Korean Job Discussion Forums

[640x480]

Who'd of thought that Dunkin Donuts, Baskin Robins would be so high caliber...DD was a place to get fat off cheap coffee and donuts back in the states...

Have you guy seen any other places that were drastically different from home?

[endo]

I literally became an emotional wreck when Costco stopped selling Triscuit crackers in bulk.

[princess]

Yes, it is funny how so many things are considered "luxury" here. Things like Campbell's soup, cadbury chocolates and Dr.Pepper are considered 'luxury" here. I think just about anything foreign is considered luxury.

[jkamphof]

For me it's gotta be good North American potato chips (I can't stand Korean chips, Mmmm Old Dutch, Humpty's chips) and Root Beer. Costco just started selling some American french onion chips and it has given me some pleasure.

Hate going all the way to Itaewon for buying them (I live in Paju)

[R-Seoul]

McDonalds, back home it stinks, the food is dry and the place is full of chavs. Here, and especially in China, it's a place where you can take a girl on a (cheap) date. Not that I've ever done that (yet).

[princess]

I guess Jack Daniel's whiskey is considerd luxury here, too, seeing as how bars and restaurants charge 150,000 won and up for a bottle of the stuff. I heard it's like only $25 or $30 a bottle in the states.

[sojourner1]

Anything western or at least very western style is considered a luxury and associated with affluence. I suppose it looks absurd to the Koreans to see me greedily scarfing up what little bits of luxurious western goods I can find. Things like the lonely jar of peanut butter or all 6 of the only German beers for sale or the only bottle of Scotch or the only pound of beef for sale. Things are very limited and the system is based on surviving; not indulging like we westerners do. I suppose you can find and buy more in Seoul and other large cities, but most of the country has slim pickings. Prices are kept artificially high to support limited supply as to not force producers to have to work hard and so people don't over consume. They can do this on islands and other isolated places like this. Korea is not aggressive about consumerism like westerners typically are. A wide selection of worldly things is considered luxury as you don't need all these things to survive; just be more comfortable and affluent. All you need to live is rice, kimchi, gimbap, beer, and soju.

[ciccone_youth]

Interesting thread... i was so surprised to see Dunkin Donuts and Baskin Robbins being considered "nice places" here (they do look nicer in Korea).

I also noticed on Korean TV commercial, they always show young, beautiful people having all sorts of Western food or just cooking at home (usually a Western meal, with wine, etc). So I guess the new "trend" or the aspiration is to be more Western? I don't know, I'm just puzzled everytime I see commercials depicting Koreans acting very Western, while the Koreans I know don't eat so much Western food or don't drink wine so much.

[skconqueror]

[pkang0202]

[ciccone_youth]

[Mr. BlackCat]

ciccone_youth wrote:

[Mr. BlackCat]

Double post.

[ciccone_youth]

makes sense, sushi and stuff from the East is trendy now back home... but yea, weird to imagine kimchi being a delicacy!

[ForceOne]

150,000 for a bottle of Jack? You are either going to the wrong places, don't know anyone or being taken advantage of.