How to Shop for Groceries in Seoul, South Korea

Welcome to the next installment of the Seoul Expat Series! Today I’m sharing all of my knowledge about grocery shopping for expats in Seoul, South Korea. During our 3 years there, I searched like a fiend to find the very best grocery stores and hunt down all kinds of ingredients- Western/American & Korean/Asian.

Some background:

Seoul residents (Koreans & expats) tend to eat out a LOT. This makes a lot of sense because Korean restaurants are great value for your money and decently healthy too. You don’t feel the pain in your wallet or pain in your stomach that is typical with many fast food & casual eateries in the USA.

Having young children and Western-leaning taste buds, though, my family cooked at home quite a bit. Finding a way to successfully create delicious and comforting meals as an expat was important to me. Thus, I learned how to conquer the Seoul grocery arena!

Overarching Thoughts:

I found myself grocery shopping much more frequently in Korea, but with pretty small loads each time. I think this is common in cities where you are often walking, or on public transportation. There are so many places you can shop in any given neighborhood. Because you are never too far from a mart or market of some kind, grabbing milk or produce on the way home from an outing isn’t too much of a hassle.

Even once we got a car, it felt just as convenient to walk down the block and load up our stroller 2-3x per week. Generally speaking, food expires much more quickly in Korea, too. It was easiest not to buy too far in advance and risk spoiled produce or dairy.

In many ways, the grocery stores themselves are incredibly similar to what I’d experienced all over large stores in the US. The major differences I found were not so much concerning HOW you got your food, but WHAT you were buying. For example…

Korea has entire aisles and rows dedicated to:

• seafood; live and recently deceased. octopus and crab specifically!
• dried fish & dried seaweed varieties
• instant ramen noodle packets/ noodle cups of every flavor and spice level under the sun (even cheese)
• rice; in the produce section you’ll find dry rice of different varieties in MASSIVE bags. In the middle of the store, there will be an area for precooked, individual rice bowls ready to warm in the microwave & eat (I’ve recently seen these come to the States, too!)
• lots of bean sprouts, lots of tofu, cooked crab, pickled radishes, and kimchi!! (all in the refrigerated section…these items often are added to soups or kimbap)
• mandu for days in the freezer section!! (Korea’s dumplings- yum)
• Pork! Pork belly, pork for grilling, ground pork, marinated pork…!

What American and Western ingredients will I be able to find around Seoul?

Surprisingly, there were lots of American and Western ingredients readily available in most grocery stores. Here’s what I could count on finding most often:

Nuts & Dried Fruits

I could find nuts such as peanuts, cashews, pistachios, almonds, walnuts & pecans. As far as nut butters, it’s only peanut butter (and no sun butter). And there was one dark period where you could only find chunky PB. Obviously there are worse problems to be had, but to this day I do not take a spoonful of creamy PB for granted! There were also dried fruits like raisins, dried cranberries, and mango; shredded coconut was nearly impossible to find, though.

Bread

In both large marts and local bakeries you can locate white bread. The loaves are shorter than I was used to, but the slices themselves are a similar size. The bread loaves found in bakeries are very soft and delicious! You can’t go wrong with the larger chains (Paris Baguette, Paris Croissant, Tous Les Jours) or local shops. There are lots of baguettes too. Large marts usually carry wheat bread loaves (about half the length of one in the states), at a higher price than the white bread.

Classic/Stereotypical American Convenience Foods

As far as stereotypical American fare, you will be able to find frozen corndogs (so many corndogs in Seoul), hot dogs & buns, ketchup, mayo & pickles. Frozen pizzas are easy to find, but I recommend buying the European brands over the Korean (personal preference).

Cheese

Ok let’s talk cheese options. American cheese (like the processed floppy slices) is everywhere! There is even a white (but still plasticky) version that has a bit less flavor and is marketed for little kids. The packaging is darling, but I don’t recommend the cheese itself ;).

The other main type of cheese sold in large marts is mozzarella. Shredded, waxy mozzarella that tastes decent once melted and consumed within 5 or so minutes. However, most marts have a tiny & expensive section dedicated to foreign cheeses. Costco will help you out though– more on that later.You can sometimes find Kraft Mac & Cheese, too.

Canned Foods

In the States I relied heavily on canned goods for meal planning. The good news is, you can find some overlap in Korean canned goods too. You’d have to be living under a rock NOT to find cans of tuna and spam….both are SO SO popular there! Canned corn is a favorite, too. It’s a bit trickier (but not impossible) to find canned tomatoes or tomato sauce. You CAN get canned peaches, fruit cocktail, and pineapple.

Breakfast Items

For typical American fast breakfast options, you can rely on sugared cereals & granolas. Sweetened yogurts and yogurt drinks are readily available too. You can buy rolled oats in the large grain containers over by the produce, too. Honey and teas have their own aisles, too. The honey tastes very different!

Pasta Time

If you’re feeling Italian, you’ll have no trouble getting pasta & pasta sauces (although the Korean brands are quite sweet–you’ve been warned). The pasta shapes are limited (couldn’t find lasagna noodles, for instance) but there are still tons of options.

Milk Options

Mooooove over, it’s time to talk MILK. Cow’s milk is kind of pricy but easy to find. However…most brands don’t list a fat percentage and in those cases you can safely assume you’re drinking 3.6/4% whole milk. I got used to that, and now me and my children call skim & 1% milk “water milk”. Soy milk and almond milk are easy to find, and there are some “grain milks” unique to Korea that many people enjoy.

Baking Items

If you like to bake, you’ll be able to find basic pantry stales such as: white flour, white sugar, brown sugar, baking powder and soda. There’s also a vanilla flavored powder and microscopic packets of chocolate chips in most stores. Boxed brownie mixes & pancake mixes are often available, too. However, most directions are in Korean! So whip out your google translate app (more on useful apps in Korea in this post).

Sweet & Salty Snacks

For snack cravings, look no further. There are SO MANY Pringles flavors (sweet and savory), Doritos & other chips, Oreos and KitKats (lots of flavor varieties of both).

Fruits & Vegetables

As far as fresh produce goes, you should have no trouble finding: carrots, onions, potatoes, lettuce, apples, and bananas year-round.

Things I struggled to find (in-person at standard grocery marts):

• frozen vegetables
• canned beans (black, green, pinto, navy)
• specialty baking items: cocoa powder, powdered sugar, whole wheat flour, baking chips other than semisweet chocolate (white chocolate, butterscotch, peanut butter, etc.), canned pumpkin, pure vanilla extract
• non-sugared cereals (cheerios, raisin bran, plain Chex, etc); I was THRILLED when Rice Krispies hit the shelves temporarily!
• non-sugared granola bars; they do have some “cereal bars”, but nothing very hearty with nuts/oats as primary ingredients..ie CLIF, Lara, etc.
• specific dairy: good cheese, sour cream, plain greek yogurt
• Mexican foods: diced green chiles, more than 1 type of salsa (only medium red salsa; no green, mild, hot, mango, other varieties), enchilada sauce, refried beans, etc.
• certain herbs;
• fruit & veggies not in season; in the US “out of season” means expensive and less delicious. In Korea “out of season” means you cannot find it anywhere. Come back in springtime, ok?
• dishwashing detergent (powder): MANY APARTMENTS DON’T HAVE or DONT USE one! be aware and confirm what you are buying is not for handwashing, but for use in your dishwasher.

Larger Mart Stores:

The best all-around places for general grocery trips are the larger marts. The famous trifecta includes the following chains: Homeplus, Emart, and Lotte Mart. Prices are comparable, so it’s mostly about location. All chains carry grocery items, paper goods, clothing, skincare and hygiene products. They are comparable to Wal-marts and Targets in the USA.

Homeplus

We happened to have a HomePlus right across the street from us. I have a special loyalty to Homeplus because of its proximity and the catchy theme song that was partially sung in English (“MY…Home…Plus…membership!”). There are smaller versions called Homeplus Express which function more like convenience stores.

Emart

In addition to the typical marts, look out for the smaller version: Emart 24. Emart 24 is my favorite of the “smaller marts”. There are also Emart Traders stores: big box stores that don’t require a membership.

Lotte Mart

Lotte is a major company in Korea, and you’ll see the name everywhere: Lotte Mart grocery stores, Lotte MySuper grocery chains, Lotte World Mall, and even Lotte World Amusement Park.

You can find Lotte Mart branches at the following locations near & around Seoul:

• Seoul Station
• Jamsil
• Gimpo Airport
• Youngjoing-do
• Cheongnyang-ri
• Songpa

Large grocery marts are often comprised of several floors of the basement of a larger building (B1 and B2 perhaps) which can make them easy to overlook while navigating above ground. Parking garage floors are usually the lowest few basement floors (often B3-B5 for example).

No Brand

The No Brand store is a newer store chain that’s come onto the scene. It’s kind of a happy medium between the massive marts and their smaller counterparts. It reminds me quite a bit of Aldi: a clean and minimalist style, small aisles and small store, but great prices. There is also a No Brand burger joint that opened a few years ago, and on the wall of the restaurant is written “It’s Good Enough.” I think this is hilarious, and captures the “No Brand” culture and vibe perfectly.

Costco

I could have survived the expat experience without my beloved Costco in Korea, but I certainly wouldn’t have thrived 😉

Here’s what you need to know about Costco in Korea:

The basic membership price in Korea is cheaper than the one in the USA: 38,500 won (less than $33 USD!) versus the current USA membership price of $60.

Your USA membership will transfer over… and it goes the other way too. You can use your Korean card when visiting other countries too. Side note, though… it won’t recognize your card at the gas pump so you’ll need a staff member to enter it manually.

After the change in 2019 there are only two payment options accepted:

1) Hyundai credit card

2) cash (Korean won)

A few of my favorite reasons to have a Costco card in Korea:

• CHEESE! If you want to get larger quantities of cheese for reasonable prices, this is the best way. Large Tillamook blocks of cheddar and pepperjack, wedges of real parmesan, logs of fresh mozzarella…all this can be yours. 😉
• Frozen Vegetables: Each year it’s getting easier to find frozen vegetables in standard grocery stores but it’s definitely hit or miss. You can reliably find frozen broccoli, the stir fry medley, or the Normandy pack of cauliflower/broccoli/carrots.
• Holiday-specific gift and food items: Easter jelly beans, Halloween candy, Christmas goodies and decor. This is HUGE when you really can’t find these items anywhere else!
• It just feels so familiar! Despite the dried pollack and octopus and other Korean goods that account for about half the store’s inventory…there is a plethora of familiar ingredients and brands. HOME!
• The beautiful reminder it is to me that there are cheap shoppers everywhere that will travel near and far for the promise of large flats of water bottles and super inexpensive hot dogs. If that isn’t unifying, I don’t know what is.

These are the main locations in Seoul itself, but there are also several nearby (Incheon, Gyeonggi-do):

• Yangjae (Seocho-gu, Seoul)
• Yangpyeong (Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul)
• Sangbong (Jungnang-gu, Seoul)

I’ve been to 3 of the Costco locations in Korea and my personal favorite is Yangjae. It feels larger and more spread out, which is important with the crowds.

Smaller Markets:

One of the fun things about Seoul is that there are tons of specialty markets that focus on ONE category. There are open-air markets all dedicated to light fixtures. There’s another neighborhood filled with only furniture stores. The same is true when searching for specific foods!

You can purchase fresh fish at markets such as Noryangjin. By heading over to Itaewon, you can find a few small foreign food marts.

Often, neighborhoods will have pop-up produce stands that stay for several months at a time. I got really attached to ours and was so sad when it relocated!

Bangsan Market, aka Baker’s Alley, is my personal favorite. You can wander through small alleyways and find items such as: cream of tartar, cookie cutters, all of the baking pans & tools (cake comb), powdered sugar, a variety of sprinkles, pumpkin pie filling, fruit pie fillings, and marscapone.

Online Shopping

South Korea is well-known for impressive technology that is integrated into everyday life. Online grocery shopping is no exception. MANY people shop for groceries online and have them delivered to their door. The most popular platforms for this include:

Coupang

Honestly…you can find almost anything on Coupang. But you do need to have a Korean bank account in order to set up an online account. “Rocket shipping” (the blue rocket icon) indicates that the item will arrive within 2 days. It’s basically the Amazon Fresh equivalent. Lots of people complain about the inefficiency of shipping….huge boxes for tiny items and lots of unnecessary plastic packaging.

Pro-tip: Buy large bags of rice on Coupang (or other online platform) so you don’t have to drag it home yourself.

iHerb

This is a great place to shop if you’re looking for gluten-free options, vitamins, and supplements. It’s also where we bought shredded coconut, almond butter, and steel-cut oats.

Emart Online & HomePlus Online

These options are very convenient and very reasonable price-wise. However, expect everything to be in Korean. Often you could translate the whole browser on your desktop or laptop… but sometimes not. My Korean language skills weren’t great. But if yours are, this would be an excellent, time-saving option!

General Tips & Things to Know While Grocery Shopping in Seoul:

1. When you are checking out, the staff members DO NOT pack up your groceries for you. I felt like I was a contestant on Supermarket Sweep as I hurried to pay, load up groceries as space-efficiently as possible while also not getting produce bruised or filling bags up too much because HI I’M WALKING HOME…all while communicating in a non-native language and corralling my children.

If you are new to the experience, it’s a little jarring and stressful. The workers like to keep things MOVING!!! DO NOT PASS GO DO NOT COLLECT 200 DOLLARS!!! Costco is the exact same way.

2. Eggs: OK Let me break it down so you can avoid my mistakes. You can buy quail eggs or chicken eggs. The quail eggs are tiny and actually pretty delicious. You can buy non-boiled eggs or pre-boiled eggs. Within boiled eggs, you can choose non-flavored or smoky eggs. THESE ARE DELICIOUS!

The outside of eggs are brown (with a few exceptions) and they all kind of look the same from the outside. So… do some translating 😉 to make sure you know what you are getting. Oh, and eggs tend to come in large flats of what feels like 823874 eggs. Give or take. 😉

3. You will receive (and pay for) grocery bags that are neighborhood-specific when you checkout. They are glorified colored plastic trash bags, and you should keep them because that’s what you need to put your trash in!!! Each district has a different color. Jamsil was purple, Coex area was blue… so if you aren’t shopping in your own district, it’s a good idea to bring your own reusable bags instead of buying trash bags you can’t really use later on.

4. Before a major Korean holiday (Chuseok, Lunar New Year), there are huge gift boxes that fill the aisles! It’s fun to see what people buy for their loved ones. Popular items in the stores: cooking oils, shampoos and lotions, boxes of fruit, and more.

5. Hours & Closures: Nearly all grocery stores will be closed the 2nd and 4th Sundays of each month. I’m not sure why, but it’s something to take note of if you’re a weekend-shopper. More importantly to me and my family, the grocery stores do not open until mid-morning (often 10 am). This was a lot later than what I’d gotten used to in the US, and was frustrating on multiple mornings with our very-early-risers. On the bright side, though, stores often stay open until midnight. And, it seems like this is when most families shop! haha

6. Samples: Samples are common in the grocery stores. I found the distributors to be very kind to me and my crew! Enjoy, but watch out for spice levels & very hot products if sharing with kiddos.

7. Stock Up! When you see something you love is in-stock, don’t be afraid to buy a ton of it**. It may not be there next time you are at the store! I saw a flat of 12 canned diced tomatoes (tinned chopped toe-mah-toes as my friend calls them) my first visit to Costco and I assumed they’d be there next time…but three years went by and I never saw them again. **While still keeping an eye on expiration dates, of course. Have I mentioned that enough yet?

8. Keep Your Eyes Peeled: If you have a lot of foods you are wanting to find, keep your eyes open. You never know what small shop or subway pop-up snack store might be carrying that favorite candy bar or elusive green bell pepper. New ingredients come and go to Seoul all the time, so ask around! You never know.

The Price is [not] Right:

Get ready for some sticker-shock when it comes to produce, particularly with fruit. I was easily paying 3x as much for fresh strawberries and watermelon. Granted, some of the produce was easily 3x as delicious. I’d highly recommend the following:

• yellow kiwis
• asian pears
• grapes (kyoho/black grapes- have seeds and thick skin but so unique and sweet)
• strawberries (in-season December-March or so)
• all of the melons

How to Save Bucks

There are often great sales on food and non-food items, so watch out for 1+1 and 2+1 promotions (buy one get one free, buy two get one free).

There are also “sale” sections in each part of the grocery store (refrigerated/pantry/produce) for foods that are about to expire.

The three large marts allow you to have your phone number connected to an account tracking your purchases for benefits later on. Sometimes I’d be checking out and the cashier would hand me a box of Kleenex or other items because I’d reached a certain number of points. Why not?

Foods I Grew to Love & Purchased Frequently:

• tofu: My kids still beg for tofu and request it for their birthday dinner.
• kimchi: I got really used to having kimchi in our fridge and whenever we ate out! Many call it an acquired taste, to which I say “that’s 100% accurate”
• dried seaweed sheets: These were a great snack for me and our kiddos on-the-go (minus the green speckled trail we left behind, I guess).
• fruit vinegars: In the shelf-stable aisles you can find fruit-flavored vinegar bottles that you add to your sparkling water or plain water to make a soda-like beverage. The citrus one is my favorite!
• Binches: Koreans LOVE snack foods and these biscuits with chocolate on one side were pretty great.
• Tom’s Korean style almonds: there are SO many flavors of these to try, and I like nearly all of them. Except baked corn. That’s a no-go for me.

Ok Ok Ok

I could go on for ages, but that feels like enough information for now! Seoul friends: Did I miss anything?? What would you add?

If you enjoyed this post, please share it with someone who may be considering moving abroad & experiencing life in Korea as an expat! Knowing what to expect can be half the battle, and I was SO SO grateful for all of the food tips and tricks I received from seasoned expats & Korean friends during our journey abroad.

And don’t forget to check out the other posts from the Seoul Expat Series: