This article defines the characteristics of Korean vegetarianism by tracing the changes in the core motives revealed in the historical development of the vegetarian movement that started in the West. We further explore and compare the limitations of the vegetarian movement conceived in the West with the essential values, ‘How can Korean vegetarian culture gain the upper hand?’. Our results indicate that the sequential changes of the motives inherent to the flow of the modern vegetarian movement were <religious-philosophy>, <political-society>, and <healthy-nutrition>. This settled the transition from ‘vegetarianism as an ideological form’ to ‘vegetarianism as a lifestyle’, making it a more becoming way of life. However, along with the spread of ‘vegetarian lifestyle as a form of life’, commercial vegetarianism, which overshadows the essential value of vegetarianism, continued to flourish due to the modern capitalist industrial system. To curb commercialization, the necessity arose to establish a new vegetarian diet with a propensity towards an ‘ecological-environmental point of view’. Thus, in order to establish the term and concept of a vegetarian diet for Korean vegetarian characteristics, we propose the formation of a vegetarian term and concept suitable for the Korean vegetarian culture.

Abstract
I. 서 론
II. 연구 내용 및 방법
III. 결과 및 고찰
    1. 채식주의 정의와 분류
    2. 채식주의 운동의 역사적 전개; 탄생과정과 핵심 동기
    3. ‘생태문명 관점’의 채식식단으로써 한식의 가능성
    4. 한국적 채식 개념 정립을 위한 제언
IV. 요약 및 결론
감사의 글
Conflict of Interest
References

• 박채린(세계김치연구소) | Chae-Lin Park (World Institute of Kimchi) Corresponding author