Korean Job Discussion Forums

[liffey85]

Hi all,

Leaving for South Korea in 3 days and I'm starting to panic! Can anyone please list 4 or 5 essential items I should not forget when I am packing? I'm very disorganised
I'm sure this topic has been discussed before so if anyone can either paste a link here or help me out in any way, I would be grateful!

P.S. I am male, so "pack extra tampons" or girly things like that will not be a relevant suggestion!
P.P.S. I've heard that deodorant and paracetemol is must. Any other suggestions?

Thank you.

[dosed_neurons]

books
vitamins
family photos (!!)
tickets stubs/posters

[English Matt]

#Vitamin tablets (like a years supply, as they are more expensive than crack here)
#Anti-perspirant deodorant (again a years supply, as it is difficult to obtain out here and what they have is not as effective as what you can buy at home)
#Towels (ever see that scene in Planes, Trains and Automobiles in which Steve Martin has to dry himself with a flannel....well that is what passes for towels here)
#Duvet covers and pillow cases for your bed
#At least one plug adaptor
#Medicine - things like cough syrup and cold and flu drinks, capsules, etc
#Tea bags, weetabix - food or drinks that you like and are easily transportable
#Blu-tac for fixing posters, postcards, photos to the walls of your apartment
#Rolling tobacco, filters and papers if you are a smoker (and depending on whether or not you are headed to Seoul or somewhere else)
#Lots of decent underwear (the underwear here is nut cracking tight)

[Senior]

There isn't that much that you can't get here these days. Deodorant is relatively available. Though, worth bringing 'cos it's expensive. Some decent cheese. The cheese situation is dire. If you are in Seoul, there won't be anything you will have to go with out.

[redaxe]

A very warm winter jacket, scarf, gloves, etc if you're going to the Seoul area. It is very cold and windy in the winter here.

Bedsheets are a good thing to bring, because Korean bedsheets are either really expensive or really ugly.

Also just clothes in general, especially if you are taller or heavier than most Korean men are. Make sure you have suitable clothes for all four seasons because foreign clothing brands are very expensive here. Korean clothing brands do not come in very large sizes, and even if they did you probably wouldn't want to wear them anyway because of the weird fashions and nonsense "Engrish" written all over them.

[English Matt]

http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=13160

http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=5363

http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=15900

http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=1190

http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=106346

http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?p=2156328

http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=7621

[furtakk]

Besides deodorant, everything else is readily available here.

Western style bed sheets can be bought online for about the same price you would find them back home so I wouldn't bother with those.

If you're a big guy, buy some extra shoes/clothing as the selection will be limited here. If you're 6ft tall/10.5 - 11 shoe size and under you should be okay.

Vitamins/supplements if you take them (expensive).



The only things I can't find here are certain food items, but most of those you can't bring on a plane anyhow.

[jmuns]

bed sheets are a waste. they take up room in your suitcase, and you probably dont know the size of your bed. also, if you are american, chances are the sheets you buy arent going to fit the bed anyway.

[thoreau]

thick tube socks. i can only find thin socks around.

[air76]

You definitely want to bring deodorant, don't listen to anyone who tells you it is available here. It is crazy expensive and there is next to no selection. If you are at all picky about deodorant then bring tons.

You may want to bring toothpaste if you're picky about toothpaste flavor. You can get Arm & Hammer here, which is pretty good, but Korean toothpaste definitely is odd.

If you like cards, bring 2 decks of decent paper cards, the cards here are like 10 bucks and made of plastic and stick to each other as soon as they get even a little wet. If you play poker, bring chips too...you can buy them online here, but they're expensive and most nubes won't be set up to shop online for a while.

If you're 6'3 or taller or wear XXL anything then you really CAN'T bring too many clothes. Bring more than you think you need.

Other things that we routinely stock up on from the US or have shipped over (clearly some of this stuff is not super important, but it is either very expensive or unavailable here):

instant pudding
jell-o
coconut milk powder
Thai curry paste
large bottle of ibuprofen and large bottle of aspirin (over the counter meds here are EXPENSIVE as hell, they seem cheap at $1.75/box, but there are generally only 10 pills per box)
books
good dandruff shampoo

All in all it's not like it was even 5 years ago....you can get by with what you can pick up at HomePlus.

To tell the truth, everyone is different...it takes a year before you figure out what the little things are that you miss from home.

[UknowsI]

[naturegirl321]

HOw expensive are vitamins ? Can you get 180 for about 30 bucks or so?

For the people who keep saying deodorant, is that just becuase you don-t like the Korean version, or can-t find your favorite brand, or both?

My mom, who was a nutritionist told me I should just change my diet, then buy odd "natural" deodorant. It looked like a rock crystal. Supposedly most deodorants clog your pores, etc, and make you smell worse then if you don't use it.

As for food, I don't know, people who bring PB, aren't you sick of it? I ate it everyday in school for years and years, if I never see it again, I wouldn't care. Spices and stuff, I live off off soups, salads, and sandwiches, which probably explains why I weigh so little. The only food I would consider taking is nuts, seeds, and dried fruits. But I figure I-ll just have to live without and stock up in August when I finally introduce my husband to my parents.

I plan on going back to visit the US with the clothes on my back, toiletries, and one change of clothes and empty suitcases

[blackjack]

condoms


Back home with a doctors script you can get 12 boxes for $3 as apposed to 14 bucks for slightly smaller condoms per box.

spices cajin, smoked paprika, coriander, a th ai mix, curry mix, herb seeds (if you like growing stuff).

shoes above 10.5-11

t shirts if you have big shoulders

It's late but I will add more later

[redaxe]

[curiousaboutkorea]