I Love E-Mart

During my time in Gumi, South Korea I came to love E-Mart. It is a huge department store much like Wal-Mart. It is the Korean version of Wal-Mart. It is where I first went grocery shopping. But as I explored I found it had a lot more to offer than just a good supermarket in the basement.

I found a food court on the first floor. It had Chinese, Korean and Western food. It even had a McDonalds. I ate McDonalds for lunch and took this picture. I am amazed at the baby carriers they use in Korea. They are some sort of a quilted blanket with straps. It is wonderful in that I've seen mother's use it as a blanket to cover their child when they take them off their back.
[E-Mart Food Court, Gumi, South Korea, February 2003]



I found a Hair Salon on the third floor of the E-Mart. It had the coolest looking hairdryers I've ever seen. Or at least I think they are hairdryers. I can't imagine what else they could be. [E-Mart, Gumi, South Korea, February 2003]

I had seen this type of perm machine in a Hairdressing School window used as a display years ago in Halifax, Nova Scotia but I had never seen one used in real life. I took this picture and tried to stay and watch for a few minutes to see the procedure but as the only foreigner in the E-Mart I was attracting too much attention so I had to quickly move on. [E-Mart, Gumi, South Korea, February 2003]

I hope I don't seem obsessed with bathrooms and toilets but with my problems using squat toilets and having to always remember to bring my own toilet tissue I was so amazed and pleased to see these beautiful toilets with dried flowers imbedded in the plastic of the seat. The bathrooms at E-Mart are clean and bright with western style toilets and plenty of free tissue. A few years ago when I first arrived in Korea a friend showed me a web blog written by a teacher in Seoul and the whole premise of her blog was a bet between her and her friends on rather she could spend a whole year in Korea without ever having to use a squat toilet. Every week she would update her blog. When I read it she was about 6 months into her stay in Korea and she yet had to use a squat toilet. I wish I had written down the web address I would love to see if she actually won the bet. It was most amusing and hopefully it helps illustrates my point of how important something like a bathroom can become when you are experiencing culture shock and NOTHING is like home. [E-Mart, Gumi, South Korea, February 2003]



A visit to E-Mart is not complete without going to the supermarket to check out the interesting food and to buy some groceries for home. I saw this it looks like squid. I might actually have tried it if I could have figured out how to cook it. [E-Mart, Gumi, South Korea, February 2003]



This appears to be bacon. I buy a package of it and some eggs and take it home to make a Sunday brunch. It was excellent. The stone statutes are traditional in Korea. They are usually very big and outside. I have been told they are especially popular on Jeju Island. I think they are called Har-a-bong. I believe that is the Jeju dialect for Har-a-budge-i which in English is "Grandfather". [E-Mart, Gumi, South Korea, February 2003]

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So with clothing, hairdressing shops, a food court, a supermarket, and clean bright washrooms E-Mart has something for everyone. I always found almost everything I needed there.