Korean Job Discussion Forums

[stellarsky627]

I'm about to move to Korea and I started wondering if Milk tastes the same in Korea as it does in the United States? Also- Is it widely sold or is milk rarely drunk in Korea?

Thanks!

[crsandus]

I've heard some people say it tastes different and I will agree a little bit. I guess it depends on the milk you're used to drinking and the milk you end up buying here. The store brand milk (Homeplus, Emart) tastes different to me than the major national label milk (Seoul Milk, Everyday). Anyway, milk is widely available in every supermarket and convenience stores. Milk in Korea, however, is definitely more expensive than the milk in the US.

[Senior]

The milk does taste a little different, at first. You don't notice it after a short time.

There are myriad varieties of milk in the large super markets. Every corner store carries a handful of different styles. Full fat is the most common.

[PCRamplified]

This is something I was wondering about too.
I guess it makes sense that it would taste slightly different. Milk tastes different depending on the cow's diet. But it sounds like most milk in Korea is like normal American milk, just pasteurized and refrigerated, is this right? I'm not too fond of that long shelf life milk.

[Senior]

[air76]

Non-fat Korean milk tastes more similar to non-fat US milk than the whole versions.

The milk here is fine, though, it's not like Latin America where 98% of the milk is in the aisle and not in the cooler.

[Globutron]

Tastes the same to me.. The weird thing is that the brand I have doesn't have a smell... it also has a much longer best before date, which is good because I can't bring myself to eat anything that's on the day or after.

The weird thing is the butter, however... That is just weird. crumbly =/

[8 years down]

Wow, I'm kind of surprised by the responses. I've lived here for 8 years, tried every brand available at the store and they all smell like spoiled milk to me. Tastes like crap too.

I'll drink Korean milk in small amounts if its mixed with something. But I could never stomach a tall glass of cold milk like I used to drink in Canada.

[Globutron]

Actually the taste it leaves in your mouth is nothing to be desired.

[Sector7G]

I use Homeplus brand low fat milk with my bran flakes and have never noticed any difference.

[najiasabir]

I just got to Korea a few days ago. One of the first things I did was buy milk, it does taste different. I did notice that there was not much of a smell to it.

Anyway for me, milk is milk!

[sheriffadam]

[Sector7G]

For me it's the butter that is weird here. It's got a really weird taste. I have never found a decent one, and it kind of surprised me, because I thought butter would be the same everywhere. So one of the first things I bought from Costco was a gigantic tub of "I can't believe it's not butter".

[8 years down]

[GTG09]

I never could really tell the difference when I drank milk here for the first time or had butter. I did have I can't believe its not butter at first but then found a really good Korean butter spread that I use now.