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northway
Joined: 05 Jul 2010
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 Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2015 7:07 pm Post subject: |
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| Steelrails wrote: |
For vegetables and meat, markets are better. For processed and imported groceries, big box stores are obviously the way to go.
A country should be careful about the long-term ramifications of an economic policy that focuses on cheap consumer goods as a panacea for what ails it. |
Hey, I'm with you, but this is an incredibly ham fisted "solution" that doesn't really solve anything. Is this really the best that the sum of Korea's creative brainpower could come up with? There are plenty of ways to support small businesses that aren't simply publicity stunts that make life difficult for everyone else. |
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DaeguNL
Joined: 08 Sep 2009
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| Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2015 7:19 pm Post subject: |
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| Steelrails wrote: |
For vegetables and meat, markets are better. For processed and imported groceries, big box stores are obviously the way to go.
A country should be careful about the long-term ramifications of an economic policy that focuses on cheap consumer goods as a panacea for what ails it. |
Fruit and Vegetables are just about the only thing worth going to a market.
Maybe fish and chicken.
I could probably list 100 items that are just easier to get at E-mart/Homeplus.
I don't mind going to the small marts and such, but some things are just a rip off. |
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atwood
Joined: 26 Dec 2009
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| Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2015 7:28 pm Post subject: |
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| Qonny wrote: |
| Steelrails wrote: |
A country should be careful about the long-term ramifications of an economic policy that focuses on cheap consumer goods as a panacea for what ails it. |
I agree. People often talk about Walmart or other such big box multinationals coming in and ripping the heart out of small/mid size towns and neighborhoods.
Where I live there is a family run mini mart type thing. The owners are lovely. Decent range. Not too overpriced. I want them to succeed. It would be bad for the neighborhood if they disappeared.
There are other places though that sell half rotten food. The staff are rude pricks who don't say a word to you. Like someone said above, they charge what they feel like on that day.
The government is not doing anyone any favors by artificially keeping these kinds of businesses afloat. |
Talk is cheap. How about some real evidence? |
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atwood
Joined: 26 Dec 2009
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| Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2015 7:33 pm Post subject: |
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| One problem with the markets is it can be hard to ascertain the provenance of what they're selling, which is important to some people. |
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northway
Joined: 05 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2015 7:50 pm Post subject: |
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| DaeguNL wrote: |
| Steelrails wrote: |
For vegetables and meat, markets are better. For processed and imported groceries, big box stores are obviously the way to go.
A country should be careful about the long-term ramifications of an economic policy that focuses on cheap consumer goods as a panacea for what ails it. |
Fruit and Vegetables are just about the only thing worth going to a market.
Maybe fish and chicken.
I could probably list 100 items that are just easier to get at E-mart/Homeplus.
I don't mind going to the small marts and such, but some things are just a rip off. |
Your mistake is in buying items that aren't vegetables and meats. |
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Cave Dweller
Joined: 17 Aug 2014
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2015 8:59 pm Post subject: |
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This is a very Steelrails-ish reply, as I have come to expect from you.
Your 'what-if?' scenario is pretty much the actual reality. YBM and Pagoda, after paying your own rent, works out to about 1.5 a month for teachers. Their curriculum is flashier and better developed than most mom and pop hagwons. However, they do not dominate the hagwon industry because the people vote with their wallets.
When I see Kims Club or Hanaro totally packed with a line-up out the door on odd Sundays, as far as I am concerned, the people have voted with their wallets. It's like all those fools that want to 'stick it' to the oil companies and have a 'don't buy gas' day, when in reality, they all buy extra gas the day before or day after their protest day.
The outdoor markets already have a ton of human traffic on Sundays and every other day, just that they don't make a lot of sales because customers know poor quality and value when they see it.
| Steelrails wrote: |
| I wonder what people's reaction would be to some company like YBM or CDI creating behemoth Hagwons that employed people at 1.5 million won/mo. wages that drove the other Hagwons out of business because of their cheap prices, modern facilities, and prepared and organized materials, not some haphazard curriculum thrown together by whoever this year's teacher is. Oh, how people would howl. |
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Qonny
Joined: 28 Oct 2014
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nicwr2002
Joined: 17 Aug 2011
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| Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2015 9:32 pm Post subject: |
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| What is a mom and pop market? I don't think I've seen any genuine markets like that. They are all either an E-mart everyday, Lotte Super, SM Mart, or any other small chain market. Those aren't mom and pop places either. I'm not sure there is really any true mom and pop places here. |
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northway
Joined: 05 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Sun Mar 08, 2015 9:47 pm Post subject: |
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| nicwr2002 wrote: |
| What is a mom and pop market? I don't think I've seen any genuine markets like that. They are all either an E-mart everyday, Lotte Super, SM Mart, or any other small chain market. Those aren't mom and pop places either. I'm not sure there is really any true mom and pop places here. |
Have you really been in Korea for years without ever finding your way to a traditional market? They're super cheap, and generally have a lot less of the shoving and the shouting that you find in Lotte Mart on a Saturday, surprisingly. |
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nicwr2002
Joined: 17 Aug 2011
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| Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2015 12:51 am Post subject: |
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| northway wrote: |
| nicwr2002 wrote: |
| What is a mom and pop market? I don't think I've seen any genuine markets like that. They are all either an E-mart everyday, Lotte Super, SM Mart, or any other small chain market. Those aren't mom and pop places either. I'm not sure there is really any true mom and pop places here. |
Have you really been in Korea for years without ever finding your way to a traditional market? They're super cheap, and generally have a lot less of the shoving and the shouting that you find in Lotte Mart on a Saturday, surprisingly. |
Yes, I have and found them to be very disappointing. Not only were there more pushy and rude people, the prices weren't that much different than the big box stores. Nobody wanted to haggle with you on the price, it was dirty, and not customer friendly. Furthermore, the vendors tried to be dishonest when it came to buying fruits and vegetables by not allowing you to inspect the quality before buying. |
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northway
Joined: 05 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2015 5:39 am Post subject: |
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| nicwr2002 wrote: |
| northway wrote: |
| nicwr2002 wrote: |
| What is a mom and pop market? I don't think I've seen any genuine markets like that. They are all either an E-mart everyday, Lotte Super, SM Mart, or any other small chain market. Those aren't mom and pop places either. I'm not sure there is really any true mom and pop places here. |
Have you really been in Korea for years without ever finding your way to a traditional market? They're super cheap, and generally have a lot less of the shoving and the shouting that you find in Lotte Mart on a Saturday, surprisingly. |
Yes, I have and found them to be very disappointing. Not only were there more pushy and rude people, the prices weren't that much different than the big box stores. Nobody wanted to haggle with you on the price, it was dirty, and not customer friendly. Furthermore, the vendors tried to be dishonest when it came to buying fruits and vegetables by not allowing you to inspect the quality before buying. |
That's too bad. The one I used to go to in Gunpo had pretty high quality goods, and the proprietors were very friendly - always throwing in free stuff. Prices were much lower than those of supermarkets, and there was way less hassle and pushiness. |
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Underwaterbob
Joined: 08 Jan 2005
Location: In Cognito
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| Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2015 3:44 pm Post subject: |
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| I like not going to Emart. In any case, my food situation is never so dire that a trip to the grocery store can't wait another day. |
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CentralCali
Joined: 17 May 2007
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| Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2015 8:57 pm Post subject: |
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| It's not the issue of waiting another day for food. The issue is that the so-called mom & pop places are not selling the stuff that's sold in the larger stores and the government has chosen a particular day of the week for the larger stores to be closed because the chosen day provides the most inconvenience to the shopping public. |
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edwardcatflap
Joined: 22 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2015 9:09 pm Post subject: |
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| For me this system was a real pain in the proverbial. I usually did overtime on a Saturday and wanted to do a shop on Sunday in Emart, which was bang next to my house. When it was it was shut I had to get a bus to the nearest place that sold meat and veg. Needless to say the local fast food places were the businesses that benefitted most. |
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atwood
Joined: 26 Dec 2009
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| Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2015 1:09 am Post subject: |
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Thanks for the links, but they may be no longer accurate since Walmart just gave employees, at least in the U.S., pay raises. Even so, saying it could affect those teaching English in Korea is a stretch worthy of Stretch Armstrong. |
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