What to expect to pay in Korean stores

Let's look at what you might pay for some known items.

If you use dollars (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, US, etc.) just use the 1,000 Won = $1 rule of thumb. For exact conversion rates, I use xe.com.

**Note: If there's something specific you'd like to see the price of in Korea, write it down in the comments, please.**

This is at the International food section of Emart.

Emart is one of the 3 major "marts" in Korea. The other two are LotteMart and Home Plus. Of the three, my personal favorite is Home Plus because it offers the most foreign/international products. I'd say Emart is generally cheaper than LotteMart, but it depends. Sometimes LotteMart can be cheaper.

Click on the links to visit each store's site and check out the prices.

Don't feel intimidated by all the Korean text. Just look for a number in the thousands (usually under the picture) and that's the price!

Always remember the rule of thumb: 1,000 Won = $1

I've included other random pictures I've taken of products in stores to continue giving you an idea of what to pay over here. I'll probably update this page when I have more pictures to add.

A couple of small pressure cookers on regular-sized shelves in Hi-Mart.

Smallest Pressure Cooker I've seen--at Home Plus

Ha! It made it here too! AND it's cheaper!

You'll find the most random things in Daiso-a GODsend.

Some prices don't make sense. If you can read, that may help.

You can find most condiments/spices/flavors here.

Fish in a chain, anyone?

How about "fish chain" in an arch?

Food court's menu. Love this concept.

Wait, I've come to my 1-month anniversary already? (28. July)

Oh wow, it's been a month since I returned to Korea . . . Already . . . Whoa . . .

What's happened? Here are a few summaries:

Yesterday was the last day of school for the 1st semester. The day before was the last day of actual classes at the school.

After classes were done, the principal treated all the teachers out to--no, actually we did not go to a staff dinner (where you potentially get ridiculously drunk 'cause you're not allowed to decline)! We went out to a movie instead! The movie was "군함도" or "Battleship Island." It was intense. You can see the trailer here. Of course, the movie was in Korean. Even when the Japanese spoke Japanese, there were Korean subtitles. I understood one whole line in the entire movie and the subtitles were too fast for me. That didn't really matter. I got the story just from watching what happened. I can almost bet you I was the only foreigner in the entire building at the time. Cool experience though!

Today was the first day of summer vacation. That meant coming to a virtually empty school to desk-warm.

What is "desk-warm" you may ask? It is when you come to school, to your room/office/desk and just stay there until they tell you you're allowed to leave (if that happens before 16:40). 

What do you do? You can plan for the summer English camp, the following semester, the following winter camp, your summer/winter vacation, your next steps in Korea/post-Korea, or whatever else. I take this as an "I can do just about whatever, 'cause they're paying me to spend time here." I want to learn about investments and how they work. I'm going to research that anyway, might as well do it at school where I'll "be paid" to do so.

If you have nothing to do, this can be torture. So best start thinking about what you'll do later on down the road, research, and if you need to study, do so during this time--if you've already planned out your first few classes for the following semester. 

My first summer camp will begin Monday. It'll run for 2 weeks. The theme for camp is the five senses. Week 1 will be for the 3rd & 4th graders, whereas Week 2 will be for the 5th & 6th graders. So there's the good news: prepare for 1 week and do it twice, just add more challenging content the following week.

Wait, "first summer camp?" That implies there's more than one. What about the second? That camp will be at my Friday school. This will last for 3 days in the 3rd week of August. What will I do? The same as in my main school! Just adapt it to fit the 3-day schedule. It shouldn't be too bad.

Switching off school, I've explored my area a bit and learned where the bus terminals and train stations are. I even took pictures of the bus schedules to better plan potential weekend getaways.
Speaking of "weekend getaways," I'll be heading off to Seoul as soon as I get out for the day. I got my bus ticket, so I shouldn't have anything to worry about--until I arrive at Seoul. I need to make sure I get a ticket back for Sunday. Then, I need to make my way over to my friend's place, where I'll be staying. I expect to arrive around 23:00 tonight. Why so late? My bus will leave at 17:20 and it's a >4 hr. ride from Masan to Seoul one-way.

Then again, that's not so bad. Only >4 hours to cross 85% of the country from south to north? See why it's great to travel within Korea?

Whew, I'm gonna be so exhausted tonight, but it will be good to see her and her family again.

Brief Overview of My First Week (3. - 7. July '17)

Whoa . . . I'm just finishing my second week, and I'm going to write about my first? I guess I have been kind of busy lately.


Let's start off at my apartment.

When I wasn't teaching, I was cleaning/moving in (much much much more cleaning than moving in). I have this thing; when I move into a new place, for me to make it "mine," I have to clean it. Even if it is already clean, just passing a wet cloth over the counters and the floor or whatever is needed, so I can actually say that this place is "mine."

Well, I moved into a place that was inhabited by a guy. Another man lived here (I believe for a few years) before him. I know there are very clean guys out there, but neither of these would have fit into that category.

I had moved into this place on a Friday. It wasn't until this past Sunday (2 weekends later) that I finished cleaning the place (as in, it took about +/- 10 days).
When I first stepped in, it didn't look so bad. If I hadn't moved any of the furniture, I wouldn't have changed my mind. The first thing I moved was the bed to clean under it (hey, I've got dust allergies, so I need to take care of myself). After going through the entire apartment (luckily a studio apartment), I found enough dust bunnies to stuff a pillow or two. After scrubbing the floor (yes, on my hands and knees scrubbing) I saw it shine in a way I didn't know it could. After cleaning the windows (both inside and out), I realized it wasn't so dark outside. My windows were just tinted--with filth. Once the kitchen sink was cleaned, I thought it was a mirror for a short moment. I refused to cook in the kitchen until I cleaned it--it was that bad.
Anyway, the darkness has passed, and everything is clean enough to impress a mother-in-law.

Now to my schools.

I've got 2 schools. Both are elementary. I teach in my main elementary school Mondays - Thursdays. The other smaller school is where I make a weekly appearance every Friday. I teach 5th and 6th graders in my main school (four classes of each grade, so eight classes total. Oh, and each class has 25-28 students). I teach 4th, 5th, and 6th graders in the other school--only one class of each (there are 4 in 4th grade, 7 in 5th grade, and 14 in 6th grade).
As you can tell, both schools are very different. My main school is within the city, about a 15-min. walk from my place. The second school is about a 15-min. bus ride from the stop that's about 10 min. away from my place (in the same direction as my main school). That school is just outside the city.

This is very different to my experience in Gangwondo (강원도) last time. I had 5 schools (2 elementary, 2 middle, and 1 high). Only 1 class in each grade and I saw each school/students once a week. I was paid a lot more then, but I like this arrangement more. I can actually form relationships here. Who knew?

I teach 22 hours per week, which is the max. If you teach more, then you (should) get overtime pay.

The Korean school year is from March - December. I came in towards the end of the 1st semester (early March - late July). The second half runs from the end of August to the end of December. You can see, I've got about 2 weeks of teaching left before summer break. So I've got a nice 1-month summer break ahead of me, right?

WRONG!

I've got to prepare and teach summer (English) camp at both of my schools! I've got a 2-week summer camp in my main school and a 3-day camp at my other school. My co-teachers and I have already been working hard on them, planning the activities, ordering the materials needed, and so on.

I could have 1 week (5 work days) as my summer vacation. We'll see. I still need to request it (Korean school bureaucracy--just accept it) and have it approved. There's some stuff I'd like to do during this time, like visit friends and get my wisdom teeth pulled out. Looks like it'll be tricky planning both. Oh, decisions, decisions . . .

*Random story*
I went to get my teeth cleaned at a dental clinic near my main school. Either there was a misunderstanding or they only clean teeth by drilling along the gum line. It was nerve-wracking, not gonna lie. But I only paid less than $15 for the whole thing (I've got the national health insurance. Wonderful thing--especially since I am uninsured in the States). So both I and my wallet survived the experience.

My First Jimjilbang experience (2. July '17)

That's right. I finally did it. It only took me over 3 years to gather up the courage to finally go and try a jimjilbang (public bathhouse) in Korea.

"Courage?" Actually, "desperation" would be the correct word.

Hey, I see you jumping into conclusions over there! Hear (read) me out first!

The shower drain was clogged and there was no point in showering there since the floor would start flooding with less than a liter.

Remember, this is the beginning of July. The heat--and especially the humidity--are up there. I was working hard in my new apartment, since it looked like it wasn't thoroughly cleaned some tenants ago. Then, I was unpacking too and putting my clothes and stuff away into their newly designated areas. After I finished unpacking, I started to really clean. This was all I was doing a couple of hours before Sabbath started on Friday, Saturday night, and most of Sunday.

I'm proud to say I got a lot done and organized, but I still have a lot to do before I can say "I'm done."

Then Friday night, I found out how bad the shower drainage was.

The teacher I replaced warned me about this and I got the Korean equivalent of Draino and applied it on Saturday night (I was too tired and disgusted to be bothered to do it immediately). Sunday morning, it was fine--except for the grimy clean-up work I had to do. Even while cleaning it up, the drain was clogged again. This time, when I waited, the water eventually went down within an hour. Promising...

So, about 2 days of constant motion and action and manual labor + hot apartment with an air conditioner that's expensive to operate (and hardly any breeze ever enters the windows when open) + the heat and humidity of southern South Korea + a shower that's basically broken = a grossly sweaty, sticky, serious situation.

I needed to call the landlord (or somebody), but I didn't (and still don't) have the contact details nor the language proficiency to do it. Hence, I couldn't wait for Monday, when I could make my plea to my co-teacher. However, I still needed to get through Sunday night. So I did it. I packed a change of clothing, money, my water bottle and went out the door to a Jimjilbang I saw on the main "downtown" area. I figured a bigger one might be better able to help foreign jimjilbang virgin.

It was a little weird, but I was too desperate to be clean to care. I didn't know I had to bring my own stuff, or I could buy packets there. The entrance cost me about 5,500 Won and all the little packets and stuff about 4,500 Won. I read on a couple of blogposts (mainly this guy's) that one should shower 1st. Perfect for me! That's the reason I came! Then one can enter the pools. Each pool has a different temperature. There were 2 saunas as well. The ladies there directed me to what I should do; when, how, where, etc. Before that night, I would've been so feed-up and just left, but I came in knowing they would want to help me, not insult me. Shew, I went there by myself and was naked in front of them all in many different ways (so were they, it is a public bath, after all). 

I can honestly say it was actually nice. A couple of ladies helped me around at differing stages of the process. One even scrubbed my back (which is normal). I think I'd do it again, just not sure when.

My jimjilbang virginity had come to its end.

(Side note: my shower was fixed that Monday afternoon. I've been enjoying blissful, cold showers in the comfort and privacy of my home, just as I should.)

My flight back to Korea (28. June '17)

"Hmmm, how much of this can I share right now?" I think as I'm sitting on a couch in my hotel room in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea.

I guess I can start with my journey here.

My flight itinerary back was the following:

Jacksonville, Florida --> JFK, NYC --> Taipei, Taiwan --> Busan, South Korea.

Total travel time (with layovers--and delays): about 30 hours.

First leg of the trip

I get to Jacksonville with plenty of time. The flight was supposed to leave @ 17:07 and arrive at JFK @ 19:30. There was a severe thunderstorm with lightning a little too close for comfort. The plane needed refueling, but with the proximity of the lightning, they needed to wait for the storm to pass. We were all boarded and in our seats for over an hour when we were told to gather our stuff and get off the plane (get some walking in, go to the restroom, be a little more comfortable). That was when they refueled the plane. About 30-40 minutes after disembarking from the plane, we all boarded it again. By the time the plane left, it was 19:30--the time we were supposed to land in JFK.

Don't need to worry about messing up the sink!

Curving skylights

Somewhere over Florida or Georgia

Second leg of the trip

We landed in JFK, and I had to figure out how to get to my connecting flight. Sure, my flight was late. It was about 21:00 by this time, but my flight to Taipei left at 1:35, so I had over 4 hours (still) to kill. A friend who was familiar with that airport told me to not bother going out to explore NYC since this airport was too far from just about everything. Since I had less time to kill, I thought it doubly wise to heed his warning. Eventually, I found out I did not have as much time to waste as I had initially thought. I had to check-in again (through China Airlines--very helpful!) and go through security again. This was not very pleasant, considering several transoceanic flights were leaving at the same time. Not fun.

By the time I was near my gate, I had about an hour and a half until boarding time (which was 40 minutes before the scheduled flight time). I found the one other place besides McDonald's that was open and selling food, and used their services gladly--even though the price was beyond what I would've normally paid anywhere else. I sat in a quiet area with several armchairs, made myself comfortable, ate, and communicated with family and a few friends. 

At the appointed time, I was waiting in line at the gate. We all boarded and the plane left. Fifteen hours of flight, 6-8 hours of sleep (praise GOD!), two movies, and an overall pleasant experience later, the plane landed at Taipei around 5 am Wednesday morning (Taipei time).

Greeted by a line of orchids. See the time?

My gate to my plane to Busan.

Hmmm, which bike would you like?

Nice, if only there were more than 3 such chairs ...

Third and final leg of the trip

I can't say how nice it was walking through an empty yet sparkling clean airport while being fully awake at 5 am. I went through security one more time. This time, it was a breeze. I was the only passenger there! Hence, I was able to get in and out quickly, without worrying about anyone trying to steal my stuff (bliss). I made it to my gate, but I still had an hour before boarding. Then one of my close friends called, and we talked for about 40 minutes, catching up. I was going to see if I could get something to eat, only to remember I didn't have any local currency (luckily, before I found an eatery). So I went to the waiting area at my gate and waited until boarding time. We boarded, got settled, and took off. I was so thankful when they served us meals because I was famished! I didn't know what it was or what it had, but I ate it heartily. I hadn't eaten for 7 hours or so by then.

We arrived at Busan without any problems. Then, I realized I needed to fill out some arrival documents--which I did not receive on the flight. So, off to find them and fill them out. All in all, I got that settled and my bags were easy to find since everyone else had already claimed theirs. I walked out and met my recruiter (again). He is Alistair Wery of Korean Horizons (I've already posted a review about him and his services here).
He took me to NS/Namsun hotel where he reserved a room for each of his recruits. I approve! The room is nice and clean. There are 2 bottles of water and 2 cans of either juice or coffee (FOR FREE!) in the mini fridge. There is a whole set of toiletries you can use (FOR FREE!). The hotel even has complimentary (Korean style) breakfast that made me so happy to be reunited with Korean food again.

Today, I will check out of NS Hotel/Namsun Hotel, meet my co-teacher and other staff members, and move into my new apartment.

From my window. See the full rainbow on the bottom left?

So far, so good.

Guess who's back, back again . . .

Who would have thought?

I guess when you go to Korea, you can't stay away forever.

Yes, I was hired and accepted to a public school teaching position in Korea again. I'm still in the States, but I will leave for the airport in about 2 hours. After about 29-32 hours, I should land in Korea.

I'll share more on a later post. 

This is just to announce my return and the revival of this blog.

**Post-Korea Update**

Hello everyone!




Apologies for not writing sooner. I kept myself occupied by making up for lost time with my family . . . and that's pretty much it.




Here are a few things I was able to do since returning State-side:

1. Visit relatives and parents' friends all over central and southern Florida, and visit my sister in Maryland.

2. Watch my step-mom become an American citizen.

3. Been accepted and received my visa to go to Poland.
That's right, Poland.
I'll be doing some mission work, including teaching English and the Bible at an Adventist language school.
I've even begun a separate blog for this here: www.joanninpoland.blogspot.com
I'm just waiting for a sale (that I know will come) before booking my ticket to Poland.




Well . . . I guess this is the end of this blog. Thanks for coming and reading and leaving the few comments I've received. It's very encouraging to know someone cares enough to read what I post on here. If you want more, just wait 'til September and look me up in www.joanninpoland.blogspot.com


'Til then, take care and see ya!

Goodbye Korea . . . Hello Canada . . . Finally home!

This is it.

 

 

March 4, 2015.

 

 

17:45

 

 

Incheon International Airport.

 

 

 

All loose ends are tied.

 

All debts paid.

 

All belongings packed.

 

All goodbyes said.

 

 

This is really it.

 

 

Goodbye Korea, I now have to go back to my family. I need to go home. Thanks for the experience, the pay, and all the good times--for they are many.

 

 

The 1st leg of my journey began here, enroute to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

 

 

9+ hours later, I arrive at Vancouver International Airport around 10:30 on the same day.

Talk about time travel!

Totem pole near the check-in counters.

 

This reminded me of Arizona and New Mexico.

Just a random feeling.

 

 

Well, since I've got a 12+ hr. layover, I best be getting out there and exploring Vancouver, don't you think?

 

Inside the metro that's connected to the airport.

Brilliant!

 

 

Just behind me.

 

 

I had an appointment in Vancouver this day, believe it or not. My former-student from Jeju SDA Language Institute is now living in Vancouver. His girlfriend is training to become a beautician. On that day, she was going to need a model ("human canvas" if you will) to practice applying make-up in real time. What the heck, why not? After my flight across the Pacific, I guess it was a pretty good idea.

 

Anyway, I went out into Vancouver downtown, with a map and address. I find the salon, but I've got plenty of time to kill before the appointed time. So I entered a bookstore (forgot the name, sorry), and on the 2nd floor, I saw something I never expected I'd ever see . . .

 

"American Girl" dolls!

 

If you don't know, these are dolls I've seen through the Pleasant Company (i.e. "American Girl") catalogue and dreamed of owning one for YEARS. All this started with the 1st catalogue I saw when I was about 8 years old. I bought the books, even the paper dolls. I really loved them--especially those from their historical collections (like here). But, they are VERY expensive, so I had to be content with the paper dolls and my daydreams.

That's ok.

The only problem was that this was too big of a shock for me to take jet-lagged and as an insomniac. The nostalgia I felt was a little too overwhelming. Looking through their website now, I see they've changed and taken out some of my favorite historical characters.

Oh well, the only constant is change.

 

This made me smile.

 

WHAT?!

That's a Korean bank!

I thought I left you back in your country!!

 

This was on the same street as the salon I had to go to.

 

 

My 1st meal in Canada.

Quite American, wouldn't you say?

 

It was a little more than I could handle too. Thank you, counter-culture shock.

 

 

Hello, Terry Fox.

 

Terry Fox's story and about his statue.

Seriously, this man was an inspiration.

 

 

The time for my appointment had arrived. I was already there, but there was one problem: I had no idea how the girl looked like. All I had was her English name and the fact that she's Taiwanese. I called her boyfriend--my former-student--and we finally met . . . by accident . . . at the Starbucks just across the street . . . when I saw her trying to look for someone and I guessed it was me. Thank GOD for HIS insightful help!

 

 

After the make-up application was complete.

I should've taken a "before" pic. Whoops.

 

Here's the girl who did the magic.

She wanted to stick with a natural look.

 

What do you think?

 

 

So her boyfriend showed up and the 3 of us went out for a walk around that area of the city. I had my camera out in case of anything that caught my eye.

 

That was me in Korea.

 

A clock, but not just any clock . . .

 

(thanks for the picture, Tommy!)

 

A steam clock!

We stayed to watch it go off (only waited for 5 minutes). It made an interesting tune: the same one that goes off every time a period begins and ends at my schools in Korea! And then it let off a bit of steam, the same amount as that of the new hour.

 

 

Nice, walking along . . .

 

Oh, ok.

 

Ooooooo.

 

The 2010 Winter Olympics Cauldron

 

 

Right between the cauldron and the convention center building (west wing).

I like the Lego-esque killer whale.

 

Under the cauldron.

 

Wow . . .

 

Nice!

I've seen these kinds of planes, just not "parked"/"docked" like this. Cool!

 

Leaning elevated hut.

 

This picture isn't doing much justice, I fear.

 

 

So we had dinner together at a Greek/Italian restaurant. I really wasn't hungry, but I had a spinach salad and introduced them to baklava (it wasn't that great there, I'm sorry to say).

 

Time is drawing to a close, and they were kind and generous enough to accompany me back to the airport. I thought they looked so cute together, I had to take a picture:

hmm, not what I had in mind, but I guess that'll have to do.

 

You two were sooo sweet, thank you! You two made me enjoy Vancouver all the more; I must go back!

 

 

So, off to my gate, find my seat, and faint from fatigue. When I wake up, I'll arrive in Montreal.

 

Montréal–Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (part of it, at least)

 

I arrived around 8am. My final flight to Orlando was going to leave a little after 5pm. I wanted to get out, but I couldn't explore Montreal with all of my luggage (which was NOT checked through all the way to Orlando. I had to claim them both in Vancouver AND Montreal. Go figure). After some searching, I found the coatroom, where I could have them watch over my stuff for me--and I could go out and explore! Only thing is that I was told to allow for plenty of time to get back, because traffic was very unpredictable--I was told.

Fine, just let me get out and explore!

 

The bus that will take me into town--and the one I must take back to the airport.

 

How the fare works.

I'm so glad I know Spanish and that it can help me with French.

 

 

I made it to the last stop (I didn't know how they worked, since I didn't see any signs with names outside, nor were the names announced inside the bus), which ended up being a bus terminal as well as a major metro station. It was a little empty (i.e. creepy, sketchy) inside, but I just kept on walking and eventually got there. It took me a while to figure out how this metro system worked (signage-wise), but once I got it, it was pretty simple.

 

Booklets with info on the different buses and their routes.

 

 

Ok, to know which line you want, look for the color. To know in which direction it's going, the signs will have the name of the last stop. Just look at a metro map, look at the signs, and you'll get it.

 

 

I figured, since I was in Montreal and I had about 3 hours to explore before going back (just to be safe), I thought I'd go to the only place I know that's in Montreal: McGill University.

 

About 3 blocks from McGill Station, on my way to the university.

I like this architecture.

 

Entrance to McGill University.

 

Whoa, that's a huge campus.

 

Let me go to my happy place that's in every university: the library.

 

Huh?

 

Oh!

 

Ooooooo, a water fountain after my own heart!

 

Did I mention it was -13 Celsius/8 Fahrenheit that day? Windy?

As I told a friend of mine: When I walked out of the airport, it was as though a brick wall of cold slammed against my body and took my breath away--and I saw it go away, too.

It was that cold. Brrrrr.

 

This is where I entered the university campus (officially, I guess).

 

 

Ok, I visited McGill, now I wanted to try something very Quebec-ish: Poutine.

Back to A&W, I got my 1st taste of Poutine (French fries, thin brown gravy, and cheese curds).

Not bad, but I think I need to try again somewhere else. That, or my taste buds were still too Koreanized.

 

 

Ok, it's time for me to try to make my way back. After a while, I got the bus back to the airport, picked up my luggage and checked them in one last time, went through security and immigration, and then arrived at my gate--with 2-3 hours to kill. At least I was already through. I walked around, feeling like a zombie (the time difference, travel, and fatigue were really hitting me hard by then), and I found a quite area where I could take a nap--and nap I did!

 

Hmm, about 20 minutes until boarding time, I should get back. Let's see the departure screens . . . Whoa . . .

This winter was seriously no joke!

I'm so glad I got the ticket to Orlando!

 

 

I board, get to my seat, and am knocked out. I wake up in time to feel the plane touch down on Orlando International Airport. Went and claimed my bags, and my parents found me a few minutes later. We go to the car and drive the 2+ hrs. to get home.

 

So here I was, home, after a 45 hr. (+/-) journey from Korea to home . . . I've basically been awake and traveling for 3 days, from comfortable temperatures, to bitterly cold wind, to a warm and humid climate. I needed a shower DESPERATELY!!! Man, that shower was sooooo good!

 

So, by the time I was ready to go to bed, it was about 2am. After my journey, I guess it's not so surprising that I woke up at 3:30pm! Seriously! My first night home, I slept almost 14 hours! Who knew?

 

... and this is the end of my journey.

 

Sometime later, I promise to post an update of how I'm doing and what is next. But for now, I need to relax and focus on my family. I promise, I'll fill you in later.