Sesame Oil, Perilla oil essential for Korean food (K-FOOD)
What effect does it have on our body? And which sesame oil or perilla oil should I choose?




As Korean culture such as BTS, Black Pink (K-Pop), Parasite, MINARI, and Squid Games are gaining popularity around the world, interest in and curiosity about Korean culture in general is also increasing. In particular, the interest and popularity of Korean food such as Kimchi, Bibimbap, Bulgogi, Soybean paste soup, TongDak (Korean Fried chicken), and Japchae is explosive enough to be introduced as a regular issue on TVs in Western countries. Now, at the stage of just introducing Korean food, some social media channels such as YouTube and Facebook that are instruting K-FOOD ingredients and the ways of cooking are also appearing. Accordingly, interest and demand for basic Korean traditional sauces such as soy sauce, red pepper paste, soybean paste, red pepper powder, sesame oil, and perilla oil that are naturally included in Korean food are increasing.





[Picture 1 - Captured a YouTube Chanel_ introducing Korean food recipes]


In this article, I would like to introduce sesame oil and perilla oil, which are one of the basic Korean traditional sauces for almost all Korean dishes such as Bibimbap and Namul dishes.


- Sesame oil

First, sesame oil is a traditional and representative vegetable oil frequently used in East Asian cultures, and has a similar position to olive oil used in Europe. In particular, it is often used in East Asian cuisine along with perilla oil, and the main ingredient is sesame. It is made by roasting sesame seeds and pressing them. Because sesame has a unique and fragrant flavor, adding a small amount to food gives the food a savory taste and aroma. In Korea, it is mainly added to various foods such as soup, stew, Banchan, and Bibimbap to stimulate the appetite.



[Picture 2 - Picture of Bibimbap and Vegetables Cooking]

So, what are the benefits of sesame oil?

According to the Korean Food Research Institute, sesame oil, like other Korean foods, not only tastes good, but also has health benefits.
1. Good for liver function improvement.
Sesamine contained in sesame oil has the effect of decomposing alcohol and prevents damage to the liver.
2. Good for skin protection
Sesame oil contains unsaturated fatty acids such as linolenic acid, which has an excellent skin protection effect.
3. Good for Stress Relief
Linolenic acid contained in sesame oil helps the secretion of hormones that have an effect on relieving stress.
4. Good for oral health
Sesame oil is effective in removing plugs in the mouth.
5. Good for brain development and hair
Unsaturated fatty acids in sesame oil provide sufficient nutrients to the brain to improve memory and concentration.
6. Blood vessels become healthy The rich unsaturated fatty acids in sesame oil help prevent adult diseases and make blood vessels healthy by suppressing bad cholesterol.
7. It has a strong anticancer effect.
Sesame oil contains a large amount of fetate and selenium, which are anti-cancer ingredients that inhibit the formation of cancer cells.
8. Prevents aging
Vitamin E in sesame oil suppresses free radicals, prevents aging phenomena such as wrinkles and age spots, and maintains moisture in the skin.


- Perilla oil

In addition to sesame oil, perilla oil, one of Korea's representative edible oils, does not destroy perilla's nutrients and is rich in vegetable omega 3 and linolenic acid, so it has excellent efficacy by milking perilla directly in a high-pressure press without roasting after drying. In addition, raw perilla oil using raw perilla is known to have better efficacy.


1. Skin Care
It helps to get rid of blemishes such as wrinkles, blemishes, freckles, and acne by balancing the skin, and it also helps to make the skin elastic and clear by discharging toxins and waste products.
2. Blood Circulation
It helps to remove cholesterol from the blood and helps blood circulation. It purifies the blood and helps to prevent and improve vascular diseases such as high blood pressure, hyperlipidemia, arteriosclerosis, myocardial infarction, and stroke.
3. Brain Health
Raw perilla oil is rich in alpha-linolenic acid, which is effective in preventing dementia. Omega 3 content is more than 60%, so it not only prevents dementia, but also helps the brain development of growing children and is effective for overall brain health.
4. Anticancer action
Raw perilla oil is rich in a component called rosemary acid, which has anticancer action in our body. It is helpful in preventing cancer, especially liver cancer. If you consume it regularly, it will be of great help in preventing cancer.
5. Allergy Improvement
In raw perilla oil, alpha-linoleic acid catches linoleic acid, which is known to cause allergies, and helps to improve allergy, and it helps by suppressing inflammatory substances.
6. Depression Relief
As mentioned above, raw perilla oil is rich in alpha-linolenic acid and omega-3 fatty acids, so it is effective in relieving depression by activating nerve cells.


How can I find more reliable and fresh Korean sesame oil and perilla oil?

How is Leewoong Food's sesame oil & perilla oil different from other products?


Leewoong Foods uses only Korean products produced by sesame and perilla crops.
The Rural Development Administration formed a crop group with 39 farms growing sesame and perilla. With the technical guidance of the Haenam-gun Agricultural Technology Center, members of the crop group secure excellent varieties and produce high-quality agricultural products through learning. In addition, as a strategic marketing strategy project linked to small-scale farms, we established Leewoong Foods equipped with the latest facilities to produce safe food.