Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Freezer Burn]

[hypnotist]

[sheba]

Oh and go to your doctor before you leave and ask for a prescription for general antibiotics (amoxicilin is good).... if you get sick here they give you a cocktail of pills and a jab in the hip.

[sistersarah]

[lbellamy]

Some price guidelines for you:

SHOES and SOCKS
You can get shoes made here quite easily. Any department store will organize it for you. Itaewon shoe shops: about W85,000 for a pair of well made full leather dress shoes, which is only about an extra W10,000 over the retail price. Or buy from home over the internet: probably cheaper than paying for excess baggage and hauling such bulk.

Socks: W2000 a pair but low quality. Pure woollen - impossible to find. Stocking socks: easy to buy but barely go over the ankle. Knee-hi cotton socks for winter - easy W3000/pair.

Thermal underwear: any size, easy to get, but not woollen. About W30,000 a set.

MEDICINES: Pill W3000 a month no script needed. Bring your usual pill's pack leaflet to show the chemist so they can match the hormone doesages if they don't have your actual brand. Cream or pessaries for yeast infections: W2,500 a tube, Bayer Canestan. Diflucan one shot oral: I don't know. Tampons: as all above say. Can buy good ones in Japan on your visa run (a little pricey). Deodorant: Stick products here W8-11,000 each and you have to hunt. Dove or spray ons: easy to get but don't work.

Other: International pharmaceutical giants are all here. Some medicine is not subsidized much by the health insurance. You can bring say 6 month supplies from home or get everything locally subscribed, but a month's worth of a drug that is not well subsidized is about W50,000. If you bring bulk medicine over, bring a letter from your doctor explaining it is prescribed for your use only and the generic name of the drug. Going to the trouble is better than having customs impound your medicine before you get your health insurance. The letter also helps you get your scripts from a general doctor here, who may be able to subscribe an equivalent that is very subsidized (then you're looking at W5,000 a month).

Asthma medicine: Not as much awareness over here though you can get the sprays eg Glaxo. Just not at all chemists. So BYO stocks.

HAIR
Straightening products: Itaewon has stuff for African women. L'Oreal Hair dye: avail everywhere W9,000 a pack but colors restricted to dark brunette/black or golden blondes. Ash tones or really light colors: buy through an American army base contact or BYO. The H202 is hazardous, but you can just bring the colorant creme/gel only. Then ask the hairdresser to substitute. Color job there W15,000. Hairdressers have a full range of colors, but I've yet to have one come out the same tone as the swatch, and the stuff is too harsh for finer hair.

GETTING CLOTHES MADE - prices
3 tailored summer weight shirts W120,000 (short sleeves), 3 summer dress pants (W110,000 each). 3 winter weight dress pants, with lining (similar price). Long, pure wool winter coat, silk lined W150,000. All made to measure. Volume discounts apply. These are Itaewon prices. Some tailors, even in Itaewon, won't tailor for women and that may apply for tailors in smaller towns but you could try.

Or take your holiday in Thailand: A large friend of mine did that and what he saved on the tailoring paid for the airfare.

If you're average size: There are plenty of size 14+ Korean girls over here but you seldom see any with fashionable off the rack clothes. In 4 years of teaching uni students, I've seldom seen a girl over size 12 in anything other than very casual unisex wear. Poor things have scant choice I fear - or they don't want the cutie frilly girly look which is about all the boutiques carry.

Anyway, happy packing!

[lbellamy]

sorry double posted.

[OiGirl]

[OiGirl]

[Freezer Burn]

[buenisimo]

Do most medications need a prescription or is it easy to get ones without? If I am bringing say 4 bottles of vitamins and 4 bottles of nasal spray and a few other medications is that going to be a problem at customs? Should I get a note from my doctor?

[lbellamy]

The vitamins won't be a problem if they're clearly labelled as vitamins, the packaging is still sealed and you're clearly not bringing them in for resale. (The word for vitamin here is the same). A doctor's letter's letter is overkill because they're not "medicine" if they're OTC. But if you want paperwork, you could just download a copy of the pack-leaflet from the manufacture's site. If you're bringing something that's herbal or not vitamin: maybe bring the pack-leaflets with the botanical/chemical names - for stuff in capsule form. I think you only have to declare psycho-active medicines.

For stuff still in plant form (like dried herbs and maybe spices): see www.npqs.go.kr

Nasal spray: no experience with this. I know some people get hayfever here that they haven't had before. And there are products here (because Koreans get hayfever too).

Meanwhile more info:
Vitamins: You can buy multivitamin brands like Centrum here and various US brands are readily available at Costco, in bulk, probably cheaper than home too. There are hundreds of herbal concoctions, tonics, vitamin drinks, health drinks, and other "well being" products available here.

If you have any dangerous medical conditions, drug allergies, or take any drugs that can cross react with common medications you might take for common ailments, or if you take anything that would be hard to withdraw from onto an alternative drug - get your doctor's advice/letter on that stuff.

My attitude is trying the local stuff is part of the adventure of being here: So ditch most of the vitamins and pack cooking herbs instead. They're much harder to get! basil, dill, thyme, paprika, nutmeg, marjoram, garam marsala, chinese 5 spice (yes), allspice, cumin, cardamon, good curry powder, cloves,...... basil, drool, basil, basil...BASIL!

p.s. Perhaps check with a workmate before snorting any nasal spray in front of anyone else. I've never seen anyone doing it here. Blowing your nose with tissues is considered filthy (and it is) and not done. We're just meant to vacuum snort, gently sniff or dab. But coughing and sneezing without covering your mouth: common! It's common to see kids with face masks when they have a cold. Little difficult to teach wearing one though. And by the time you know you have a cold you've already been infectious ...... But it's a nice gesture.

[OiGirl]

[tacon101]

[cypher]

For myself, I'd pack tampons over deodorant. I can pay the extra for deodorant but I need more than regulary absorbancy! I've seen super somewhere but can't for the life of me remember where.

If you're not small, bring clothes. You can find some clothes that fit but it will take you awhile to find where. I've been here a couple of years now and still have some difficulty finding things, though it is getting better.

You can find make-up but, depending on your skin tone, you'll likely be buying the major brand names for foundation, etc, so expect to pay a pretty penny.

A lot of things are finding their way here, though bring what you need in terms of medicine, hard-to-find spices, etc until you have time to explore. Then if you can't find what you want you can get it sent from home.

Plus, there is a shop in Itaewon, so I've heard, that sells proper vibrators.

[tacon101]