Korean Job Discussion Forums

[PatrickGHBusan]

Jane interesting list.

I find that with a family of 4 grocery bills are about the same in Canada as they were in Korea.

Comparing beef prices is interesting because beef is definitively more expensive in Korea. Then again if you compare pork or chicken it is a different story. As for fish (we lived in Busan) we got far better quality fish for far lower price in Korea.

Like it said it varies from item to item.

As for quality....bread is a bad comparison because there is very little bread culture in Korea where it is mostly considered a snack as opposed to a core food in Canada.

When you factor in other living costs you then get an accurate picture of how far your dollar or won goes and that would be linked to how much disposable income you have after taxes for example.

Its hard to say is what I am saying.

As for taste and quality, clearly that is subjective Jane!

I for one think eggs are great in Korea. Milk to me is better in Canada (but that could be cultural).


Fruits and veggies...well you have to make different choices in Korea and in Canada in order to maintain a budget and you have to consider fruits in season vs out of season as well as imports.

food costs also depends on how you shop and cook I suppose.

[Jane]

[PatrickGHBusan]

Rice prices are pretty comparable in Canada vs Korea (at least where we live). As for quality, Korea has pretty good rice for similar prices.

As for prices, after I posted I rummaged through some bills (my wife keeps grocery bills to check if prices increase) and in the past 4 years where we live in Canada food prices have jumped significantly. Peanut butter for example just went but (since new years) by roughly 20%.


I have no idea about US prices or about prices in some of the other Canadian provinces however. My last point of reference for Korea was 2010-2011 (Nov 10 - Feb 11) when we were there. We bought groceries then and bascially I have to say the prices compared overall. Certain things were way more expensive (out of season imported fruit for example), others were a lot cheaper (Fish : far better and cheaper, fresh tofu...).

Also to consider is personal preferences I suppose! You see to find Korean eggs aweful. I find them to be great (as does another user in this thread I think). this just shows personal preferences I think.

Bottom line: groceries are NOT cheap in either country and choices have to be made. Preferences play a huge part too because what we crave is often culturally driven (where we are from). So looking for stuff we crave that is common home, we pay more in Korea. When my wife needs certain Korean foods or ingredients, we go to the Korean food store and we pay through the nose!

[Captain Corea]

Yeah, I fully expect to pay more for Shin Ramyen in Canada.

[PatrickGHBusan]