While living in Seoul we got tired of looking through street markets and local markets where the items may be hit or miss. Finding cheese and other comforts from home were difficult. We checked out HomePlus and E-Mart and were not disappointed. These are the big box style stores, that you could compare most closely to a Target or Wal-mart back in the US. The main difference I’ve found however is that these are much nicer, without the “nicer” pricing you would normally expect while shopping in South Korea.

Shopping in South Korea: HomePlus and E-Mart

The two stores are different companies, but for simplicities sake, I’m going to cover them both together because for our – and your – purposes, they are essentially the same. We ultimately only went to them a few times over the course of our three-month stay in South Korea, but we were always pleased with our experiences there as we could the get the items we just couldn’t elsewhere.

Be Aware Of The Odd Hours

One of the first things you should be aware of before shopping in South Korea at these stores is that they will close at odd times throughout the month. This was an issue we ran into quite a few times actually with E-Mart – and it is a problem frequently encountered by visitors and locals alike.

Each store will be different – you may find that a store will be closed every 2nd and 4th Monday, every 3rd Tuesday, and the 1st of each month for example. Why? I really don’t know, but it is probably related to cleaning, restocking, and keeping everything in tip-top shape. So check online for your store’s hours before you go. It is no fun to hop on the metro expecting to go shopping only to arrive to find it’s closed – trust me.

The Little Things Make Big Impressions

Assuming your store is open, and you’ve made it, then you can have your fun exploring the store. One of the first things that made an impression on me here, was how efficient the stores are with space. In fact, the efficiency of space use impressed me everywhere in South Korea, everything just works so well. There’s hardly any front parking either, rather, all the parking is in a garage that takes up 2 or 3 levels above the store. There is little sprawl in South Korea, instead, everything goes up.

The rest of the store may be divided up into any number of floors and basements to meet the space needs. Because of this, that means that there are escalators and elevators throughout the stores for you and your shopping cart. Each level is also organized accordingly, for ease of shopping and you make your purchases at each level. So one floor may have clothes, the next household goods, and another groceries.

HomePlus

The HomePlus at Osan University Station was my preference, and we frequented this store the most. The store is very close to the station and it seems to offer a little more than the E-Mart did. Although it was actually one station further away from us than the E-Mart, I could step off the metro platform and be right at the front entrance to the store, which made it much easier for us, because we still had a kilometer walk back to our apartment in Songtan.

When you enter, if you wish to get a shopping cart, you’ll have to pay a deposit of 100 Won to get the cart released – don’t worry, you will get back when you turn it back in. This was very new to me, and I had no clue what to do at first until an attendant came and helped me. We would eventually find that this is actually a norm throughout Asia and Europe, and it has actually now started to find a place in the US at select stores. From there you can proceed to get your needs.

The main floor had clothing, makeup, and a food court. If you went up a level, you would find a pharmacy, hair salon, daycare, and sundries store. The levels above this were all parking. The first basement level, just under the main floor, held the homewares, such as cleaning supplies, sports equipment, electronics, toys, and various miscellaneous items. I needed to come here once to buy replacement light bulbs when ours went out in our apartment’s bathroom. This floor also sold more clothes and baby supplies.

Great Selections On Food

The bottom floor was my favorite: groceries. Both Home Plus and E-Mart have a very wide selection of food in their stores. So if you’re looking for something that you can’t find in a local market, you’re bound to find it here. This was our choice for getting chips and “real” cheese.

Granted, some of these items could run a bit more expensive. But it was the price to pay to get a little taste of home. The grocery also had an area to purchase fresh hot food at a bar – which although we never actually got anything, looked good. However, we did get plenty of food from the samplers stationed at the end of nearly every aisle. They also had a bakery and a pizza parlor.

Some of the different food you can find at these stores:

“American” Food Is Embarrassing From An International Perspective

One interesting thing we came across was the international foods aisle. We are used to perusing the international food isles in the US and it is different to be on the other end. It also gives us some insight as to how our cuisine is perceived in other places. The American food section: Soup, salsa, chocolate syrup, and cheese curls. This is apparently how the rest of the world views our culinary achievements. Despite the disappointment, we still find this to be pretty humorous.

So HomePlus and E-Mart are definitely on your list of top stores to get your needs during your stay here. Friendly and familiar. Just remember to bring a bag to carry your stuff home!