Korean Job Discussion Forums

[morrisonhotel]

[4seasons]

To Morrisonhotel, I have adjusted my post to read:

"Oatmeal is expensive here, but a relatively affordable breakfast staple at 500 won per 1/2 cup serving (assuming the large canister costs 15,000)."

Tangerines in my neighborhood are now 5 for 1000 won. Bananas are 3 for 1000. Green peppers are also now selling at 3 for 1000. You get generally do better if you buy in bulk. Korean pears, oranges (2 servings per orange), run about 500 per serving. Frozen fruit from Costco generally run about 500 per serving too. Costco's imported seedless grapes are also about 500 per serving (12,000 per 3 lbs). Carrots are now 3 for 2000, about 635 for one or 300 per serving.

At different times of the year, I can get melons, strawberries, and other fruits for 2-400 won per serving too. I eat what is in season as much as possible.

USDA's definition of a serving;

http://nutrition.about.com/od/fruitsandvegetables/f/servingfruit.htm

[southernman]

[sillywilly]

You can buy a filling lunchbox at the corner store for 2000 won.

[Leon]

My groceries are usually around 25,000-35,000. Granted I only eat dinner at home during the week, but it's very cheap. I eat meat, eggs, bread, etc. I typically don't buy drinks. I buy maybe a cartoon of milk a week, but use that more for cooking and coffee than drinking. I would be under 50,000 easily if I didn't take girls out to eat and if I didn't go to coffee shops.

[allovertheplace]

[allovertheplace]

[Katie26]

200k won a month. I do it (well more or less-with the other half we do 280k a month so I would think it's doable)

If you have a Costco

1 2kg bag of shrimp (raw) 15k
Homeplus chicken (go late on a sunday and freeze)-10 chix breasts 10k
Big lump of cheddar (costco) 10k
Big bag of Brown rice (7k)
Wholemeal Pasta (homeplus) 5k
Pesto (15k)
Salsa (15k)
Herbs and spices (10k)
10 cans of tuna (18k)
10 cans of tomatoes (10k)
2 loaves of wholemeal bread (10k)
Peanut butter (10k)

Then you have 80k over to buy fruits, vegetables and tofu to make the stir frys with rice, sandwiches or pasta with tomatoes etc.... buy them from the ajummas on the street-however my eating out does not count in this

[alwaysbeclosing100]

5kg bag of rice 10,000 won
10 packs of hot curry(900 won each ) 9,000 won
10 cans of red beans(1250 won each) 12,500 won
homeplus case of ramen(40 packs of ramen) about 16,000 won
20 pack of sliced cheese at home plus 5,200 won(to make cheese ramen)

there are still a few places in korea that made kimbab for 1,000 won......seek them out and find them.........

i could buy red beans in bulk from the traditional market and let them soak......i could probably save at least 5000 won out of the 12,500.......

bulk packs of the oden fish sticks are start at 2000-3000 won......

if you choose to drink you can get 1000 soju or 1500 jinro wine from the grocery store......

i buy big cans of tuna on sale for 1600 won to add into my soup or rice.....

[caulice]

Wine for 1.32$ Canadian? Does it come in little bottles, and it is made from rice? I see on wikipedia that jinro is a company that makes red wine though, and so this is getting my hopes up. The only thing that I have anticipated missing if I go to Korea is red wine, as I have heard before that it is very expensive. But maybe I'll be ok with soju.One thing I've been looking forward to is fresh and affordable seafood (am i wrong about this?).

[brucefox]

Ok I am on a money-saving mode right now so I spend less than even 50,000 won a week on food.

The trick is to find your nearest Gimbob CheonGeok or in Koreanletters: 김밥 천곡. 1,500 won for full roll of gimbob and a small bowl of soup. It's a full meal!

You do this for 7 days twice a day and you get 15,000x2 = 30,000
If you simply MUST have 3 meals a day then it's still 45,000 won a week.
And Yay! No heat or water spent on washing dishes and preparing food!!
eating out like this ACTUALLY saves on bills!

Gimbob rolls are not unhealthy. You will get tired of eating them after a while, and they will start to look and taste like NtriPaste from The Matrix.... but they fill you up and you won't suffer from scurvies. And the place has more menu at that price range, some of them taste REALLY good, but not necesarily healthy.
Besides... you get free water while you are there so no more money spent on bottled Evian!

[createasaurus21]

That was exactly my budget my first two years in Korea and it worked out ... as long as you include Ramen in some of those meals.

Fish is fairly cheap in Korea. You can get 꽁치 for just a few thousand won for like 3-5 fish.

And your ramen doesn't have to be just noodles and broth. I like to boil a whole chicken, debone it and put it in a ziplock bag in the fridge or freezer, and I'll add that plus some vegetables and an egg when I make a bowl.

If you like Korean food, Kimchee Jigeh and Denjang Jigeh are both really cheap to make. You can add a can of tuna to the Kimchee Jigeh, or a slice of pork belly cut into pieces.

[sweet_potato]

It's definitely possible. You just can't get western stuff because that's expensive. Buy Korean stuff.
Someone already mentioned - buy things when they're in season and store them! My freezer is full of prewashed and precut veggies and greens that I've bought whenever I see it for cheap. I make a lot of veggie soups with these veggies. I also throw in some plain rice cake slices (also cheap) and tofu. Buy a big bag of rice, that'll last for a while too. I also have a blender and I make a ton of smoothies from frozen fruit. I recommend buying fruits and veggies in small markets and from ajummas on the street. I don't have Costco or Homeplus or Emart near me. I don't buy meat though, so I don't really know how much it costs. Also, if you go to a bread shop later, the prices are much lower. I usually buy a few loaves and store them in the freezer.
I can't tell you exactly how much I spend, because on days when I buy the big bag of rice and find a lot of produce, I spend more - but yesterday, for example, I only spent 20,000 and I bought mainly fruit, tofu and yogurt to last until next week.

[conrad2]

Based on this thread a lot of people here are leading sad,miserable lives.

[Sinnerman]