How We Research

What this site covers and what it does not

SafePlate Korea describes which ingredients usually go into common Korean dishes, so that you can build a Korean order card and ask better questions at a restaurant. It covers the traditional recipes of each dish and the named variations that many restaurants serve.

It does not cover the recipe of any single restaurant, and it cannot tell you what is in the dish in front of you. Nothing on the site is medical advice, and it does not replace asking the restaurant directly. If you have a severe allergy, follow the advice of your doctor.

What the three levels on a dish page mean

Usually in it means that the ingredient goes into most basic, traditional recipes of the dish. We use this level only when at least 2 different recipe sources agree.

Sometimes in it means that the ingredient goes into some of the basic recipes, or into a named variation of the dish that many restaurants have copied. For a variation, menus of at least 2 different restaurants or chains, or articles about it, can serve as sources instead of recipes. A dish invented by a single restaurant is not used for any level.

Rarely in it means that the usual recipe does not call for the ingredient, but some kitchens still use it. There is no level below it, and no level that says a dish is fine for you. An ingredient that is not listed on a dish page has not been checked yet, and when the sources do not support a level, we leave the ingredient out rather than guess.

For diets, a dish page gives only two answers: Not suitable, or Ask first. There is no answer that says a dish fits a diet, for the same reason.

Where the information comes from

Every ingredient level, every diet answer, and every named variation points to at least one source. A source is a recipe, a reference book or website, a menu, or an article, and a link is added when the source is online.

You can see the sources at the end of each dish page, under Sources we checked, grouped by the finding they support. Source titles are shown in their original language.

Directed by the operator, not generated on screen

The operator decides which dishes to cover, sets the criteria for each level, and confirms changes before they are published. Finding the sources and writing the text are done with AI, and only sources that were actually opened and checked are listed. When you open a page or build a card, nothing is generated or translated by AI or by any other automatic tool. Every sentence you see is fixed text that was prepared in advance and built into the site.

The Korean sentences on the order card are fixed text as well. The one exception is the free text field for other ingredients to avoid, which is placed on the card exactly as you typed it, without translation.

How the translations are made

The Japanese, Chinese, and Korean versions of the pages are first drafted with AI, then checked again by a second, separate AI review, and then confirmed by the operator before they are built into the site. This happens before a page is published, never while you are using the site.

The translations are not reviewed by native speakers or professional translators. If you find a translation error, please report it as described below, and each report is corrected individually.

Reporting an error and how it is corrected

If you find a wrong level, a missing source, a translation error, or any other mistake, please write to contact@safeplatekorea.com and tell us the page and what looks wrong. The address is plain text rather than a link.

Each report is checked against the sources, and corrections are made to the site once they are confirmed.