Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Pyongshin Sangja]

So, the other day I was driving home and popped into Costco as I normally do after re-ordering the universe with the Council of Elders. It was full of thousands of people, as it usually is. The line-ups were long, the crowds were insatiable. That's nothing new for Korea. People were pushing, shoving, crying, yelling, slapping each other. Also nothing new for Korea.

What kind of got me was what people were buying. Stacks of frozen pizza, 24 cases of Chunky Clam Chowder, flats of Starbucks coffee by the 5 kilo. pack, 10 litres of pickled artichoke hearts, 12 packs of blueberry muffins.

And I sorta thought, but I thought that Koreans lived in tiny houses and all sat on the floor?

Where is all this stuff going? I thought they didn't have ovens and scarcely had room for anything in their kitchens. They all scrimp and save to buy 300 won cups of coffee and cringe at paying more than W3,000 for a bottle of soju. Now they are chowing down on entire pizzas and stuffing their faces with muffins?

Who eats this stuff anyway? I thought Koreans couldn't even operate a coffee grinder, let alone drink a cup of real java. God forbid drinking a pot of it. They have to cover it in caramel syrup and whipped cream while they spend an hour at Starbucks drinking half of it.

Who publicly says that they like Western food? None of them at all. They all turn up their noses at the mention of bread, sandwiches, pasta, or cheese. Lest you think I am merely believing what they say, I have years of first-hand evidence that they shovel down the Korean food three times a day like it's Soylent Green. Very few of them seem to know what goes into a sandwich, let alone how to roast a turkey.

But there they are in Costco. The prosciutto, the pork tenderloins, the Andalusian sausages, the bocconcini, the Maui Ribs. Costco continues to sell this stuff, and it goes out the door like clockwork.

Is there a parallel Korean universe? Is there a place beyond the world where people slam down baeksaeju as they grill slices of pork over an oil-drum in a back alley beside a railway station? Is there a place where people discuss the 1999 Robert Mondavi Woodbridge over a plate of Stilton and walnuts? Where are these sophisticated potentates of Asia Major? Very few people I meet can even name a country in Europe.

I will find this place, be it in Seongbuk-dong, Daechi-dong Tower Palace or the Hyundai I-Park. Be my destiny deep in Jongno-3 ga or 40 stories above Seohyeon Station I resolve that from this day forward I will reach the status of Korean gentleman and never relinquish my position.

Yours Truly.

[rothkowitz]

Restaurant suppies,no doubt.

Was Andre Kim there???

[EFLtrainer]

Resale. It's harder to get stuff off the US bases these days.

[JongnoGuru]

[Kenny Kimchee]

Oh baby, I can't wait to hit da Costco! There's one outside of Fukuoka, but it took $30USD (gas, tolls) and 3 hours roundtrip to get there.

I'm wondering about storage issues, too. Maybe I'll just line the walls of my kitchen with canned goods - it'll be a kind of store room effect.

My kingdom for an oven!

[periwinkle]

I have a feeling quite a few people are buying for businesses- I saw someone walk out with what looked like a case of tortillas- I assumed they owned a Mexican restaurant, or a crepe sandwhich stand (there's one of those at a Hyundai dept store near me). Artichokes? I'll bet you the buyers are most likely a restaurant supplier/ work for a distributor or something.

[dogbert]

For a couple of years after Costco first came to Korea, it was not very crowded at all. Then, I think it must have been mentioned in the Korean press, because all at once it became just like any Homeplus, E-mart, etc. Of course, putting an E-mart next to the Yangjae Costco didn't help either.

I agree with Pyongshin Sangja; I can't believe Koreans are purchasing such un-Korean foods. In the hope of reducing crowds, I am always tempted to ask them, "Won't people curse you as a 매국노 if you are seen shopping here? Why not stick with Kim's Club."

[HapKi]

So Pyongshin, what did you buy?

[mindmetoo]

They thought Costco would fail miserably in Japan due to the lack of space, but they found Japanese adapted. Mega packs of ketchup goes under a bed or behind a couch. Koreans might not be packrats and have lots of room in closets and things store their goods.

[Reflections]

I've also witnessed this increase in customer numbers last time I was there. Like many have said before, when Koreans do something that seems popular, they will do it with fervor that is often unparalleled in other Asian countries.

However, personally I believe that it's a government conspiracy to promote the "Hub of Asia" concept among foreign expats living and subsequently shopping in places such as Costco. So, all of a sudden many foreigners thinks that Koreans have adopted a 'western perspective' in terms of culinary pursuits.

Unfortunately, the reality is that all these people buying boxes of foreign coffee, taco shells etc are really working for the the government and are storing these food stuffs in hidden warehouses all over Seoul. As soon as they drop off these multiple boxes contained with western foodstuffs, they are then chowing down stinking bowls of kimchi in the ajumma restaurant adjoining the warehouse.

They can and never will get that addiction for rotten kimchi out of their system. So you see, this 'keeping up appearances with the Kims' is just a front, part of the Korean psyche to follow everything that is in vogue. Do you think they actually enjoy eating boxes of this western stuff?

So, when the current government in dislodged from office then there will be the subsequent discovery of these multiple warehouses filled with expired starbucks coffee and rotten artichokes.

So, in reality it's just a mirage.

What a sham...

[Zulu]

Costco wipes the floor with both Wal-Mart Korea and Emart (uugghh). Nothing else here comes close except maybe Tesco's.

[krats1976]

Seems like there's a general rise in demand for Western goods anymore. I mean, I left for 5 weeks in the summer & came back to find a huge cheese section (well, for Korea) and Pepperidge farms stuff at HomePlus. Now, I'm always finding a new product here & there, but this seemed like a big jump in just a few weeks.

Additionally, I checked out the grocery store at Shinsaegae in Gwangju last night. They've always had a pretty decent selection of Western stuff, but last night I bought green seedless grapes, green beans, tortillas, ranch dressing, and fiddle faddle...and that was me showing restraint!

Even yoricome.com has been adding some great stuff (bologna! yeah!!).

[Pyongshin Sangja]

Warehouses full of artichoke hearts. I love it.

I bought their cheapest (W8,900) bottle of Argentinian red and a hot dog.

Actually, maybe I wasn't amazed. Maybe I just felt poor.

[ajgeddes]

I have a Korean friend that goes there one a week and completely fills up his cart with pretzels. Yeah, he owns two bars in Gangnam and they are for his bar, so I think some of your impressions are definitely correct.

[mindmetoo]