meat-based diets, but also a broader issue: what he calls the "meat-eating culture" and its impact on people's attitude toward living beings. Noh will take part in several skits during the festival, including one tentatively entitled "Funny Cooking Classroom," which satirizes this attitude in a scene involving a shrimp and a sadistic chef. Student Baka Jai-hong, 23, will perform two original rap songs in Korean, entitled "Veggie Power Changes the World" and "Meat is Murder" (not to be confused with the classic 80s hit of the same name by the U.K. band, the Smiths), respectively; and actress Park Ga-ah, 23, will direct a series of comical scenes that show the difficulties of everyday life as a vegetarian - conflicts with family and lack of choices in restaurants are just a few of the featured themes.

Question
1. Are there any vegetarian around you?
2. What is the definition of vegetarian, and what do you think about them?
3. Do you have ill feeling about meat-eating?
4. Share ideas on habits that can save the earth, animals,
   or plants including eating habits.

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