Korean Job Discussion Forums

[dino.sue]

I'm packing for my trek to Seoul (from US) very, very soon (yay!) and I'm the kind of person who worries about what to bring�in the sense that I want to get away with as little as possible. I'm used to traveling abroad for long periods of time, so I don't care if I have taco seasonings or whatever. But I do want my shoes. I love shoes.

Keep in mind I'm female, so I can't get away with just packing three slacks and a few work shirts. I'm NOT high maintenance, but culturally it ain't gonna work in any developed nation. (Unfortunately. You know, I should just wear a frickin' muumuu or sari all the time...)

Now, I've read up one things posted here and elsewhere, and it seems to me I should pack several pairs of pants and jeans since I can't get them there in my size (US women's size 6, which is apparently larger than Korean women. Sheesh.).

I also have wide, big feet by American standards (a wide US women's size 9/9.5), so I'm loading up on shoes . I LOVE shoes�fine, fine, stereotypical woman.

Do you think this is a good idea?

(I also packed deodorant 'cause I'm partial to Certain Dri, but I plan to buy all other toiletries there...I don't care what kind of toothpaste flavor or contact solution or whatever.)

ANYWAY, my most pressing question: should I bring my wool winter coat? Should I ship it later? It looks like USPS has a flat rate box for $40? I'm originally from Ohio and have been told the winters are similar, so I'm thinking a coat would be good. If I ship it, what's the best (i.e., cheapest) method?

[thatwhitegirl]

You'll be able to buy pants, jeans, trousers here. Even Homeplus, the grocery/everything else store has women's stuff up to waist size 32. Quite big, really. I think that's close to a size 10-12? Size 6? No problem, especially in Seoul. Koreans aren't as small as they once were.

Shoes are a different story. They have loads here, but not for wide/big feet.

And a coat...not a bad idea to ship a nice one over, especially if it's just 40$. You'd be lucky to find a decent quality coat for that.

[dino.sue]

Okay, thanks! That makes thing easier. My mom priced out sending my coat at, like, $200, but I think she's going UPS or something. USPS is much cheaper, but she somehow thinks they're unreliable. I doubt that's the case.

[blackjack]

Correct me if I'm wrong but NAs can bring over 2 bags of 32kgs each right? that is 62kgs of stuff. The rest of the world can bring 20kgs total. You should be fine

[icicle]

One option to think about is that you can wear the coat onto the plane and treat it as carry on luggage without it being included in the weight allowance. I have done that with the heaviest of my coats before with no trouble at all.

[Ya-ta Boy]

Since summer is just beginning, I'd pack summer clothes to bring with you and ship the coat for later. Check with the post office. They have boxes and can tell you the price for each box size. I've found them very reliable. Just ship it surface to your school address. It will take about 6 weeks.

Be sure to hang on to the shipping stub in case there is a problem.

[Pooty]

Ya-ta is right, and you won't have to worry about wearing a coat for another 7-8 months. Ship it later!

[teachergirltoo]

I am a shoe girl too (or was) but I learned only to bring square style heels here or wedges because they use interlock sidewalks. After I tripped and bent my ankles a few times I retired the narrow hills. Also, since it is ultra expensive to ship anything here from the States or Canada my suggestion is to pay the extra $100 at the airport for an extra bag. (I brought two extra duffels with me and it was well worth it because I didn't feel like living life a refugee and I am 5'9" with size 10 feet and knew I would have a problem finding things I wanted or needed). Stuff your coat or coats into it too. Due to an new energy rule here in the public schools the max temperature in the classrooms can be no more than 20c starting this winter (70f) so that means you will have to teach with a coat on most of the time, and its nice not to have to wear the same coat everyday - at least I enjoy a little variety. If you are a taller woman it is difficult to find stylish clothes here, even if you are on the slender side as I am. My boss told me that if I want to buy clothes in Korea he can tell me where the stores are that Koreans say sell cothes for tall girls, called "big momma" stores. I told him I have no intention of wearing any clothes made for a "big momma". So if you are even the least bit picky about your clothing bring whatever you need with you.

[dino.sue]

Haha! Thanks, teachergirltoo. I don't want to wear Big Momma clothes, either.

While wearing it would save on luggage space, it's July and I don't want to wear a coat made for 20 degree F weather.

It looks like I should try to just take it with me, if possible. If not, I'll stuff it in a flat rate box and ask my mother to ship it later.

Thanks, everyone! I have such a love/hate obsessive relationship to packing. Like, making beautiful, researched packing lists and all, but with a zeal for getting away with as little as possible. I should have been a Girl Scout. Or is "Be Prepared" only the Boy Scouts' motto?

[krats1976]

[sojourner1]

And it was 158 linear centimeters for each of the 2 bags, but now the 2 bags total linear size can't exceed a sum of 273 centimeters which sets you back at having a carry on size checked bag #2 of 115 linear centimeters.

http://us.flyasiana.com/Global/US/en/homepage?fid=INFO11313

I checked other airlines such as Northwest and it's still 2 check on bags of 158 centimeters or 62 linear inches each; not a total of 109 linear inches for the 2 bags total size, but rather 124 linear inches for the sum of the 2 bags.

Asiana airlines is a real wanker.

[blackjack]