Korean Job Discussion Forums

[asams]

What to Bring to Korea


Toiletries

I should preface everything by saying if you�re very particular then plan to bring plenty of your favorite brands

Deodorant � bring enough for a year � unless you want to spend 10,000 per stick in Sinchon

Shampoo/Conditioner � they have Pantene and other good brands over here, don�t worry about it

Soap � if you use Dove I would suggest bringing a 6 pack, if you use Old Spice body wash bring a few bottles, if you don�t care then wait until you get here

Toothbrush/toothpaste � bring your own � they�re cheap here, but they�re also cheap here

Q-tips/cotton swabs/makeup applicators � buy them here

Towels � bring one or two big ones from home

I would bring at least a bottle of any kind of OTC medication you use frequently, read once per month (i.e. antacids, pain relievers, etc.)

Feminine products � I�m not a girl but I�ve heard that you should bring plenty

Household Necessities

Bedding � bring sheets and a pillow definitely � DON�T bring a comforter, your school should provide you with one, if not then they have shops all over that sell them for like 20,000

Power Converter � buy it here, they cost about 20,000 and they�re very bulky and heavy so they�ll take up too much space/weight in your luggage

Clothes

If you�re a guy and tall and have long arms then bring plenty of button up shirts � the largest size I�ve found in department stores is 110 ~ 16 � which is fine except for the sleeve length which was about 31-32

Don�t worry about dress pants, unless you are large in the waist (above a 36 or so), the length should be fine as they tailor pretty much all pants here, with the exception of jeans, which brings me to�

Jeans, bring a few pairs, some of the styles here suck and unless you want to pay 100,000 in Itaewon then bring some from home

It really depends on when you come as to what you should bring the most of, but definitely bring t-shirts, because when it gets hot and humid you�re not gonna want to walk around in a dress shirt all the time

Creature Comforts

Bring an Ipod/laptop/etc., for the plane ride if nothing else

Bring plenty of books � there are some good bookstores here but you might have trouble sniffing them out the first few weeks � I would suggest What the Book in Itaewon or Hank�s book near Gyeongbokgung on Line 3

Bring any type of candy/coffee/etc. that you don�t think you can live without � you can get some good stuff in Sinchon but it�s expensive

Bring a few gifts � nothing extravagant, just something from home

*THE BEST PIECE OF ADVICE I CAN GIVE IS FOR YOU TO BRING SOME OF THE SPACE SAVER BAGS � PUT YOUR TOWELS, PILLOW, T-SHIRTS IN THEM*

And bring your sense of humor and adventure, patience, and try to remember that there is going to be a time that you get really homesick but try to tough it out and your stay will be worth it

feel free to add to this
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[sarbonn]

One thing to add on toiletries is if you shave (for men), then skin bracer or something of that nature might be useful. I have yet to find it here where it's not 10,000 for a bottle of the stuff, and that's only if you find a western brand supplier, like Sweet Space, where I found a bottle finally. If you have a favorite pillow, bring it because breaking in a new pillow can kind of suck unless you have no problem with that sort of thing.

I brought my own blankets finally because I'm more comfortable with them. Wasn't happy with any of the blankets they had here.

Brought flannel sheets. I just like those, and I didn't like the supply of stuff they had here.

[Xuanzang]

Towels can be heavy and space consuming. Buy em from Costco here. Not a bad selection of Martex and Kirkland cotton ones. Books can be heavy and space consuming as well.

www.whatthebook.com

Order them as soon as you need them or before hand and have them shipped to your school.

[lille]

re: feminine products -

nuts to bringing a year's worth of pads. i'll be bringing a keeper cup with me - saves space and tonnes of cash, and many get fewer cramps wearing it. http://www.thekeeperstore.com/

[MattAwesome]

bring deoderant. koreans dont sweat and its very hard to find. i also recommend anything you have a favorite brand of. whether it be razor blades, shaving cream, toothpaste. chances are you wont find it in korea.

you dont need to bring your whole wardrobe. koreans have great fashion sense and you will buy a lot of clothes better than yours. i didnt wear about half of what i brought and ended up being left in my apartment.

[Kitten]

Most importantly, bring a good brita water filter. Korea is like mexico, don't drink the tap water.

[agoodmouse]

I don't know if a comforter can be had for 20,000 won in Korea. I think my sponsor spent more on that.

I second the water purifier suggestion, though.

[in_seoul_2003]

[agoodmouse]

I've come to the conclusion that Koreans don't sweat. I'm serious. I was sweating at a pool hall tonight because of the seven lighting fixtures above my table and I looked over to see a gentleman in a wool p-coat playing at his table.

[yoja]

There is a reason why this is a sticky in the FAQ forum.

Seriously, is it so hard to just add to that thread? You are coming to Korea, not joining the cast of Survivor (although you can expect to find roughly the same amount of overdone drama here). If there's something you can't live without, bring it. Otherwise you will either find it here, or you will somehow manage to survive until your mom or someone can send it in the mail.

I realize it's almost March so all the new hires are starting to panic and get excited, but really, just post this in the proper forum please. Or do a google search on what to bring to Korea.

[asams]

yoja, i was doing this as suggestions for newbies. I know there's a sticky, that's where I got most of my information, but some of them don't know how to use this website. A lot of people have been asking so I decided to help them out a little. sorry i was helping a fellow foreigner

[blackjack]

[asams]

i want to thank you all for the snarky comments. really.

look, you're not going to have much money once you get over here, so going to homeplus isn't always the solution to everything - if you can buy the deodorant at home for cheap and have room and won't go over weight then do it, if not, buy it here

i never said this was a definitive list, just suggestions. things that i discovered i didn't have and had to go to homeplus and was surprised by the outrageous price, or things i brought over and am glad i did because i can't find it anywhere else

[madoka]

[Zulethe]

Oh yeah, and bring an extra 200 dollars to the airport for overweight baggage charge.