~Things to Bring~
*Extra passport photos. (About 6) You will need them for various forms/cards here.
*Some non-perishable food items that can help to lessen your initial homesickness (your favorite: tea, coffee, hot chocolate, type of candy or chocolate, snack food, gum, etc.)
*Postcards / Pictures from home are fun to share with co-teachers & students as well as having them for your own comfort. I would also suggest bringing a few favorite photos of family and friends for sharing / decorating your place.
*Stickers! Scratch & sniff or anything that's a little bit different (ones with eyes which move, fuzzy, etc.) will go a long way to impress your students. Kids love them & they are useful in rewards / discipline. (Note: These may not work as well with older students.)
*Decorations - It's nice to bring small things which can be used to decorate your place & make it feel more like home. Obviously the pictures/postcards from above will help. Also: magnets, cards, magazines, maps, posters. Some people also suggested small throws, picture frames. Look around the place you're living now & maybe pick a few meaningful items that won't take up a lot of room/weight in your suitcase.
*Sheets - I've had some people say to bring sheets & others have been frustrated to have brought them & find them so easily. It's up to you. I thought that the first night might be made a little easier / more comfortable & so I brought some older sheets in a vacuum-sealed bag (to take up less space), with plans to discard them when my time here was finished. I promise they have sheets in Korea. Will they be as comfortable as those from home? I can't say. Do you care?
E-Mart, (kind of like Walmart or ASDA) & HomePlus (Tesco) are two major places to find sheets, pillows & comforters. There are also many family run shops that are pretty easy to find.
I also brought my own pillow. I had read somewhere that this can be a very comforting thing when moving so far from home. I thought, why not? (As my boyfriend scowled.) But it has been quite a comfort to me, especially after my boyfriend went through 2 or 3 pillows & could never find one quite right. Again, this is an issue of preference not necessity.
*Plug converters - are essential if you bring anything electrical from home (laptop, straighteners, electric razor, ipod, etc.). You CAN buy them in Korea. We brought one & bought a second here as we found we needed it.
A note to those from the U.S.: Although you need to be able to plug something into the sockets here you do not have to worry about voltage as Korea's is the same as ours.
*Cooking utensils & Pyrex containers - were recommended for those of you who really like to cook. Things are available here but if you are particular about the quality of your cooking materials you might save yourself the frustration/trouble of looking here.
*Spices / seasonings - some can be harder to find here. It is possible to get quite a few things in Itaewon (foreigner's "district") but sometimes these are expensive. Many of my friends have had specific spices sent from home (taco seasoning, hot sauce, Lawry's, BBQ sauce, salad dressings).
If you have a question about a specific food item, don't hesitate to post it & we'll see what we can do about finding out whether its available here & whether or not its costly - I WISH I'd had the option to ask that before I came!
*Deodorant - It is available in Korea, though it can be expensive. There is also a limited variety, and if you prefer a specific brand I would suggest bringing some considering it doesn't take up much room. Again, I've seen quite a few kinds of Western deodorant in Itaewon but many seemed to have been there for a very long time...
*Makeup - They have makeup here. And a lot of it is inexpensive. Koreans prefer to whiten their faces as much as possible, so finding a bronzer or matching color for anything other than the lightest shades of skin color will prove difficult. (I bought some powder here & thought it was fine until I went to put it on a few days later & discovered it's purpose was to lighten your skintone!)
*Hair products - Korean hair does not differ much from person to person. It is thick & straight. Anything else and you're probably going to have trouble finding suitable products. A friend advised bringing some "If you have curly or bushy hair or you like certain products."
*Toothpaste / brushes - are also available in Korea. The biggest issue here is that Korean toothpaste's typically lack fluoride causing Westerner's problems after not having it for months. I would suggest either bringing your own toothpaste or looking carefully @ the toothpaste here before purchasing it. (Arm & Hammer is the one brand in particular we've found here with fluoride.)
*Birth Control - is available here & isn't terribly expensive either, but you probably won't have brand choices. I would try to bring what you can to save yourself the trouble at least in the first few months.
*Travel t.p. - I always carry a travel roll of toilet paper in my purse. Korean's don't seem to use it as often / mind as much when there isn't any. Overall I haven't had much trouble, but you never know. Often in public toilets the tp dispenser is outside the stalls so you must take some in with you. And for some reason every time I go to a place that only has squat toilets the tp seems to be kept outside the stalls. (Most public bathrooms have both types - some even have pictures on the doors.)
Target's travel section has $1 Charmin travel rolls that don't take up much space & have proved useful to me all over the world, not just in Korea.
*Clothing - Larger sizes can be harder to find. MyeongDong is a great shopping area in Seoul. Currently there is a Forever 21 & in March 2010 an H&M will also be opened making for some easier shopping. Brands stores like Adidas, The North Face, Nike, Puma, etc. are common.
*Shoes - Larger shoe sizes (especially for women) are also harder to come by. If your feet run large you might want to bring a good shoe supply with you.
~Don't Need to Worry About Bringing~
*Tampons - They are available here, though not in every store.
*Makeup remover sheets
*Nail polish/remover - it is ridiculously inexpensive here
*Razor blades
*Shave gel / cream - they typically do not have women's shave gels here but men's work just fine
~Easy to Find Brands~
*Aveeno, The Body Shop, Dove, Listerine, Herbal Essences, Clinique, Gilette
*Makeup shops: The Face Shop, Watsons, Olive & Young, Skin Food + more upmarket brands (like Mac) at GS Square & Other department stores.
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