If You Miss Cheese...

...then look no further than Gwangju's own foreign food market, or the "Underground" as the sign outside dubs it. As the "purveyors of all things not kimchi," you can indulge in comfort foods from home or try something new! It would take me forever to list all the things they have, as they are ever-expanding their stock. I can tell you that there's cheese, bacon, Indian/Thai food ingredients, salad dressings, baking items, and oatmeal among other delights. The foreign food market has been doing so well that they will be moving once again from its current location behind Migliore to a location near McDonald's on the other side of the street. The store will be at its current location until November 24, and will then reopen November 28th. You can find information here.

For the more adventurous, Costco is only a short train ride away in Daejeon, a city to the north of Gwangju. The halfway point between Gwangju and Seoul, you can reach it by KTX train in 2 hours for 19,300 won. We went on Saturday and enjoyed naps on the way. The KTX stops at the Seo-Daejeon Station, and once inside, take the exit toward the plaza out front. Turn left, and you'll see the monstrous building within 2 seconds of walking in that direction. It was really that close!

Once inside, it was hard to decide where to begin. They have clothes, movies/CDs, furniture, and household items. Downstairs is all the food, and its accompanying free samples. It takes a good while to go through all the aisles and islands, checking out what they have and looking for what you want. Every now and then, we'd stumble on something so great that it had to go in the cart. The thing about warehouse stores, though, is that you really have to like something in order to want to buy a lot of it--because you'll be eating/using it for awhile! Costco is good for nonperishables, of course, and health and beauty aids like shampoo, soap, deodorant. I picked up granola, oatmeal, and hot chocolate, all staples for the winter coming up. I also splurged on a huge container of chocolate covered raisins (I really love them), M&M's (ditto), Ritz Crackers, and muenster cheese. (I haven't seen the latter since I left the US!) For what you get for the money, it's a good deal. It's also a great place to get some hard-to-find things that you may have missed since you left home.

But don't take my word for it...go see for yourself!