Sometimes it’s nice to get all your shopping done in one place. Here is what you need to know about the big-box retailers in South Korea including locations near Pyeongtaek, South Korea. What is a Big-Box Retailer? First of all, let’s talk about what a ‘big-box retailer is’: A big-box retailer is a retail store that occupies an enormous amount of physical space and offers a variety of products to its customers. These stores achieve economies of scale by focusing on large sales volumes. Because volume is high, the profit margin for each product can be lowered, which results in very competitively priced goods. The term “big-box” is derived from the store’s physical appearance. www.investopedia.com Although you might not be able to find everything you are used to from your home country, South Korea’s big stores provide almost everything you need to survive and thrive. It will take you some time to adjust to where your favorite things are stored in these massive stores, but once you get things figured out life will get much easier. Culture Tips of Visiting Big-box Stores in Korea for the First Time Not everyone needs this extra support in managing large complicated spaces in a new culture, but many of us do. If you struggle with feeling overwhelmed while settling into life in South Korea, the following information may help you get out and explore new big-box retailers: You may feel VERY overwhelmed on your first visit to a big-box store in South Korea as you learn to navigate systems created by a culture different than your own. That’s ok. Feeling overwhelmed feeling is a normal part of culture shock. The overwhelmed feeling will slowly fade as your knowledge of your surrounds increases. Allow plenty of time to figure things out. It may take A LOT more time to do your shopping because things are in new places and written in Korean. If it usually takes 30 minutes back home to do your shopping, give yourself 1-1.5 hours on your first trip to a new big-box store. You can use Papago or Google Translate to help read the packaging and ask for assistance from staff. Consider giving yourself and others around you extra grace. During this uncomfortable time, try to focus on the factthat feeling uncomfortable, angry, or overwhelmed does not equal yourself or others as bad. Hold grace for yourself and the new culture. Feel those feelings. Reflect on what causes those feels without judgment. Take a rest. Nearly every big-box store has a place to take a rest and grab a coffee and a stack. Don’t hesitate to take advantage of this. Don’t force yourself to push through. You are allowed to step away and take a moment. Self-care is life when dealing with culture shock. Manage your expectation before you go. This is a new country, a new store, and a new life. Needs you expect to have met by the box-store might not be bet. Expectations about what will be available will likely not be met. Expectations about how things will be organized may not be met. If you manage your expectations and leave yourself open to new experiences, things may go much more smoothly on your first visit. It gets easier each time you go. Resiliance is everything. If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again. Each time you visit the store it will become easier to navigate and eventually you will feel like a big-box store superhero. You can do this even if it’s incredibly uncomfortable one the first visit. What Big-box Retailers are in Korea? Korea has six primary big-box stores retails. These offer a westernized “mega” buying experience where you can find groceries, housing items, clothing, camping, electronics, and more. There are big-box retailers that follow the Costco trend and other big-box retail that follow the Target trend. Costco Style Big-Box Retailers in Korea Costco Membership required. Memberships from Costcos in other countries are accepted at Costco in Korea. As always, cash is king at Costco. Basically exactly like Costco from home, but with a selection of items that leans in a more Korean direction. That means more rice and ramen options. This is where many international residents go for cheese, wine, meat, and comfort foods. If you can get to Costco, it will cut your grocery bill dramatically. E-mart Traders No membership is required, open to the general public. Similar to Costco, but you don’t always have to buy massive amounts of something. E-mart traders also has an excellent assortment of cheese, sausages, and veggies at affordable prices. Selection is limited, but prices are great. MegaMart No membership is required, open to the general public. Similar to Costco and E-mart traders with slightly more commitment to the local market. Target Style Retailers Big-Box Retailers in Korea E-Mart Not a budget option but they have a lot of things folks need. If you are from the United States you might find it similar to Target, Wal-mart, or Fred Meyer. You can learn more by visiting the Emart website. E-mart also owns and operates a second brand called, funny enough, No Brand. These are small stores not impacted by the bib-box store closing days. Homeplus   Basically the same things as E-mart, but with a slightly different selection and lower prices on many things such as clothing. A great place to pick up cheap, generic clothing. Lotte Mart Lotte Mart is the premium version of Homeplus and E-mart, now super expensive but with fewer overall deals. Special Monthly Closing Days for Big-Box Retailers Over a decade ago, South Korea mandated that big-box retailers close twice a month in order to help push money back into the community and support smaller businesses. Usually, such retailers will close on the 2nd and 4th Sunday of each month, however, there is no mandated government rule stating which days the stores must close. Since there is no rule mandating the closed days, each region is free to set their own closed days and some might close on Wednesday instead of Sunday, or they may close on the 1st and 3rd Sundays. You will need to check store websites in order to confirm the closed days in your area. You can also contact 1330 for help in this matter. If you live near Camp Humphreys or Osan Air Force base in Pyeongtaek, you will want to know that, in Pyeongtaek and Cheonan, their closed days are the 2nd and 4th Sunday of each month. Exceptions to the Rule Big-box retail shops attached to malls may not have to close when the mall is open year-round. For example, in Anseong, the E-Mart Traders does not close every 2nd and 4th Sunday of the month. Reasons to Shop at Big-box Stores A Familiar Shopping Experience If you are stressed out by all the new choices and experiences, shopping at one of these box stores may feel comforting. Things will still be different but many things will also be the same. It can feel comforting to shop in a space that feels closer to your home culture as you adapt to Korean life. Variety of International Food Items You will find the widest selection of cheese and other western food items at these larger stores. Having familiar food items at home can help you manage culture shock. Everything in One Place You can get a lot taken care of without needing to navigate to many different parts of town. Many big-box stores even offer dry cleaning, key making, passport photos, pharmacies, pet stores, and more. You can run all your errands in one spot. Western Holiday Shopping The big box stores (like malls) will usually offer solid holiday shopping for westernized holiday decore for Halloween and Christmas. You will be able to find things like Christmas trees, Halloween candy, pumpkin pie, turkeys, etc. Big-Box Retailers in Pyeongtaek Big-box Stores Near Pyeongtaek 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

The post Shopping at Big-Box Retailers In Korea appeared first on South of Seoul.

Wondering about grocery shopping in Korea? Let’s talk about the realities of moving to a new culture and the struggles in Korea. Grocery shopping in South Korea Moving to South Korea is a shock in the kitchen!! Grocery stores are organized differently, packaged differently, taste different, and so much more. It’s likely that you are going to notice a difference in how everything cooks and tastes. It’s going to take a while to get used to all the new vegetables, fruits, meat cuts, and more. When I first arrived I had a mental breakdown because nothing that I made tasted right. I learned that every fruit, vegetable, and other ingredient was just a little bit different. Adjusting for things like different sweetness levels, acidity, or bitterness nearly drove me to drink. Ok, it actually drove me to drink, but I just kept cooking until I found my groove again. For a year, I decided to only cook with ingredients produced in South Korea. It was a challenge that truly changed how I look at food. Don’t get discouraged! Dig into studying the new ingredients, ask questions, and try all the new things! Why do the foods taste different in South Korea? This is part of the uniqueness of culture. When you move around the world each location has a different view of how much salt, sweet, bitter, sour, or spicy is ok to eat. This change can impact you deeply and emotionally. Many, maybe even most, ex-pats get very angry about these changes. The new tastes may feel like an attack on all that is right and sacred during a very stressful life change. In Korea, salt is a big issue. In the western world, iodized salt is used more often than sea salt. In South Korea, sea salt is used more than iodized salt. These two salts impact the tastebuds very differently leaving both sides feeling like the other food is too salty. In Korea, things are sweet that you don’t expect, and things that “should” be sweet are not. This will be very hard to adjust to, and you are going to get mad about it for a while. Breathe deep, it will be ok. Fruits and veggies taste different because it’s grown in different soil from different types of seeds. Basically, this is biodiversity in action. Korea likes their corn less sweet than you like your corn, so they grow different corn. Carrots here are super sweet. Get prepared. The funny part is that when you go back home you will feel like food is weird there! Life is funny that way. We evolve without even knowing it. What surprises exist in the grocery store in South Korea Don’t be too scared, but be ready to be overwhelmed on your first trip to a Korean grocery store. It’s going to take you a lot more time to do your grocery shopping than you originally planned. Here are some of the culture shock points: You are going to pay for your grocery bags. Your grocery bags will double as your trash bags at home. You pay your trash fee when you buy groceries but you don’t pay a monthly trash fee at your house. This turns out to be a very affordable option for waste management. You will also need to buy your food waste bags at the grocery store. Here is a blog about waste disposal in Pyeongtaek. The International Section is going to include the western items. Your western foods usually are not integrated into the rest of the grocery store. Things like western mustard, olives, salsas, and western pasta sauces will be in a small section together. This section will also include ingredients for other Asian countries like Thai or Vietnamese foods. Not every grocery store has an international section.  Veggies and fruits are seasonal. Some newly arrived ex-pats might find this inconvenient. However, once they realize how much more delicious fresh, seasonal produce is they get over their sadness fast. The Korean strawberries and blueberries will blow your mind. Fruits may be crazy expensive! Especially in the fancy grocery stores where we have seen 125,000 won watermelon. You are better off getting fruit from street vendors. Frozen fruit tends to be more affordable but less intense in flavor. Imported goods are expensive. If you want to eat exactly like home, you are going to pay for that privilege. Korea is essentially an island nation and has only been heavily importing western foods for about 7 years. That means these items are quite pricy. If you adjust to a more local diet your grocery bill can drop fast. Meat cuts are nothing like you are used to from home. You will likely need to get used to cooking with meat in a new way. Or, you can go to a butcher and request your specific meat cuts. Koreans value meat cuts differently. You will find that bones and fatty meats are the most expensive. The roasts and lean meats are much more affordable. This is especially true at the butcher. Koreans have different convenience foods. That means you find more pre-made Korean soups, frozen mandu, and pre-marinated meats rather than lots of different types of pizza. However, more and more western convenience foods arrive all the time. Since all of this change is overwhelming, we recommend going to the grocery store before you need to buy anything and just walk around. Taking a few hours to get comfortable with the new setup can change everything. Here are some more blogs that are going to help you in the kitchen 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

The post About Grocery Shopping in South Korea appeared first on South of Seoul.