Korean Job Discussion Forums

[theevilgenius]

Hey, I'm hoping to leave for Korea in the next couple of months and was wondering exactly what did you bring with you in your suitcase (how much clothes, food, electronics etc). Did you bring two suitcases or more or could you fit everything into one even? Also I was wondering if you think I should buy a good quality backpack at home and bring it or are they easy to get in Korea? And I suppose the same question in relation to a dslr camera.

[ttompatz]

[yellowdove]

you can get a dslr in korea easily. they're reasonably priced, and you can definitely haggle with the guys if you're good at it.

as for packing, the only thing other then regular clothes would be deoderant and toothpaste. pack enough for a year. everything else you can find here with a little searching.

good luck!

[digitalmk]

I, too, would like a general idea of what to bring. I'm planning on being in Korea in February of next year and while I've read several different threads on packing and such, they were mostly outdated. If someone could give a brief overview of things that useful or hard to come by in Korea, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks

[yellowdove]

nothing is very hard to come by if you live in seoul. or even in a big city. if you live out in the boonies, it might be a little harder.

like i said in my previous post, the two things that people cannot find easily here are toothpaste that doesn't have sugar, and deodorant. if you cook, it's difficult to find cumin and paprika here (super easy to find tumeric though). that's it. everything else, imo, can be found with a little searching or ordering it off of gmarket.

[rumdiary]

The best person to ask would be a foreign teacher at the school you are going to work. As others have said, you can find just about anything but your location will determine how difficult it is to find it. Especially if you want to find odd items like nasal snuff or porn mags.

[RMNC]

Ditto, just about anything you can think of is in Seoul, most of it the same as in the West.

Sheets, however, are different. Fitted ones. I've never seen them at any E-mart or Homeplus in Seoul. I personally can't stand bedsheets that bunch up, so bringing fitted sheets was a necessity.

[schwa]

I brought one smallish suitcase with me in 1999 (cost me $5 in a secondhand store). Its still sitting in my back room.

I bet I could fit my life back into it if the desire to start over in a new country arose again.

[oldtactics]

You can find everything you need here - the first time I came to Korea, I packed two huge suitcases with clothes, toiletries, books, magazines, food, everything you can think of, and it was a massive waste of space.

My most recent trip back, I brought one suitcase of clothes, and my netbook. And probably don't even need all of the clothes.

I'd recommend bringing a handful of anti-perspirant sticks simply because they're stupidly expensive here. Bring clothes, shoes, underwear, bras, if you're female and over about 130 pounds/B cup/shoe size 7. For males, it's easier to find bigger clothes but keep in mind that Koreans don't generally have broad shoulders, hips, or butts. Bring officewear. It's not impossible to find bigger clothes here, but if you can bring clothes that you already know will fit you, why not?

Bring a book or two if you really love them - you can easily buy English books here and there are always expats selling theirs for next to nothing.

You can find most foreign foods here, but bring some if you have anything that you really love. I brought instant oatmeal because it's hard to find here, and I brought Tim Hortons coffee because that's a 'thing' with us Canadians, but otherwise, I haven't had any cravings for anything that isn't available here.

Pharmaceuticals here are cheap cheap cheap, so you don't need to stock up on anything unless you have a particular brand loyalty.

Tech stuff is available here and generally the same price as elsewhere.

Save the money and just bring extra money when you come!

[Weigookin74]

[Weigookin74]

Toothpaste of your brand, underarm deodorant/ anti persperant. As for others, depends on your interests. I like to do some outdooors activity, hiking, etc. Warm clothing here sucks in my opinion. Bring thinsuate or thinsulate like material (winter boots, gloves, hat, long johns/ thermal underwear, wool socks.) Gets more cold than you think for how far south it is. Winter jacket you can buy here; other supplimentary material is crap. Winter with the right clothing is the best time to get some excercise. Summers here are really unbearable. Sorry, to go off on a tangent. Prob just toothpaste and pit stick. Ha ha.

[teachingld2004]

Years ago finding stuff was hard, but now there is nothing I can not find.
You are in a different country. Live with what you can find here.

Yes, if you are female buy bras, and I tell everyone to bring shoes. No matter what your size is, it is not easy to find ones that fit. OK, bring your favorite brand of tooth paste and deod. cause it is not cheap. Bring a comp. and a camera, cause here they are more pricey. But if you want a desktop, you can buy a used one here for perhaps 2-300,000 won.

Bring spices. They are cheap home. Bring vanilla extract, that is a prize.

In case anyone here does not know, the foreign food market in Itaweon delivers, and that can be cheaper then going there.
Have a good trip.

[tyrobinson]

I still don't understand all the fuss that people are making about toothpaste and deodorant. You might want to bring a little with you, just to get started, but they are both readily available once you arrive. They might be different brands than you are accustomed to, but they will keep your teeth clean and ensure you don't smell, which is the point after all. If you can't be flexible with the name on a tube of toothpaste or a stick of deodorant, then you are going to have far greater problems than hygiene to worry about.

[Globutron]

[oldtactics]