Shopping In Korea

Korean Adventure (June 21, 2002 Chautauqua)

Shopping in Korea can be an interesting experience. There are many modern western-style supermarkets, including Wal-Mart, Costco, and Homeplus. It is a great temptation to stick to these convenient mega-stores. They carry most of the goods we are used to, and the prices are fairly reasonable. There are subtle differences, though.

The newly constructed (ca. 2008) Busan Fish Market

There is an entire aisle devoted to seaweed. It is dried and compressed into sheets of various sizes, from postage stamp to full human length. Koreans mainly use it to make "kimbap", which is like sushi. You lay out some seaweed, cover it with rice, and then various fillings like meat, fish, or vegetables. You then roll it up into a cylinder, approximately 12"long and 1" in diameter. Slice into pieces, and that is a meal. I enjoy having kimbap for lunch every once in a while. The price is more reasonable than the usual hamburger and fries, and it is filling, too.
There are also differences in the kinds of vegetables that are available. Koreans' favorite accompaniment to any (and every) meal is kimchi. It's a spicy cabbage. I’ve seen it made from a variety of vegetables, but the cabbage is my favorite. There is usually an island in the produce section where they make and display the various kimchis.

There is a lot of fresh fish available; any kind you could imagine, and some you could not. Squid and octopus are big sellers, and they are usually displayed live (in tanks) so you can be sure it's fresh.

Yes, the department stores are convenient, and have just about everything you could want, but the real "Korean Experience" demands that you go out and shop at the open air markets that are in every corner of the city. Some of them specialize in dry goods, furniture, food, what have you. There are some very good deals to be had, if you know where to look. A person can spend a whole day just wandering around, seeing the many sights and sounds. Buying something becomes a secondary consideration.


There are some interesting corners that some people might want to avoid. Really fresh meat and poultry in the form of caged ducks, chickens, and rabbits should not be confused with pet stores. I remember walking around the Chil-sung market (in Daegu) with my friends last summer. We rounded a corner deep inside the market, far from the main thoroughfare. There, laid out for display was a freshly slaughtered dog. How fresh do you ask? The muscles were still twitching.

Yes, the Koreans do eat dog. Some of the people I have talked to do not see anything wrong with it, and are nonplussed by some western reactions. There was even some talk of setting up dog-meat booths at the World Cup venues in order to introduce foreigners to this local delicacy. One foreigner, a teacher I believe, wrote a letter to the Korea Herald, denouncing this intention in a near-hysterical rage. I have not heard if the booths were set up. Maybe more PR-conscious heads intervened.

These open-air markets have been a staple of the Korean life-style for hundreds of years. Many of the structures look as if they have been there that long. People continue to flock to them, just as many go to the more modern establishments. This combination of the old and the new, makes for a fascinating experience for the traveller willing to explore beyond the beaten path.

I Hate Rectangles

Styles come and go. In the Eighties, glasses used to be huge. There was enough extra lens for at least another pair. And then, in the nineties, glasses got smaller. They became these little rectangles that reminded me of the pair that Roger McGuinn of The Byrds used to wear.

I bought that style, and wore it for about 10 - 15 years.
When I became a public school teacher in Daegu, the teacher at the school closest to mine had pretty much the same pair. We also shared the same goatee, but there was not too much else that we shared. He was taller, thinner, and had more hair.
Let's call him Ass, because let's face it, he was one.
Halfway through the school year, the department in charge of the foreign teachers in Daegu, the DEIEIO, took us all to Angang for the day. Ass didn't make the trip. Somebody had to sit it out, and he drew the short straw. It was a great trip and we all had a terrific time.
BUT...
When I was getting off the bus at the end of the day, the (Korean) head of the DEIEIO said to me, "Goodbye, Ass!"
At first, I thought, "Do we really all look alike to you?"
He was properly apologetic when I gently pointed out that he had mistaken me for another babo waygookin, and we all went back to working harmoniously together until they fired me for trying to kill a Korean English teacher.
Before my year there was over, I decided to change my looks. Not because I would have to go on the run, but I had been brooding after that Angang trip, and I decided I didn't want to look like an ass.
So I shaved off my goatee and went glasses shopping. There is an underground mall in downtown Daegu where there is a huge section chock-a-block with Ankyong (glasses) Marts.

I decided to go for some circles, not because I was a fan of Harry Potter, but because I was a fan of John Lennon. I even brought along a picture of him wearing his iconic "granny" glasses, just in case the clerk didn;t understand my lousy Korean.

I showed him my prescription, requested my style, and it seemed like no time before I was walking out with my new specs. They cost me, frames and all, only 50,000 won.
Affordable eyewear is one of the things I loved about Korea.
I continue to wear my circles, but I notice that I haven't started a trend. Everybody else is still wearing those fucking rectangles, and I'm really starting to get irritated. Did you ever look at somebody wearing them and want to rip them off and stomp them into the mud? Tune into Global Calgary's evening news program and take a look at the male anchor, Gord Gillies. A more squint-eyed ferret-faced little git does not exist. And those fucking rectangles! Does he really think he looks good?

I snort in disgust and roll my eyes.
Well, until the rest of the world catches up to me, I guess I will have to go my solitary way. So far ahead of my time, I'm starting to catch up with it again.

Costco Mooks

I went to Costco today to pick up the usual load of groceries, and had to deal with the usual load of mooks. It's my own fault for not getting up earlier. Flint and I would always show up at 10 when they opened in order to be in and out before the place was overrun.
There was plenty of parking spaces at that time, too. There was also plenty of parking spaces when we left, but damned if the mooks weren't parked anywhere and everywhere. Especially in the travel lanes, making them as narrow as they possibly could. What did they care, the fucking mooks?
I remember one time we went there in the middle of the day. I was surprised we got out of there with as little pain as we did. And we didn't have to kill hardly anyone!
Today there were a couple of Koreans ahead of me in the checkout line. The girl was a typically useless Korean female, who had a purse hanging from one arm, rendering it useless for moving the groceries from the cart to the conveyer belt. She would try and grab something and move it, but all she could do was sort of push or pull at it vaguely until the guy picked it up for her. I suppose she could've put the bag down and used two arms, but... I don't know, it didn't seem to occur to her.
Then there was the guy and his wife that I kept meeting coming the other way. You know when you're going up and down the aisles and you constantly meet someone going in the opposite direction? It wouldn't be so bad if they didn't constantly park their cart in front of the exact thing I wanted every single damn time!
These mooks topped off my experience just as I was leaving. I was coming back to my car after dropping off my cart, and there they were, in between my car and theirs, loading stuff into their side door. I got into my car, started the engine, and waited for them to get out of the way. They unloaded half their stuff, finally "noticed" me, and waved at me to go. Without moving themselves or their cart from in between the vehicles.
What the kimchi?
Since when is that safe practice? I shook my head. I eventually had to wait for them to finish unloading everything and get out of the way before I could move.
Fucking mooks.

What the ... shopping?!?!?

A tip of the hat to Lousy Korea for bringing the topic up. Normally I hate going shopping. In Korea I have learned to loathe it. Koreans just have no clue how to behave in public a lot of the time. Their oblivious-selfishness can be infuriating and sometimes painful. It never fails that at least one mook hits me with their cart, clips my cart, or blocks me. If only one does it that is a good day.

It doesn't matter if you are next in line or people are ahead of you. Some dumb bitch will think that hitting you (gently or hard) will make the line move.

Then you get the twats that think they need a whole fucking aisle to themselves. They position themselves in the middle of the aisle and slowly stroll down. Often leaving their cart in the middle while they check out a shelf. Or something shiny attracts their attention and they walk towards it while letting their cart go off in another direction, usually towards me or my cart.

Then you have the couple shopping who have to use TWO carts to hog an aisle.

I remember one time, one of my WORST experiences in HomePlus, I got behind a couple like that. Each had a shopping cart and of course were going up the aisle I needed to go up. They slowly proceeded when a cart came down said aisle. The female of the duo looked at the woman pushing the cart almost into hers. Botsh started squealing, jumping, and whining as Koreans are wont to do when they run into someone they know. (Almost literally run into in this case.) Then the fucking bitches STOP and start yammering away blocking the entire aisle. That is about when I popped my cork.

I had already been hit, bumped, and blocked about 10 times in 20 minutes at this point. To say I was ready to throw down would be an understatement. I started off by yelling at the woman and her friend for blocking the aisle and assailing my ears with their high pitched whiny ass cartoon voices. The male of the duo looked at me, started to say something, then did the smart thing and shut the fuck up and got out of the way. I don't hit woman. Men, no problem. The woman had that classic mook "I did something wrong expression" on her face.

Idiots like them are TOO common place in Korean. Which is why I now use a smaller grocery store near my apartment when possible. In and out quickly. Fewer mooks.

And then there is the looking in your cart bullshit they pull that Lousy brought up. Describing them as children is spot on. What the kimchi? You have to see what is in the foreigners cart?

Worst time this happened was in a Carrefour. I was in the booze section looking at wine. My cart didn't have much in it and was behind me. I heard a sound. Some asshole was actually rummaging through what was there. I gave a hearty "Ya! What are you doing?" in Korean. He gave a mook look and walked away. I go back to the wine and my mooky sense started tingling within 3 seconds. The fucker was back in my cart. This time I asked him if he wanted to be hit (in Korean) and told him to get the fuck away from my cart (in English.) He took off down the aisle to his cart. But that isn't the end of it.

It was a major grocery day. I had about 3 full bags in my cart. On the way out I stopped at a little boutique thing that was selling hair stuff. Bourettes, pins, things like that. My cart was close to me, less than a foot away. Out of the corner of my eye I could see a Korean woman slowly edging her way towards my cart. She was oblivious to the fact I could see her. When she got to the cart she immediately started looking through a bag. Not grabbing something and running. LOOKING. What the kimchi? I quickly turned around and started yelling at her. She gave that mookish look and just walked away.

What the kimchi is their obsession with what is in our carts? It is bad enough when your stuff is sitting in a cart. But bagged and paid for and the bitch starts looking through the bags? It really does seem like most Koreans have no sense of personal property or privacy. Bunch of fucking mooks.

Year 1 - Shopping and exploring

Hi again

It is hard to believe that I got here 2 weeks ago. That I am entering my third week in Korea. It feels like it was just yesterday in some ways. In other ways it feels like I have been here forever.

Today, I resumed exploring the city. After my morning classes I went to the E-Mart.Even the taxi drivers here are friendly! Go figure.

The E-Mart is basically WalMart. It even has a McDeath inside. Unlike Walmart, the E-Mart is several stories, each dealing with a different thing. Clothes is the first level. Books and toys the second. Electronics the third. The fourth is not in use. The 1st basement level is food. The escalators up and down are ramps, not stairs, so you can bring your cart all over with you.

One strange thing was entering the store parking lot. They have someone whose specific job is to direct traffic. A woman, dressed to the 9's, making sure deliveries went one way, customers another, taxis yet another. It was unusal to see for the first time.

Something else that I found strange was that you had to pay on each level. WHen I bought a pen set and writing pad I paid on the second floor. When I bought a set of speakers for my laptop (FS-350's by JPC, 380 Watt speakers, and they only cost 16,000 WON, about $20) I paid for them on the third floor. They also don't give you bags.

After I got back to my apartment I decided to continue exploring. I had heard of a traditional street market in the area, a few blocks away. So with someone else from the school I went looking. The traditional market is just what I expected. Stalls all up and down ythe sides of a narrow street. The backs of the shops are where the owners live. You can find anything there. Fresh veggies, fresh meat, freshly killed chickens hanging in front of a stall, clothes, dishes, ANYTHING. Even live eels. It was fascinating to see. The market ended at the start of the red light district, which wasn't as interesting to see in daylight. Or so I hear. ;)

I found a stall selling a sort of dumpling called Samgyetang. It is chicken stuffed with ginseng, sticky rice and garlic. It is seasoned with salt and black pepper and stewed. I say sort of because real samgyetang has jujubes in it as well. For 2000 won, about $1.60 CDN you get 8 of these, some sauce (soy with hot pepper) plus some radish kimchi. It is a good meal in and of itself. After all the walking (and not having eaten breakfast) it was a very satisfying meal.

The exploration was well worth the time. I found a place to go and get things I may need at VERY reasonable prices.

Take care

Flint

******

I say samgyetang you might say mandu stuffed with samgyetang. ;)