Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Christine]

Will i be able to find them in Seoul, or do I really need to bring A YEARS WORTH? That's a lot of suitcase space. Thanks!

[The Lemon]

This is from this thread:
http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=51

[katydid]

Call it morbid curiosity, but I have always wanted to know about just WHY women should bring tampons from home....is the quality of the material used to make Korean tampons too flimsy? Are they um, accident prone? I was told by many people on this board to bring them from home, so I did, no questions asked, but now, well, I want to ask the question "why?" ^^

Katy

[elmer]

Hi Katy,

I think people suggest bringing them from home for 2 main reasons:
1. until recently, they were not so easy to find in Korea (mostly at drugstores), and quite expensive (although I think tampons are expensive anyway)
2. brand-loyalty. Lots of girls find a brand they like and then stick to it. For example, most OB users (myself included) don't want to use any other kind. Worked out well for me since OBs don't take up alot of space.

As for "efficiency" of Korean brands? Well I got some once (and they weren't the "Tempo" brand that everyone talks about here). There weren't any accidents, but the quality felt like Tampax from 20 years ago. Not sure if you know what I mean, but if you know the difference between OB and Tampax, then you might...

[meatball]

Bring a couple of months worth but no more than that....

You can find tampax and playtex here. Not just in Seoul, but most cities. I have even found them in very small cities too.
Yes they are more expensive but I'd rather use the suitcase space for deoderant rather than things I can find easily here.

good luck!

[Christine]

I was under the impression that they were very difficult to find, not just poor in quality. Thanks for the tips. I'll have more suitcase room now.

[Row]

I think its a brand thing, you find one that you like, and you stick with it. And it is quite an important thing i guess, feeling comfortable with what goes inside you!! I get my mum to send me packs when i am running low, and only resort to korean ones in an emergency!!

[sunlit]

i saw a posting a lil while back on the board about menstrual cups. specifically, it was the keeper (www.thekeeper.com). it's a latex cup that is inserted kind of like a tampon and can be used for years. --Wash with hot water and soap

an alternative to latex, is the divacup (www.divacup.com) made of silicone, it can be boiled to sanitize.

i did some research and foung mum.org ( museum of menstruation). it has the full history of the cups.

http://www.mum.org/MenCups.htm

i'm waiting to recieve my cup in the mail.

[sillywilly]

A korean girlfriend once gave a box of OBs cause she doesn't use Tampons.. i dont know where she got them other than in Korea but if you like OB I can ask her.