Eric and Stephanie's Korean Adventure: Costco in Korea

Yes we went searching for Costco tonight and yes US memberships work here. Costco in Seoul is two stories. The ground floor has all of the non-food items, many of which had some of the same brands you can find at home (though for a higher cost). The second floor (or actually the basement) is where the food is. Food like Tillamook cheese and rotisserie chicken and Costco cake and Skippy peanut butter! No we didn’t buy any of that this time. We also didn’t buy any boiled octopus, squid or dried fish. But we did take advantage of some Costco muffins, oreos and a few other goodies, along with enough dish soap to last us the rest of the year. It was nice that this Costco seemed very appealing to both westerners and Koreans alike. We could find many of the same things that we could find at home, while also be able to find Korean foods. The frozen section seemed smaller and the seafood and meat section much bigger. But they still had samples!

As we were about to get in line an older Korean lady came up to us and asked (in English) if we could help her buy something because she didn’t have a membership. She went on to explain that she had been waiting for her friend to come for over an hour and had just found out her friend wouldn’t be able to come at all. All she wanted was some salad dressing. So we said sure, she gave us the money and we went to check out. She insisted on unloading most of our cart at the register and then insisted on pushing our cart all the way back up to the main floor and outside which is when she thanked us profusely once again and left with her salad dressing.

I’m not sure we have ever really experienced so many nice strangers since we came here. We also continue to experience many blessings. We were unaware of the fact that the Costco here takes only cash or American Express, not debit cards. For the second time in just a couple of weeks we had EXACTLY enough cash to pay for what we bought when we couldn’t use a card as expected. Tonight we viewed the area around us from the rooftop of our apartment building. In some ways the skyline is not nearly as beautiful as a place like New York City. Most of the buildings are simple, concrete buildings. But when you get eleven floors up on a gorgeous spring night and look across the river, it's very, very beautiful. We continue to be amazed at all the experiences we have been given. We know they are just beginning.