Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jst]

I've read posts where people say it's easy to live on 50,000 won a week for food.

I like to eat healthy, so I eat at home, yet I struggle with 70,000 won a week for food. Typically it's 100,000 won a week.

What food do people buy for 50,000 won that will last them for one week?

[Slowmotion]

That's hard to do and I only eat 2 meals a day. I don't know how people are doing this on 3 decent meals a day. Yeah someone said eat at university cafeterias but the food there is pretty terrible and I don't work at a university.

[ThingsComeAround]

beg/ramen

I spend more than 50K in three days- a week would mean 1 meal a day and lots of water

[hondaicivic]

[mmstyle]

I don't. Even buying for two (cheaper) and then only taking half into account, I spend way more than 50K won a week for food. We eat lots of fresh fruit and veg, and we eat out a lot too.

[crsandus]

Is 50K/week include dining out? How many meals is it supposed to provide? Does your workplace provide meals? Are you a big eater or have a smaller appetite? There are a lot of factors but I will agree that 50K/week isn't easy if you want to avoid eating lots of instant noodles and rice.

I usually buy my foods in bulk and when they are on sale. For example:

10kgs frozen chicken breast via gmarket - 48,900 won
~2kgs of bulgogi via Costco (recently on sale) - 23,000 won
a bunch of bananas (10-14 small/medium size) - 2,000-2,500 won
4kg 귤 - 10-12,000 won

I eat lunch at my public school for about 40k per month and it usually has lots of veggies so I get 3-4 portions of veggies during my lunch. I usually eat scrambled eggs with bits of canned ham and an onion mixed in. I drink lots of milk at home so that's about 3-5liters at 1,500 won per liter.

I obviously buy more than what I listed, but I just buying things I need in bulk when they are on sale and avoid veggies/fruits not in season. I don't know if I'm at 50K/week since I don't know what the criteria is, but I'm certain I'm under 400K/month for food including my dining out and alcohol. I can give more details later when I'm at home but I'm probably at 70k/week with dining and school lunch without breaking a sweat.

[McGenghis]

It can be done. It does not satisfy the aims of the food council, but a man can feed himself on seven bucks a day. Ramyeon, kimbap and Buddhist temples will be your closest allies. On that note, Jehovah�s Witnesses AND evangelical Christians in general are a good source of free protein and boring literature (a tasteless but reliable filler.)

Feasting on granny�s featured banchan when you splurge on jjigae also helps. Probably you will not drink alcohol which might hasten your doom before you starve.

[red_devil]

A bottle of milk and a box of cereal can last you a week. That's probably 15,000.

Kimbap-chungguk places are typically around 5,000 for almost anything on the menu.

Dinner can be a sandwich or kimbab or ramyun...

It'd be really tough to last on 50,000 bu if you do that's what you'd have to do.

[Koreadays]

seriously? you guys want to be that frugal where you want to skimp on food?


you want to eat healthy.. then eat healthy and invest in your body.
eat well, pay extra.. you will be grateful you did in the long run.

[Kimchifart]

Scum, the lot of ya!

[ktkates87]

I'd say it's pretty easily doable. My husband and I live outside of Seoul near Ilsan and could easily eat in all week for under 100,000 between the two of us. We make alot of fajitas, pasta with beef and tomato sauce, stir fries etc...I find I always get a better deal shopping at Costco for meats, but not necessarily for produce. I always do a good costco shop at the beginning of the month when I get paid. I should also add that my fridge isn't HUGE but its a fair size. I dont think I could live without costco.

Some of the best ways to make it cheap for us....and sorry if this is a ramble!

Screw buying already made pasta sauces at 4,000 a piece. You get this huge can of "tomato sauce" from Costco and add your own seasonings. Tastes perfectly fine.

Buy the huge pack of ground beef. I think it costs something like 20,000 or so, split it up into 6 ziplocs and freeze it. One bag makes pasta sauce for two people, with leftover sauce for the next day. My jaw dropped when I saw the price of ground beef at Emart recently.

Bacon: we buy the huge pack and cook it for breakfast, saving some for pasta sauces and stirfry.

Pasta: buy it in bulk at Costco, 8 packages or something is around 11,000 for regular spaghetti. For stirfries the Korean style noodles are crazy cheap and taste great too.

Produce: this is where we spend money. I like using onions, carrots and bell peppers. I used to be careless when cutting up veggies but now I make sure I'm using every last bit of the edible parts. Beansprouts are another cheap item to use to make something feel like it has a bit more crunch. I used to like to use basil in alot of things, but now I just add pesto sauce that I finally found at Costco. It's shelf/fridge life isn't great so I freeze it and use it as I need to.

Chicken: buy breasts frozen in bulk. Also, buy a rotisserie chicken from Costco, use to make sandwiches, or serve with rice or in pasta and then save the bones and everything else to make a excellent chicken soup a few days later.

Tortillas: are expensive. At costco you can get a huge stack of them frozen and you just defrost them before you want to eat them. You can easily separate them all and you dont have to worry about needing to defrost the whole stack or anything.

Cheese: the cheese from costco lasts forever in my fridge.

Its a pretty major grocery bill at the beginning of the month but by the end of it all I'm sure its about 100,000 a week or less. We eat in most nights, and then for lunch if we want to we can eat whats being served at school (usually crappy) or just go home and have leftovers.

If we want to eat out, we get Jajangmyun or Pho. 5-6$ a person. I think alot of our friends think we're tight wads, but we save alot of money and have an excellent standard of living. Neither of us are going hungry and we're sending lots of money home.

[crossmr]

[Koreadays]

kimbab roll 1500won x3 4500 a day x 7 = 31.500

there you go.. now you come in under budget!

and the kicker?


NO dishes...

[eamo]

Why go so nuts to save?
You're throwing away quality of life and living like a miser so you can have a bit more cash in the bank at some time in the future? I don't see the merit.

Get some balance.

Anyone earning a typical wage in Korea can afford at least 100,000 on food per week and still bank a nice chunk each month.

[sojusucks]

50,000 a week for food? You'll be eating a lot of eggs, hot dogs from Costco, and ramen. It's no way to live unless it's some kind of emergency situation and that would have to be short-term.