Seoul Travel Forum

Hi,

I'm moving to Seoul in a couple of months and have no idea what to ship as far as food and other things.( dressings, seasonings?)What about wine- I've heard its quite expensive there, is it truth? I'm gonna get a bunch of things from costco and I would appreciate if you could give me any ideas.
Thanks.
A

Hi:

Yes, seasonings and dressings are a good idea though most major supermarket chains like E Mart and Home Plus stock the basics now -- ranch, italian , oregano, basil, etc. The wine selection here has exploded in recent years. The prices are a bit more than the States but not too bad. I buy Chilean reds every so often and they run about 12,000 to 40,000 won ($15-$45). Again, E Mart has a broad selection. Of course, Costco is well represented in SK now. It is not nearly like the ones stateside as it caters to Korean tastes. Still, decent coffee (Kirkland), bulk land o lakes cheeses, salsa, sour cream, canned soups are there when you need them. Another thing I would consider are meds. You can get Tylenol at any drug store here, but it isn't the extra strength kind. Cold medicines would be another good idea. Hope that helps...

Will you have SOFA status? I doubt you have access to US military bases or you wouldn't have asked the question. However, as the other poster has said, you can get pretty much everything in Seoul that you can get in the states. There are even a couple of markets in the Hannam area that cater specifically to foreigner needs if you want something specific that you can't find at Cotsco or Walmart (yes I said Walmart). The only thing I found in 8 years nearly impossible to find on the local economy is a whole turkey at thanksgiving time.

Wal-Mart has actually given up in Korea and its stores were taken over by Korea's E-Mart, which you should definitely keep in mind during your stay. Same applies to the above-mentioned stores around Hannam-Dong. Prices for imported goods will obviously be higher than in your home country but well, at least they're available.

There is a free monthly magazine called 'Eloquence' that gives plenty of great information and tips about life in Korea/Seoul for foreigners, incl. names and locations of those supermarkets in Hannam.

Cheers,
Robert

The wine is expensive.. so if you have some fave bottles you should bring them! Otherwise I agree with the earlier postings and know that you'll find most of what you need at the big marts though I hope that you take a liking to the local cuisine as the fresh markets are lots of fun to shop in and there are cooking classes in the city for foreigners. (I've never been on a better diet plan in my life than eating the spicy kimchi and other foods over there! :) )

Still laughing about the other guy's mention of the turkey! Got together with a bunch of Canadians when I lived there and had to import a giant turkey and cranberry sauce for the holidays.. that's one of those moments where one misses home!

If you really get a hankering most American restaurants are on many street corners. Itaewon district has a lot more options and a really good Indian food joint and a falafal spot too!

Thanks for the tips. As I live in Germany right now I will definitely ship a few cases of local white wine. They have the best riesling in the world!

Keep in mind you'll be paying duty on that imported wine, which is one of the reasons why shops here charge more. Will be about 18%? Unless you are shipping APO base to base, then you will have no worries.

Like others have said, you can find anything here. It's just a matter of how much it's going to cost, and knowing the right places to look. Even turkey. :)

Yup, I bought 4 turkeys in Daegu for all my friend's parties...

More things are available in Korea now then when I first visited several years ago. In Seoul, you will have absolutely no problems. I've even found a few decent wine stores down in Ulsan. The key with things like wine is that Koreans do not drink it often, nor do they know what the good wines are. Prices will often be mixed with good and bad wines. Also many times older wines will be discounted because the locals think that old wine is bad wine.

Just ask some of the other foreigners you meet here and they will point you in the right direction.

Deoderant...bring deodorant. There is about one store in the country you can get it at.

Luckily, it's not that bad anymore and you can get deodorant in most conveniecne stores by now. However, don't expect a big selection, anything fancy or of good quality. Most of them are from Nivea but compared to the Nivea ones I know from Europe, the ones over here are really not good. Rexena is also available but quite a bit more expensive.

Cheers,
Robert