Shopping Korea Style...

HomePlus: Land of the most annoying theme song, traditional children's
clothing, and other things in places you can only begin to imagine. 

So how does one shop in a land where there is no Walmart? No Fred Meyer, no Shopko..etc. It does promote some thought because we are so easily appeased by these stores. When you are faced in a land without them, what do you do? Well here is my basic routine for shopping around Suwon.
First rule is that whatever you by you are going to have to walk with at some point so really think about those awkward sized purchases (not that I would know, damn you 24 rolls of toilet paper). You also must bring your own shopping bags to carry things home in or plan to use some of their cardboard boxes to load your glorious supply of nonessential items.
There are a couple of ways to find your shopping items. One is by the local corner shops known as Kah-gey's They have most of your last minute items. Somewhat like the gas station convenience stores but you can't always guarantee they will have what you want. The other disadvantage is they tend to charge you a little more if you are not Korean. Usually at that point you really don't care. They can make the rules however they want. Just be polite and walk away with your items.
When you need to go for more variety or would like a wider selection you shop usually at one of two places. The E-Mart, which sadly is too far a walk for me most days, or you shop the HomePlus which is probably a mile or so from my apartments and therefore the closest to me.
If you thought it was hard to find things in a Walmart you have to give HomePlus a try. I highly recommend taking a list. You will not find anything in any sort of order at all. I mean NONE. I found twine next to the earphones in the electronics department. Now I have to remember if I ever need twine to go to the electronics department. Normally you will walk away from HomePlus with your treasures which you walked up endless isles to find or with a dazed and confused look because you have absolutely no idea of what you came in for in the first place. Don't even get me started on the shopping carts that you have to put 100 won into the handle to unlock and the wheels that turn 360 degrees so you end up crashing into everything because straight just isn't an option.
Going into frozen foods, meat, and produce areas are an adventure. Especially when you can't read the packages. You kind of have to guess what you got, especially in meats. Sometimes there is a picture of the animal but there are other times you are hoping you got what you wanted. Of course then you get distracted by the tanks of live crab and fish and squid and stuff.
As far as clothing, if you are not a size XS, S, or M just forget it. It isn't going to happen. There are literally back alleys that are whispered about in Seoul that have clothing for "westerners". I have yet to see these places so I cannot confirm they exist.
When you are totally desperate for the tastes of home you can go to a store called I Love Cookie. It is there that they specialize in import goods. All sorts of random stuff. (Watch the expiration dates though)
So yes you might pay 8 dollars for a bag of oreos but when you are desperate for oreos, you will pay about anything. (No I am not desperate for them, please do not send any)
All I can say really is it an entirely different type of adventure that can add a few hours to your day. So the next time you are in a big store where you know what you want and can actually find it, enjoy the experience. It is one not found everywhere.
Happy shopping!