About Arts and Craft Suppliers in South Korea In South Korea, office supplies and crafting supplies are often mixed into the same space. That means you can pick up paints and printer paper at the same spot. As of 2021, South Korea does not have large box stores for crafts like Michaels and Hobby Lobby in the US.. Additionally, many specialty craft items -such as fabric or yarn – may be sold in small shops that focus only on that item. What this means is that you may need to visit a variety of different stores in order to find all of your supplies. Expect to spend more time sourcing supplies than you did in your home country. Cultural Notes Related to Craft Supplies Just like food, clothing, relationships, and housing supplies – craft activities and craft supplies vary between cultures. You may not find all of the supplies needed for crafts from your culture. Items that you consider foundational supplies may not exist here or might be found under a different name. Also, colors that you are used to finding during certain times of year might not be on the shelves. Emotionally prepare for 1) your craft search to take time, 2) what you want to be unavailable, and 3) the need to find substitutions. Look at this as part of the adventure of living abroad. Not being able to find what you are comfortable with from home does not make South Korea backward or bad. In other countries, items needed for South Korean crafts such as hanji also do not exist. Instead, these differences are what make the world interesting and unique. That said, we can help make the processes smoother by providing a solid base of introductory information to begin your arts and crafting supply search. How to Find Out What Supplies are Carried at an Arts and Crafts Store If you would like to know if what you need is available at a particular store, you will need to get help by: Shops Carrying Art and Crafting Supplies in South Korea Here is a breakdown of the places to start your search for supplies related to your project. Alpha Types of crafting supplies: Painting, drawing, cutting mats, felt, beads, card stock, modeling clay, decorative paper, vinyl, and more. Alpha is an office supply/arts and craft brand that can be found across South Korea. Such stores come in many different sizes and will carry different types of supplies based on their location. Locations near Universities and schools will often care more about art supplies and small locations in neighborhoods may focus more on art supplies. Thankfully, Alpha has an English website where you can learn more about what products might be offered in their shops. If you know Korean or have assistance in Korea, you can also order Alpha products online through their website. Dream Depot Types of supplies: Painting, drawing, felt, modeling clay, glitter, pom poms, card stock, vinyl, decorative paper, and more. Dream Depot is another office supply/arts and craft brand that can be found across South Korea. They also come in many different sizes and will carry different types of supplies based on their location. Once again, locations near Universities and schools will often care more about art supplies and small locations in neighborhoods may focus more on art supplies. However, Dream Depot does not currently have a website with English information about many of its products. Instead, you will need to browse the Korean website. If you speak Korean or have assistance, you can order your supplies online. Daiso and Art Box Daiso’s and Art Box are popular brands across South Korea that do not focus on art supplies but may carry some art supplies. These locations are hit and miss depending on the neighborhood and size of the store. Diaso tends to have a small crafting section with things like yarn (very small selection) knitting needles, crochet needles, embroidery kits, and basic sewing supplies. They also carry art supplies like paints, crayons, and canvas. Art Box is a good place to find pens (including for calligraphy), kits for felting, and paint brushes. Stationery Stores Korea is covered in small stationery stores that carry things for young people’s everyday lives like gloves, umbrellas, socks, phone cases, hair accessories, and sometimes ART SUPPLIES! It is worth stopping by your local Stationary Store to see what art supplies they may have. Usually, they carry such times as paints, paper, pencils, pens, etc. Online Ordering Options You can also order your supplies online through Amazon, Coupang, Auction, or Gmarket. Amazon recently partnered with a Korean company to expand distribution in South Korea and both Coupang and Gmarket are Korean companies similar to Amazon with nice English interfaces. Auction, another Korean company, is a bit less English-friendly. Specialty Stores You can also find specialty stores for things like sewing, knitting, baking, cooking, woodworking, etc. To learn more about where to find these kinds of products, check out our post on locating specialty crafting supplies in the Pyeongtaek area. For military members: Camp Humphreys Arts and Crafts Center For those with base access the Arts and Crafts Center at Camp Humphreys can be a good place to find the arts and crafting supplies you are familiar with from home. Not only do they offer a wood working shop (that sells wood), sewing center, 3D printing, and classes, there is also a small store that sells painting supplies, arts and crafts, kits, some quilting fabric, and resin supplies. Alpha Locations Near Pyeongtaek This may include locations in Pyeongtaek, Anseong, Osan, Asan, and Cheonan. These are all areas surrounding Pyeongtaek which may be easily accessible by Pyeongtaek residents. Dream Depot Locations Near Pyeongtaek This may include locations in Pyeongtaek, Anseong, Osan, Asan, and Cheonan. These are all areas surrounding Pyeongtaek which may be easily accessible by Pyeongtaek residents. This Blog Updated as New Places Added This blog post will be updated as community members add new locations to the South of Seoul app. South of SeoulFounded in 2015, the South of Seoul team consists of volunteers on three continents working together to support English-speaking people traveling or living in South Korea. South of Seoul volunteers work with organizations and individuals across South Korea to improve equitable access to information across South Korea. Much of South of Seoul’s information focuses on Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. Blogs published under the authorship of “South of Seoul” include blogs compiled by multiple volunteers to improve access to standardized information unrelated to individualized personal experiences. www.southofseoul.net

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