Korean Job Discussion Forums

drunkenfud · Joined: 08 Mar 2007

Can any wizened old Korea hands help with the following two questions?

I'm addicted to Diet Coke and have accepted a job in Yangpyeong starting May 1st. Can anyone tell me how widespread the availability of Diet Coke is in Korea? I'm fairly confident I can get it in Seoul from Costco, but is it likely to be available in provincial supermarkets, or even corner shops? Outside the cities, is it a common sight or a rare Western luxury?

Second question, is there a Korean paypal site and can this be used to transfer money back home? Is an English teacher likely to get a debit card that can be used on the UK paypal site if not?

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

kalkamagi · Joined: 17 Jul 2006 Location: Seoul

re: diet coke

as a fellow diet coke addict, i sympathize with your concern. they sell (korean) diet coke at about 95% of the places they sell coke. maybe a bit different outside seoul, but it won't be much trouble to find. it's different than american diet coke, but does the trick.

around itaewon, there are a few places to get american diet coke. i live next to the uso, which sells cans for $.60, or there's hannam supermarket which sells cans for W1000.

as for your second question, i don't really know, but it seems improbable.

Milwaukiedave · Joined: 02 Oct 2004 Location: Goseong

Yes on the Diet Coke. Personally I drink the leaded version, just less of it because I can't stand the taste of diet soda (even Coke Zero).

No, you can't do that anymore. First, it's difficult to get an international bank card here because of the new banking laws. Second, I believe people were doing that in the past and somehow that has been eliminated as an option.

Normally you pay anywere from 10-15,000 won for a transfer fee, plus there is a charge for the intermediary bank, plus any charges your bank tacks on. If you have a credit union account, that would be best as their fees are lower.

I'm going to have my wife transfer my money via the internet which is a bit cheaper.

Mea · Joined: 24 Mar 2006

It's called Coca-Cola Light here. I've actually found that most of the variety stores around where I am (Seoul) only have regular and Coca-Cola Zero, but all of the supermarkets/grocery stores have CC Light.

I have yet to find it with lime, cherry, black cherry vanilla, etc. That makes me very sad. Sad

ajgeddes · Joined: 28 Apr 2004 Location: Yongsan

Wrench · Joined: 07 Apr 2005

Bah Diet Coke Sucks.. Coke Zero is where its at.. I am complete addict.

Lizara · Joined: 14 Apr 2004 Location: Seoul

I switched to Coke Zero when it came out here because it tasted much better. I went to the US on vacation, and tried it there, and it was awful... I switched back to Diet Coke for the rest of the time I was there.

dogbert · Joined: 29 Jan 2003 Location: Killbox 90210

You need to up your Prozac.

Coke "Zero" sucks donkey balls. It has a hideously cloying taste, nothing like the crispness of Diet Coke. Which itself cannot hold a candle to the perfection that is Diet Pepsi.

Milwaukiedave · Joined: 02 Oct 2004 Location: Goseong

Wrench · Joined: 07 Apr 2005

apparently they did some research when Pepsi Clear was out which used a similar sweetner as Coke Zero. The research showed that some people are geneticaly predisposed to favour certain chemical formulas. Coke Zero to me tastes like normal Coke on the other hand Diet Coke is unberable.

Lizara · Joined: 14 Apr 2004 Location: Seoul

SunnyD · Joined: 07 Nov 2006 Location: USA

I have a PayPal acct registered with my US bank acct/credit card, all of which list my parents' address. I emailed PayPal to inquire about adding my SK bank acct. Here's what they said:

"The country listed with your home mailing address must coincide with the
bank account you attempt to add. Since you have registered your PayPal
account as a U.S. account, the only bank account you will be able to add is
a U.S. bank account from a branch located within the United States.

We appreciate your patience and understanding regarding this matter, and wish you continued success on PayPal.

Sincerely,
PayPal Community Support"

So we can't add the SK acct and simply transfer between our own bank accounts. However, I know they offer PayPal accts to South Koreans, so it's gotta be possible to open one using your SK address/bank acct. Maybe from there we could transfer to a US acct? The only problem I see is that the SK and US PayPal accts would have to have separate email addys. Hmmm...this just might work!

SunnyD