Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Boodleheimer]

stressing stressing stressing. i've lived abroad for 6 years now and i've always gotten my folks stuff from where i've lived. but korea's selection -- well, for men anyway -- isn't all that great. what on earth do i get my dad for christmas??

[Boodleheimer]

oh, and evil stepmom tends to 'disappear' things she doesn't like

[newteacher]

[Milwaukiedave]

Just send them a food gift basket from a place that is in North America as it will make it easier for you and you won't have to worry about shipping.

My condolences about the evil stepmom. If you want some suggestions, let me know.

[kreitler7]

Christmas? Are you kidding? Do you shop for your dad's birthday two months in advance?

[Flash Ipanema]

Considering the time it takes to ship and the fact that most people have to schedule their shopping around other weekends plans, I think it's smart to start shopping now.

[yingwenlaoshi]

Ha! Living here is a good excuse to get away from the Christmas stress.

[bijjy]

A can of bundeggi and other treats that may be novel / hard to find for them. Like those waffle cookies.

I got a nice mother-of-pearl / gold-embossed Korean letter opener in a nice souvenir box from one of my students' parents. Maybe Insadong will have other such souvenir type items, paintings, tea sets, or garden decor (like the Buddhist wind chimes) that they might like.

Ship something from Amazon.com to them. I've always had great results getting stuff shipped from Amazon.. and there's a huge selection.

Ties from a tie shop.. they seem to have shops in Korea that sell just silk ties.

Daegu is the textile capital of Korea. Or if you don't live there, go to the East section of Dongdaemun (lots of stuff shipped there from Daegu) for some great deals on men's suits, men's golf and sport jackets, pajamas, or just about any kind of good quality clothing.

Everybody needs socks, and Korea makes the best socks, in my opinion. Even here in Canadia I only buy socks made in Korea!

Hope that helps..

[kat2]

Give to a charity in their honor. Tailor it to their interests.
Do they like to read? library or literacy program
Are they into animals? animal shelter
One of my favorite charities is the heifer.org.
There are also a lot of good gifts that are fair trade or at least donate proceeds to charity on the store at www.thehungersite.com

Yeah, Korea is pretty lacking in gifts for folks at home. There is enough for one holiday, but after that you're in trouble.

[bijjy]

Oh I forgot.. The Face Shop is getting popular here, and products are twice the price as in Korea. So maybe an idea for the step mom..

[Lizoid]

Dad's are hard. I agree the charity idea is a good one otherwise online stuff is good - books, subscriptions, concert tickets. You could book a whole weekend getaway for your folks online these days.