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BS.Dos.
Joined: 29 Mar 2007
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 Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2009 3:50 pm Post subject: |
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| Packets of red and green Thai curry mixes. |
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Janny
Joined: 02 Jul 2008
Location: all over the place
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| Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2009 4:08 pm Post subject: |
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Hey OP...don't get discouraged. There are the smart-ass replies that help nobody...and then there's the hundreds of people who read your post and either agree or appreciate the info. Those people don't post replies.
There was a post about this topic a week ago...? I had a pretty good list on there.
One thing that I can add....powdered sauce mixes. Things you can use to augment the basics (potatoes, butter, milk, pasta, vegetables, meat) in the kitchen. Nothing like some home-cooking once in a while. And those little packets don't take up much space. Trust me, worth their weight in gold. |
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wylies99
Joined: 13 May 2006
Location: I'm one cool cat!
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| Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2009 4:23 pm Post subject: |
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| asams wrote: |
| yoja, i was doing this as suggestions for newbies. I know there's a sticky, that's where I got most of my information, but some of them don't know how to use this website. A lot of people have been asking so I decided to help them out a little. sorry i was helping a fellow foreigner |
Dove soap is available at Costco. 
There's PLENTY of shampoo in Korea, but many popular brands (like Garnier Fructis) are unavailable. |
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aboxofchocolates
Joined: 21 Mar 2008
Location: on your mind
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| Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2009 6:59 pm Post subject: |
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| lille wrote: |
re: feminine products -
nuts to bringing a year's worth of pads. i'll be bringing a keeper cup with me - saves space and tonnes of cash, and many get fewer cramps wearing it. http://www.thekeeperstore.com/  |
Plenty of pads but I had a hard time finding decent tampons here. five boxes of OB supers should cut it.
TOOTHPASTE!!!! Colgate or crest, big family sized tubes. not all the toothpaste brands have floride in them and your teeth will rot out of your head. And then you have to deal with Korean dentists who like to skimp on the anesthetic. Some will give you some if you ask, some will not, but I have the general impression that anesthetic is not considered as important here as it is home, so those who give it to you on request are actually being kind and indulging you. If you find a dentist who gives you all the anesthetic you need, does not fill your head with gold and does not drill out 75% of your tooth to fill a small cavity, give him a big hug. he deserves it. |
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blackjack
Joined: 04 Jan 2006
Location: anyang
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| Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2009 7:07 pm Post subject: |
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Well I guess here is my list.
Note this list only applies if you are not fat, super tall or have any extra/missing limbs. Also only applies if you are living in a semi major city
Clothes
a basic summer and winter selection.
if you are coming in winter more winter clothes if you are coming in summer more summer clothes.
note: they sell clothes in korea
Toiletries Bring a couple of toothbrushes, 1 tube of toothpaste and a couple of sticks of deodorant.
anything that you use everyday and can't do without for a week i.e towel
I brought a calander from home with some nice photos.
supplements if you use them. metamuscil, cough medicine, headache stuff, cough lozenges, milk thistle
foods that you can't do without (for me vegemite, smoked paparakia fresh herb seeds (i don't recommend this as you can get in trouble) and green and red thai paste)
This should bring you in a about 15kg, the other 5 kgs what ever you want. Now if you are from north america go crazy |
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blackjack
Joined: 04 Jan 2006
Location: anyang
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| Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2009 7:10 pm Post subject: |
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| aboxofchocolates wrote: |
| lille wrote: |
re: feminine products -
nuts to bringing a year's worth of pads. i'll be bringing a keeper cup with me - saves space and tonnes of cash, and many get fewer cramps wearing it. http://www.thekeeperstore.com/ |
Plenty of pads but I had a hard time finding decent tampons here. five boxes of OB supers should cut it.
TOOTHPASTE!!!! Colgate or crest, big family sized tubes. not all the toothpaste brands have floride in them and your teeth will rot out of your head. And then you have to deal with Korean dentists who like to skimp on the anesthetic. Some will give you some if you ask, some will not, but I have the general impression that anesthetic is not considered as important here as it is home, so those who give it to you on request are actually being kind and indulging you. If you find a dentist who gives you all the anesthetic you need, does not fill your head with gold and does not drill out 75% of your tooth to fill a small cavity, give him a big hug. he deserves it. |
don't bother with toothpaste.
close up is common and cheap it has fluoride |
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NightSky
Joined: 19 Apr 2005
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| Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2009 7:46 pm Post subject: |
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[quote="wylies99"]
| asams wrote: |
| There's PLENTY of shampoo in Korea, but many popular brands (like Garnier Fructis) are unavailable. |
yep and they are intended for asian hair, which is, um, not like western hair. |
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in_seoul_2003
Joined: 24 Nov 2003
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| Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2009 8:55 pm Post subject: |
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| agoodmouse wrote: |
| I've come to the conclusion that Koreans don't sweat. I'm serious. I was sweating at a pool hall tonight because of the seven lighting fixtures above my table and I looked over to see a gentleman in a wool p-coat playing at his table. |
1. Can point out a hundred Westerners like that.
2. It's the climate he was born in not you.
3. I have a gym with hundreds of Koreans and classes of dozens of students that prove otherwise - that liquid coming out of their foreheads ain't rosewater... |
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in_seoul_2003
Joined: 24 Nov 2003
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| Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2009 8:59 pm Post subject: |
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saw6436
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Daejeon, ROK
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| Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2009 9:24 pm Post subject: |
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I've done alot of international traveling and the best advice I can give anyone coming to Korea is TRAVEL LIGHT. Aside fron the clothing on my back, I carry: 1 pair of pants. 2 pairs of socks. 2 sets of underwear. Shaving kit (toothbrush and razor have handles cut off). 1 book. Your looking at a very long Airplane flight plus airplane changes and baggage mishaps. Traveling with just carry-on baggage makes your trip so much easier. There are lots of web-sites with tips and tricks to maximize your luggage space and eliminate excess weight (google is your friend)
Anything you think you will need should be pre-purchased and have a family member or friend ship to you once you are in country. Items to be shipped could be:
Anti-perspirant/Deodorant: avaliable but expensive in Korea.
Certain Herbs and Spices: avaliable but in a limited variety.
OTC medicines: avaliable but generally poor quality in Korea.
Sheets: again avaliable but expensive. I had flannel sheets sent.
Comfort foods:
Lots of things like toothpaste, soap, shampoo, etc are widely avaliable and not so expensive as to prohibit buying here. 5 years ago I would have included them on a lits of things to bring, but Korea has come along way since I arrived in 1998. I have switched to Korean toiletries and am pleased with them so far (except for Anti-perspirant).
Get into Korea and suss out whats here and whats not here. Just the looking around and searching for stuff is a valuable experience and fun in it own self. If your out in the boonies take a weekend and come to Seoul. Great fun being a total Newb and wandering a city of 20,000,000 in a strange land.
But as others have said. Definitely bring lots of patience and a huge sense of humor. |
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yoja
Joined: 30 May 2008
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| Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2009 9:38 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| yoja, i was doing this as suggestions for newbies. I know there's a sticky, that's where I got most of my information, but some of them don't know how to use this website. A lot of people have been asking so I decided to help them out a little. sorry i was helping a fellow foreigner |
Actually, I too was trying to help my fellow foreigners, but you were too busy getting offended to give my post some thought.  Perhaps I wasn't entirely clear as to why it's helpful to post things in the right forum. Perhaps you felt defensive when you read my cranky-sounding post and didn't give it any more thought. So I will elaborate.
I remember when I was a newbie and was frantically reading Dave's. Even though I was new and may not have understood "how this website works," it quickly became apparent that I could skip reading most of the forums, they didn't have much information useful to me as a newbie. I pretty much just read the FAQ forum. Occasionally I read the Job Forum when I had questions about my contract and what I would actually be expected to do once I got here, but mostly I just read the FAQ. WHY? Because that's where the helpful threads are.
When you start posting any random topic in any forum, it actually makes it a lot harder for anyone to ever locate, refer back to, or learn from again. It's much easier to keep bumping the same thread of "what to bring to Korea" because then the newbies don't miss out on the one small but recent-and-possibly-helpful thread that's buried somewhere over in another forum. The search function operates in its own little universe and is occasionally helpful but most of the time totally useless. So if I were a newbie trying to remember what someone said about Garnier Fructis shampoo and I started searching through all the threads over in the FAQ section (where one would expect it to be), guess what? I'd never find it, because it's in the wrong place.
My frustration is not that people are trying oh-so-sincerely to help out others, but that by not posting in the right forum, it 1) clutters up the other forums where many readers are no longer newbies and therefore not as likely to benefit from your wisdom, and 2) it gets lost and is much harder for people who COULD benefit from it to locate.
Personally, I also think it's important for newbies to realize that the world is not going to cave in if they don't remember to pack a year's supply of deodorant and toothpaste. I stand by my point that coming to Korea does *not* mean you will be living Little House on the Prairie style, but that you will be fine and you will adapt, and anything that you absolutely cannot live without can be sent in a care package from mom.
If you disagree with me, fine. But don't assume that you are the only person who cares to help others. If I wasn't trying to be helpful, I wouldn't bother to post anything at all. I'd just let the thread die into obscurity and I'd stop bumping it. |
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aboxofchocolates
Joined: 21 Mar 2008
Location: on your mind
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| Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2009 12:32 am Post subject: |
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| blackjack wrote: |
| aboxofchocolates wrote: |
| lille wrote: |
re: feminine products -
nuts to bringing a year's worth of pads. i'll be bringing a keeper cup with me - saves space and tonnes of cash, and many get fewer cramps wearing it. http://www.thekeeperstore.com/ |
Plenty of pads but I had a hard time finding decent tampons here. five boxes of OB supers should cut it.
TOOTHPASTE!!!! Colgate or crest, big family sized tubes. not all the toothpaste brands have floride in them and your teeth will rot out of your head. And then you have to deal with Korean dentists who like to skimp on the anesthetic. Some will give you some if you ask, some will not, but I have the general impression that anesthetic is not considered as important here as it is home, so those who give it to you on request are actually being kind and indulging you. If you find a dentist who gives you all the anesthetic you need, does not fill your head with gold and does not drill out 75% of your tooth to fill a small cavity, give him a big hug. he deserves it. |
don't bother with toothpaste.
close up is common and cheap it has fluoride |
haven't seen any, but I haven't been looking. where abouts is this close up? |
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daystar
Joined: 27 Oct 2008
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| Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2009 4:14 pm Post subject: |
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I brought everything I could think of in terms of personal hygiene and it was actually way too much.
I suggest bringing (mainly for women): deodorant, plenty of tampons, bed sheets, any luxury cosmetics like creams, cleansers, etc. (yes you can find them here but at a not so reasonable price), hair styling products, specialty food seasoning, and anything you may need to get by before your first major shopping trip.
The above list is just a suggestion. Really, everything can be bought here at the expense of a long subway ride and a blown up price (note: Gmarket makes it all much easier and cheaper). Big stores like HomePlus carry brands like Dove, Pantene, etc but their selection is limited.
aboxofchocolates, you can find Close Up toothpaste at HomePlus. |
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