Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jiberish]

So because I get asked about this a bit I decided to try and help people out and make a guide from what I have learnt whilst here. If you have additional information feel free to add to what is posted here.

Gyms - I have been a member of four gyms so far in Korea and none have compared to the ones I went to back home. You will find a lot more space used for things like lockers and saunas. It is just the way it is and it is difficult to find a good weights style gym if that is what you are looking for. However they do exist. Step one is probably the most difficult, finding a gym. In Korea I have never seen one referred to as a gym. They are usually either called fitness clubs or health clubs. However of course it is written in Korean as "휘트니스 클럽"(fitness club) and "헬스클럽"(health club). So these are the words you will be looking for around your town. Also gyms are most commonly located on the top floors of buildings so you will need to look up. Another way to find them is to type in health club or fitness club then your town name into naver(in Korean of course). Sometimes you will even get a list of results with a map that show where they are.

Now typically there are a few gyms in every town. I found a few even in small towns. So I suggest you shop around. Find the gym that has what you need because they do differ greatly. In regards to price it varies ALOT depending on where you live. I have seen gyms that are 300,000 won for a year and others up to 1,600,000 won for a year. Another reason to shop around.

Once you find a gym that you are happy with. There is the usual struggle to register. But typically all they want is name, phone number and birthday. Also note as this is Korea it is possible to haggle the price of a gym. The first gym I went to I managed to get the price down about 20%. Always worth a shot.

In the gym - If you have a buddy then you will probably have problems here. But if you are working out alone, of course at times you will need a spot. Pretty much every gym will have a trainer in there all the time. In every gym I have been to, the trainers have been very nice and helpful and always willing to help. If you need a spot. Then the easiest way is to just say "bojo" or possibly "support" this is what the trainers told me to say when I ask. Another useful expression is "shesaeyo" which means rest. So you can say like il(1) ee(2) sahm(3) bun(minute) shesaeyo. So they know when to come back for your next set.

Supplements
*before you try use Korean internet shopping I strongly suggest learning to read Korean, it almost a joke at quickly you can learn the basics of reading it. Just google images korean alphabet memorise the characters. It takes 2 hours tops. This is because of the words will be English words spelt in Korean*

Sups-there are a few ways to get sups here. But I will just list the 3 most common.
Option 1 - If you want American sups then the internet is the way to go. There are a few sites that specialize solely in American sites such as
www.speedns.co.kr

www.madmass.net

http://www.healthkoreaus.com/

http://www.mass119.com

The one I use the most is speedns. I have used this site for 3 years now. The main reason is they have cheap bags of 4.5kg optimum whey. Its only about 90,000 won per bag. Which works out to be about the same as bodybuilding.com price once you factor in currency conversion. They have a good range of other supplements too. The main reason however is the 10 dollar delivery. 10 dollars for 4 day delivery from the USA to Korea is ultra cheap. I put the same order into bodybuilding.com and delivery is over 200 dollars sometimes. However I think if you spend more than 400,000 won it is an extra 10,000 won. I have used megamass store once. Products overall are a little cheaper than speedns. But delivery is more expensive once the package gets heavy. So it is only good for little things like Vitamins, bcaas etc. The last site healthkoreaus has the largest range of products but is also the most expensive.

To buy off these sites you will need a Korean ID number. Two options for this is you could ask someone at your gym to buy it for you and you give them to cash (i have done this and it worked out great) or ask a friend or co-teacher to help you out. In regards to payment I suggest just doing an ATM transfer.

Option 2 - Gmarket has a lot of Korean brand proteins. I don't know how good they are as I have never purchased them. However a simple search of protein, 단백질, carbohydrates or whatever you are looking for into Gmarket will give you plenty of results. If you are after dextrose or maltodextrine, the only place I found it was on gmarket under the search results of "gainer". Here is one example of maltodextrine
http://gen.gmarket.co.kr/challenge/neo_goods/goods.asp?goodscode=103379355&pos_shop_cd=SH&pos_class_cd=111111111&pos_class_kind=T&keyword_order=gainer&search_keyword=gainer

Gmarket is pretty English friendly these days so you should have no problem signing up. Once again I suggest ATM transfer for payment. *most Korean brandss only make protein, creatine and glutamine*

Option 3 � I heard there are a few stores around nandaemun and dongdaemun. However the only store I saw before was pretty overpriced so I didn�t get anything. If anyone knows locations, please post.
Equipment � Little things you may want. For example wrist straps, weight belts, dip belts and so on can all be found on Gmarket. A search in English will probably give you the results you are after. Or you can try searching the brands �red bull� or �harbringer�. I love my red bull wrist straps(leather ones).

Diet � If you are pretty serious about exercise. You know you need a lot of good clean foods and of course it easiest to buy it all in bulk. For vegetables, I find street vendors or Gmarket to the best way to go. You buy in bulk and save a lot of cash. For a lot of other things I only use Gmarket. I order my chicken breast frozen in 10kg containers for 58,000 won and my brown rice �현미� for about 26,000 won for 20kg. Oatmeal is 2,500 won per 500g. It isn�t as good as some other oatmeal for example the stuff at Costco but it less than half the price. I think at first is a bit awkward and a bit of an effort. But once you have your favorite online stores all book marked. Buying food on the net becomes very easy.

I know I pushed Gmarket a lot in this guide and some people may prefer to use other sites and by all means do as there are plenty out there. I am just comfortable with Gmarket.

Anyway I hope this helps,
If you would like anything else added to the guide just let me know.

[kinerry]

you realize the insanely high calorie count of rice, right?

I go with cheap local chicken for protein

How much is creatine running these days?

[jiberish]

Of course I know calories I calorie count.

I am not exactly about stand alone creatine. As I have switched from creatine monohydrate to a pre-workout which has creatine in it. Most recently I bought 2 containers of super pump 250 at 800 grams for 34,000 won each.

The cheapest chicken around my home is about 13,000 won per kg

[kinerry]

[ca86108]

anyone seen animal pump around korea?

[blackjack]

[huck]

At Costco, you can get 15-16 boneless chicken breasts for around 15,000won..

[kinerry]

[blackjack]

[jiberish]

Local chicken from homeplus is 14,000 won per kilo and at lotte mart 16,000 per kilo and the butcher 13,000 won per kilo. Gmarket 58,000 won for 10 kilos.

In regards to animal pump. I am pretty sure I saw that on the mega mass site. But bloody hell I can't remember the url.

[jiberish]

[atwood]

I just ordered from speedns and the service was great. However, the sell-by date on the protein I purchased was July, 2009. Is that why their prices are so good?

[jiberish]

It has a sell by date?

Where is it? I can only see an expiration date. I know the other mega mass site sold it for a similar price. I mean the shop it self is in cali. So they get it for the same price as the american stores.

[SeoulMan99]

Weights are my primary concern. I doubt they have the heavier dumbbells (100lbs+) in most gyms. I am just considering buying a pull-up bar and adjustable dumbbells and doing mostly bodyweight exercises and some dumbbell work at home. That will save those expensive gym fees, though they could be decent places to maybe meet women.

[Hightop]