E-Mart

One of our many adventures during Mom's visit was a trip to Emart, which is basically a Korean Target/Walmart. I like to compare it to target because it is a little big nicer. They sell everything from groceries to dishwashers to pets to books and so on! It's a one-stop-shop complete with other little booths/stores within it like salons, dry cleaners, and cell phone stands!



Upon arrival at Emart you are greeted with white glove service! Okay, not really, but there IS a parking attendant that wears white gloves and he directs you in to the parking garage and welcomes you with a bow! You feel like royalty!! Bowing is very common here... I'm not so hot at it and I just kind of nod my head while leaning forward...but the Korean -especially the Emart parking attendants- know how to make a deep graceful bow. There is a beggar that is always in the Songtan Shopping Mall and he follow you around walking and bowing at the same time trying to get you to give him money. It amazes me how good he is at it, it's like he's floating and bowing!



Once in the parking garage you try and squeeze in to a parking space. I prefer spaces on the ends so I can open my doors to get Caden out! My parking job scared my mom to death because she thought I couldn't fit in the parking spot I managed to get in to. She even went as far as to take a picture of my tight squeeze! :) One misconception about Korea is that everyone has tiny little compact cars. Not true. Most of the cars are Hyundai Sonatas (or other Korean brand cars of similar size) which is basically the same as an Accord or Camary. Rexton SUV's are huge here too and they are similar in size to a Highlander or Santa Fe. There are little peanut cars, but there are much ,much more standard size cars than compact ones. The people with compact cars are the lucky ones who can park anywhere. The ones with larger cars can park anywhere too....but I often wonder HOW they get out of their car! Like I said before I always try to get a spot on the end of a row (even at my apt) so I can at least open ONE door to get in or crawl in!



While I'm talking about parking in Korea let me pause to mention that it is very common to double park here. If the parking lot is full, no worries, just park your car behind another one! The Koreans then do one of several things.



1) Leave their keys in the car so the person they blocked can move it (this one is not so common)



2) Leave their car in neutral so the person they blocked can push it out of the way (with the window down so they can steer)



3) Leave a phone number on their windshield so the person they blocked in can call them and ask them to come back to the parking lot to move their car. There is a car at my apartment complex (where you aren't allowed to double park or the security guards will get you!) that has a little heart pillow on the driver's side dashboard with a cross-stitched phone number to call!




Fortunately at Emart the parking garage is never full so we didn't' have to push a car out of our way! Once in the store you have to purchase your shopping cart! You place a coin in a little slot on the handle bar and then when you push it in the chain connecting it to the other carts is released!




After we got our shopping cart and got Caden all settled in we headed up the escalator! Yes, you heard me correctly...the escalator with a shopping cart! These are special escalators that are flat (don't have stairs) and go up at an incline. There are special grooves in them that match the wheels of the shopping cart so that once the cart is on the ramp, the wheels lock in so you don't even have to hold it! It's really cool! Emart is three stories high, plus a basement entrance to the parking garage.

The carrots here are HUGE

We started on the first floor where the groceries are and spent a good deal of time in the produce department making our selections of fresh fruits/veggies before heading off to the next floor! We spent most of the remainder of our time in the book department trying to find a book to teach the Korean Alphabet! Mom went home with a Korean copy of "The Rainbow Fish." Then we made a quick stop in the baby department and got Caden a new rattle! It kept him entertained the whole way home! We also bought a baby "surgical mask" (for the yellow dust...kids wear these all the time) that is made of cloth for a souvenir.

As for the produce in the pictures above, the large round things in the plastic container are actually Korean Pears. John loves them and they are (according to my dear friend Linda) very common as a dessert in the Korean restaurants. They are a cross between and apple and a pear if I had to describe them....with something that reminds me of coconut in there, too. The apples here are delicious (as Mom described for us in a previous post). Also, the Korean gentleman that sat next to Mom on the flight over here said to try the Korean Cucumbers because they are to die for!

When you go to check out at Emart you have several options as to how to get the stuff to your car and eventually to your home. Recycling is HUGE here so you actually have to purchase your bag(s) at the check out for a few cents each. If you don't use bags then you can either throw the items loosely in your shopping cart and haul them to your car, or you can pack them up yourself in a card board box at the handy little packing station (complete with Emart tape to seal the boxes shut).



Emart is a really neat experience! It's how the Koreans REALLY live and shop! So much of the other stuff is very tourist centered! The mom and pops stores and other grocery stores are still going strong, but I know Emart is popular because on trash collection day at the apartment there is always a whole pile of Emart bags being thrown away!! (Trash collection day is another post in itself- coming soon!)

Enjoy this video of the shopping carts and a quick glimpse at the store!