Seed oils in South Korea
Of the 4 chains we track in South Korea, none use real fats in the fryer and 2 use seed oils. That leaves 2 with something in between, no fryer or no answer. Below: what they fry in, how people cook there, how to read a label and what to say to ask about the oil.
What the chains fry in
These are the 4 chains we track in South Korea, with what each one fries in according to our records. Open any chain for its full report card. See the full country index.
- Real fats: beef tallow, lard, butter, olive oil or coconut oil.
- In between: palm or peanut oil, a high-oleic grade, or a mix of real fat and seed oil.
- Seed oils: canola (rapeseed), soybean, sunflower or corn, or a "vegetable oil" blend.
- No fryer: the chain does not deep fry. It can still cook with oil elsewhere in the kitchen.
- Unknown: our records do not say what the chain fries in.
(estimated) means our note on that chain is hedged, so read the oil as a good guess rather than a confirmed fact. How we read these notes.
Cleanest picks
No chain we track in South Korea fries in real fats alone. These come closest: they mix real fats with other oils, or fry in palm or peanut oil.
- Paris Baguette Vegetable oil blend and butter (estimated)
All 4 chains
| Chain | Fryer oil |
|---|---|
| Lotteria | Vegetable oil blend (estimated) |
| McDonald's | Vegetable oil blend (estimated) |
| Paris Baguette | Vegetable oil blend and butter (estimated) |
| Starbucks | No fryer |
Same chain, different oil
A chain can fry in one oil at home and another abroad. We can compare 2 chains with the U.S., and all 2 show a different fryer oil in South Korea. Rows where the color changes come first.
| Chain | In the U.S. | In South Korea |
|---|---|---|
| Paris Baguette | Butter | Vegetable oil blend and butter (estimated) |
| McDonald's | Canola and soybean oil | Vegetable oil blend (estimated) |
The brands that state their fryer oil in many countries are compared in Same chain, different country.
How people cook in South Korea
A Canadian government market report (2024) says soybean and rapeseed (canola) oils are commonly used for frying and dominate household cooking in Korea, while sesame oil and perilla oil are used for flavor, and olive and grapeseed oils are popular as healthier options.
The same report calls palm oil the most consumed cooking oil, but it is not used in home kitchens and about half of it goes to biodiesel; in food it goes to food makers and restaurants, where it is gaining ground because it is cheap, and instant noodle demand is one driver. Palm oil made up about 30 percent, by value, of Korea's 2021 fat and oil imports.
About 80 to 90 percent of cooking oil for food is sold through business channels, mainly in 18 litre cans, so a restaurant fryer is likely soybean, canola or palm-based oil or a blend, though we found no chain-by-chain list.
Korean instant noodles (ramyeon) have been fried in palm oil or beef tallow (a 1988 Korean food science study tested both), and most today list palm oil, so check the label for 팜유.
Say it in Korean
Read these out loud or show your phone to your server. The first two rows are the questions to ask. The rest are the oil names you will see on menus and labels.
Language: Korean (Hangul with romanization)
| You want to say | Say it like this |
|---|---|
| Ask the kitchen | |
| What oil do you fry with? | 어떤 기름으로 튀기세요? (Eotteon gireumeuro twigiseyo?) |
| Can you cook it in butter or olive oil? | 버터나 올리브유로 조리해 주실 수 있나요? (Beoteona ollibeuyuro jorihae jusil su innayo?) |
| Seed oils to watch for | |
| Sunflower oil | 해바라기유 (haebaragi-yu), also sold as 해바라기씨유 (haebaragissi-yu) |
| Canola oil | 카놀라유 (kanolla-yu); rapeseed is 유채유 (yuchae-yu), and labels may say 채종유 (chaejong-yu) |
| Soybean oil | 대두유 (daedu-yu) or 콩기름 (kong-gireum) |
| Vegetable oil (often a seed oil blend) | 식용유 (sigyong-yu, cooking oil); on labels 식물성유지 (sikmulseong yuji) |
| Fats to ask for | |
| Olive oil | 올리브유 (ollibeu-yu) |
| Butter | 버터 (beoteo) |
| Lard | 돼지기름 (dwaeji-gireum) or 라드 (ladeu) |
| Beef tallow | 우지 (uji) or 소기름 (sogireum) |
| In between | |
| Palm oil | 팜유 (pamyu) |
Tips for eating out in South Korea
- Sesame oil (참기름, chamgireum) and perilla oil (들기름, deulgireum) are used in small amounts to season rice, vegetables and seaweed, not for deep frying. They are seed oils too, so decide whether that matters to you.
- Grilled meat (Korean barbecue), soups and stews, and steamed dishes usually avoid the fryer. Twigim (튀김, tempura-style snacks), fried chicken, tonkatsu and pan-fried pajeon pancakes are cooked in cooking oil; tteokbokki is simmered, not fried.
- Instant noodles and many snacks list 팜유 (palm oil) or 팜올레인유 (palm olein) on the pack, so choose fresh noodles, rice or rice cakes when you can.
- Ingredient lists are in Korean, so point a translation app at the label and look for 팜유 (palm), 대두유 (soybean), 카놀라유 or 채종유 (canola), 옥수수유 or 옥배유 (corn) and 혼합식용유 (blended cooking oil).
Use the app on your trip
Seed Oil Tracker has local menus for 4 chains in South Korea. Switch your country in Settings before you go.
Download for iPhone Get it on Google Play
Free to download. Want the full tour first? See what the app does.
Sources
The cooking, label and tip sections come from these pages. The chain fryer oils come from our own records.
- Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada: Sector Trend Analysis, Cooking Oil Trends in South Korea (2024 report, page modified 2 Jul 2025)
- The Poultry Site (Global Ag Media, 29 Apr 2022): S. Korea fried chicken diners feel palm oil squeeze (2021 fat and oil import figures)
- Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology (1988): instant noodles (ramyon) fried in palm oil and beef tallow, abstract
More countries
Menus, recipes and rules change, so treat this page as a starting point and check the label or ask in the moment. Need a refresher on what counts? See what seed oils are and the full list. Back home, the eating out playbook covers restaurants in the U.S.