Korean Job Discussion Forums

[plato's republic]

Can anyone recommend a healthfood store in Seoul? Ideally looking for a store that sells a bit of everything. Not concerned about the prices, just the quality of the products.

[NYC_Gal 2.0]

Try ordering off of iherb.com and it will be delivered to your door. I get nearly all of my health products that aren't fresh veggies from here.

[plato's republic]

@NYC_Gal,

Are there any products off iherb.com that K-customs does not allow into Korea?

And if anyone knows of an actual store in Seoul, then by all means let me know.

[NYC_Gal 2.0]

Honestly, I don't know. I've ordered a lot of stuff there, and have never had any problems.

[cdninkorea]

Don't order yohimbine or anything with yohimbine in it from iherb. I don't think they'll even ship it here, and if they do, you might get it seized by Customs. Also, the int'l mail courier is much faster than the CJ or whatever it's called.

[plato's republic]

The reason I asked was because I ordered some probiotics a while back through another online website and they got stopped by customs. I don't want to end up throwing money away again.

[MegaMind]

Regarding iHerb, I noticed that since they ship to Japan, they have a 'Prohibited, Japan' section. Right now I just went to the iHerb website and searched "Prohibited Japan" and the list came up. I tried the same for "Prohibited Korea" and no such equivalent list came up. Then I did a general search for "Prohibited" and a list of countries came up but excluding Korea.

However, in my past experience in shipping directly from the United States certain things are prohibited such as Yohimbe. So if you are going to take a risk on such a product, maybe you should try a low level risk first so that if it doesn't pass customs then it's no great loss. If it does pass customs, then on the next order you can ratchet up on the quality and price.

Secondly, my best organic shopping in Korea has been at a store called Orga. The prices are a bit higher; but, as you said you don't mind. There's an Orga located at Lotte Mart at the Hanti station, Daechi. I've also seen one in the Olympic Park area, Mongchontoseong. Also, there's one in the Suji area, Yongin/Bundang.

[antsea]

I live outside Seoul, but the out of town emart has a pretty big organic section.

[plato's republic]

The Emart near my place also has an organic section but it's not that great, and I wonder how 'organic' everything truly is.

[plato's republic]

@MegaMind,

Do you have directions to the Orga store in Suji? Which subway station/exit?

[chrisinkorea2011]

I know homeplus and emart both have organic sections in my town. Keep in mind i live in a new town lol. The organic section is about 2 tall and long rows of health food. Most of it is imported from america and other countries and actually looks nutritional regarding the ingredients. However i dont buy it but i should try some.

[MegaMind]

Plato's Republic: I cannot PM as of yet, so I will publically post the info, plus some additional info.

So here's the info for the Orga stores locations; I went to their website store locator 매장안내 : http://www.orga.co.kr/shop/shopInfo.orga?idx=list

Here's the Suji address:
주소: 경기도 용인시 수지구 동천동 886번지

(Basically, it's on the way from Suji to Migeum, but certainly not near any subway station. Closest would be a good long walk to Jukjeon Stn.)

Just put into Google directions to find a bus route. However, I remember being able to take the Yellow bus (semi-local) 11 from the Pungdeokcheong area to the Migeum area. N.B. not all the buses that run from Suji to Migeum will take you by this store, so be certain to verify the routes and location.

Also, check out Choroki, 처록마을, Green Village.

Here's their website: www.choroki.com If you scroll down on the main page, you can see a view of their store. Then you'll realize how often you've seen these stores before.

[MegaMind]

The Orga stores are quite nice; I highly recommend them, even though they come at their price. However, it's a delightful shopping experience; imho slightly better than shopping at say the grocery section of Shinsegae or Lotte because these stores are generally stand alone stores. Therefore, the crowd hassel is less. Plus, they offer products I have not seen elsewhere. So, it ends up being a worthwhile venture.

The Suji location surprised me because the surrounding neighborhood is a bit desolate. On the other hand, it seems close enough for the residents of lower Bundang to drive there.


However, back in the States, I still love to rock the Whole Foods!!