What to Bring to Korea: A Costco card!

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Before I came to Korea, I scoured various online expat and info sources for advice as to “What to Bring if You’re Moving to Korea”. Frankly, these lists only helped mildly- when I arrived I was both, OVER &  UNDER-prepared. In fact, the things you think Korea wouldn’t have, they do and if they do have it, it either takes a bit of a search to find or you pay a tad more for it than you normally would in the U.S. 

As a vegetarian undergoing culture shock, discovering CostCo was my personal god-send. Costco was a neutral nose zone for me with enough “American Costco” products and familiarity to make me feel a little “Home-Safe-Home”.

Korea has a handful of Costco locations in cities such as Busan, Daegu , Daejeon, Ilsan, Sangbong, Yangjae ,Yangpyung. Costco- Daegu wasn’t very difficult for me to find- it was a 5 minute taxi ride from Keungogae Station  stop. Most of Costco‘s floor plan is similar to what you’d find in the U.S.- frozen food sections, fresh vegetables, seafood, bakery, clothing/books/technology, home products, etc…  I won’t lie- “blown-away” was not how I’d describe the Korean Costco, in comparison to its well-stocked U.S. brother.  American products are limited and the warehouse is shared with Korean products as well. However, experiencing “U.S. Familiar” when you’re still acclimating to your new country is far better than experiencing the constant wave of “Everything Foreign”.

As of now, being a 5’8″ hapa Asian girl, it occurs to me that the only thing that I may not find in Korea, are large-sized clothing (which shouldn’t be a problem with my weight loss); not to mention, my favorite U.S. comfort foods.  Everything else seems semi-available, with the exception being – things  you would normally expect to be cheap aren’t … and vice versa. For example- if I had known that those small red digital alarm clocks that you can get at Kmart for nearly $5 runs approximately $15 here, I’d have packed it.

Myth #1: Korea doesn’t have  tampons or deodorant

• Tampons - If you’re rural, remote or in a small town, I can’t promise you easy accessibility on these, but if you’re in the big city, tampons aren’t so difficult to find and can run similar to prices in the U.S.  You won’t have a large variety of tampon brands to choose from, but they exist and you only need one to do the trick! Stores like E-Mart (the Korean K-mart), Costco & I suspect, HomePlus, have them and I can find them in my neighborhood grocery stores as well as, corner convenience stores like GS25 Mart.
• Deodorant- Haven’t really seen many in stores, but I also haven’t been looking. I hear Koreans don’t sweat (just kidding), so I brought antipersperant with me as well as, one of those “just wet” sea salt deodorant sticks which will definitely last me a year+. They DO exist here though and I’m pretty sure I saw some in Costco, though you will probably pay anywhere from $5-8 for it.
• What you will have to get used to -
Most beauty products such as shampoo/conditioner, lotion, sanitary pads, etc… are widely available throughout the city, but they may cost you a bit more than you’re used to in the U.S. For instance, a bottle shampoo might cost you $7!  I wouldn’t waste my 50 lbs worth of luggage packing them though…  The positive is that these products also tend to come in large “Family Sizes” or in combo (or “sets”- i.e. shampoo & conditioner) packs; so in essence, you are getting your money’s worth. If you’re single and solo, then I hope you have a lot of hair! I’m pretty sure the large sizes are shelved with an entire family in mind (in Korea, it is common for young adults live with their families until marriage).

Myth #2: Imported items will cost an arm and a leg

While imported items definitely won’t cost “an arm & a leg”, they probably will at the least, cost you a finger! In other words, you will take a step back and pause for reflection, before adding an imported item to your cart. At Costco Daegu, U.S. products such as peanut butter, pasta sauce, oatmeal and cereal and frozen fruits are price a little higher than normal, but the saving grace is that in Costco everything is by bulk. For me, I love smoothies as a quick fix fruit snack but grocery stores here don’t seem to carry frozen fruits. Costco carries my favorite frozen fruit melange as the States… but the selection is very limited. Also, they had my Fiber One bars & Healthy Granola bars, Granola snacks, cereal, raisins, dried cranberries, nuts, pasta sauce, pre-packaged salads and mixed greens, etc.. Balsamic vinaigrette dressing will cost you roughly $15 USD for a bottle, though the good news is that Koreans have their own cheaper version. They even have the good ‘ole American potato chip diet junk food, Veggie Straws!

Peanut butter for roughly $13. But this is a super-sized tub.

Myth #3: Bring your vitamins.

I don’t know where I got this tip, but to the person who wrote it, I’d like say “Whuh?!”   I packed lots of Vitamin C because I have low immunity and I read advice to bring them (as if Korea didn’t have any…). Costco has everything from Listerine mouthwash to multivitamins, vitamin C, Joint and Noni Juice. True, I never see vitamins in E-mart or in my grocery stores, but I assume if there’s anywhere that has them, it would be the local pharmacies… and Costco. If you’re an Emergen-C fan like me, though you may want to bring them (Costco only sells a Korean limeade version, which I can’t imagine to taste very good).

Myth #4: Bring your own makeup, hair and skin care products.

Personal choice. For a country that doesn’t blink at the word plastic surgery, I was pretty confident the skin  aesthetic in Korea would be well-focused and stocked on beauty and skin care, so I didn’t pack more than what I already had.   I will say this, however…

1) For those with non-Asian complexions or dark skin- bring your own makeup.  I’m medium to light-skinned and wanted to try their all-in-one (SPF, moisturizer, brightening) foundation to simplify my Bare Essence 3 step process. My talk with the Korean saleswoman about matching foundation to skin types, got me a nod of agreement & words like “all-one” “moisture”, “radiant”, “Nee” (“Yes” in Korean).  Next day, as I was preparing my makeup for work, I looked in the mirror & realized-  my face could be used as a photographer’s bounce board to reflect light! I was so radiant, if you turned off the lights, I’d glow in the dark!
2) I delight in reading ingredients and instructions on skin care products and could spend hours in Sephora! That said- in Korea, most writing is in hangul vs. English. Speaking to a salesperson, may or may not eek out “for wrinkles,… radiant… firm…cream…night” but don’t expect to get much further instruction than that, unless you have someone who speaks Korean with you.

Myth #5: Bring your own appliances- hair irons, steamers, etc..

Koreans like to style their hair and iron their clothes just as Americans do.  In fact, Korean culture tends towards pretty stiff habits of dressing well and looking good (such that mirrors in every subway and in eateries can feel pretty common, next to plastic surgery and metro-sexual men in pink shirts and man-purses). I’d leave my appliances at home and buy them here. Another incentive for purchasing products here is that converters/transformers will take some seeking out, are large, heavy and expensive.  Korean products will have Korean standard plugs and you won’t need to worry about conversion.

When I first arrived at orientation, many seemed skeptical of using hair curlers, dryers and laptops.  Laptops (120-240V) are generally okay without converters but you should check the label on your laptop plug or battery for safety.  I totally fried my U.S. power strip on the wall outlet, as well as blew my new Korean transformer when I tested out my U.S. steam iron! My Mac laptop sometimes vibrates though, so out of superstition, I never leave it on while I’m away.

Myth #6: You can use your Costco membership card from the U.S.
Yes. Your U.S. Costco membership works here and I was glad to use it. Is a Korean Costco membership worth the $35 annual membership fee if you don’t have a Costco membership?  Some would say No. The U.S. brands are limited and pretty select- you may or may not find your comfort products here, but you might want to check it out first and decide later.

Myth #7: You can use your Costco AmEx credit card at Costco.
While I can use my card to purchase Costco items, I can NOT use my Costco AmEx charge card to pay for my purchases.  Korea takes mostly Korean charge cards and secondly, Visa if you’re lucky. From what I know of it so far, Korea is a cash based society and Korean credit cards are only allowed to Korean resident/natives.

Costco Daegu
1817 Sankyock-dong Buk-Gu,
Daegu, Korea
click here for site map