Korean Job Discussion Forums

[ghost]

Every year it's the same problem. Teaching at a new location, new country, and travelling out with about 35kilos in luggage and coming back with more.

Would like to know - for those teaching in Korea - how much stuff did you pack and what are the kilo restrictions flying to Korea in tourist (normal) class?

When ghost taught in Taiwan last year, it simply brought over too much stuff, and then accumulated more on the Island and actually had to send home at least 3 boxes of stuff - including Chinese language course books and cd's etc...

Ideally - would like to arrive in Korea with as little as possible, and buy anything extra out there. Would 2 dress pants and 3-4 dress shirts be sufficient, in addition to casual wear and some sports clothes, and are
the Koreans very uptight about what teachers wear in the classroom?

What are the minimum amounts of stuff you have brought?

Ghost has never managed to travel with less than 20 kilos, not counting hand luggage.

Thanks for any feedback you may have.

ghost (Montreal French school board ESL substitute teacher)

[Yu_Bum_suk]

I cut my hair just before I came over but nevertheless for some stupid reason packed my big, 110 volt blow-dryer. That was about the biggest waste of space ever. I also packed a package of hair elastics even though I no longer had a potential pony tail, but at least that didn't take up too much weight or space.

[endofthewor1d]

wow...
thinking back, i packed so much useless crap the first time i came over. the worst part is that it was late september or 2001, maybe a week and a half after the planes hit the towers. people still had no idea what to do, and security at the airport was a mess. everything i had packed into my bags was sprawled out all over a big table so that the world could see what a moron i was. pots, pans, colorful underwear. actually, i recommend bringing the underwear... i only included it because it was embarrassing to have sprawled out on a table. but as for pots and pans and such, they are available here.
a good rule of thumb is that if there's something you absolutely can't live without, chances are it's available here, as evidenced by a lot of people living here already without it.
good luck.

[Oreovictim]

I brought a couple of pairs of really nice dress shoes. Since I have to wear a nice shirt and tie at my hagwon, I thought that it would make sense to bring nice shoes. Big mistake. The path to work is like a f#$king hiking trail, and we have to wear slippers in the hagwon, too.

I also brought too many bags of American candy. You can buy candy here. You don't have to bring exotic stuff for the kids.

Pencils and stickers for the kids. Again, you can find that stuff here.

[Qinella]

[billybrobby]

yeah, besides love, all you need is clothing. and toiletries if you like to use very specific stuff. I brought a sh*t-load of my favorite shampoo and it turns out they sell it everywhere here. but i'm glad i bought my favorite deoderant.

[oneofthesarahs]

Be careful about the clothes you bring though. I brought a lot of clothes that I never wear. Since you're only going to have a limited wardrobe, before you pack something, ask yourself: Is this something I could see myself wearing several times a month? If the answer is no, you probably shouldn't pack it.

And shoes are heavy, so limit the shoes you bring. You really only need a good pair of tennis shoes, and maybe one or two pairs to wear to work. And if you decide you need more shoes, you will probably be able to find them here, unless your feet are colossally big.

[cmr]

Korean winter won't ever be as cold as what you know in Montreal. When I left from Canada, I had too much winter stuff that I eventually brought back home. I'm still stuck with a big winter coat that I wore only once... just to show friends!

[cmr]

[Matt_22]

ramen

bottled water

and of course, spices.

[supernaut]

[kchax]

nice thread..

I was thinking of bringing so much crap.. but I guess all I have to worry about is clothes and few pair of shoes, and deodorants, and floss!!! do they have floss in Korea?

[jdog2050]

[SeoulShakin]

My boyfriend has size 14 feet, and he has a terrible time finding shoes in Korea. We lucked out once and found a pair of cross trainers at the reebok in Itaewon. One pair in the whole year. If you have big feet.... bring shoes!

Yes they have dental floss in Korea.

Deodorant is something I would suggest.

[ghost]

Thanks for the responses.

Ghost is tall (6.2) but not so fat (162), but in Taiwan was able to find shoes and clothes without problems....despite size 11 shoes.

How much does it cost to buy decent looking dress shirts and pants in Korea?

ghost