Marmite

There are lots of things people tell you to bring to Korea - deodorant, make up, bedding, towels, coffee, tea, chocolate and so on either because you can't buy them here or that they are hard to find or that you will almost certainly pay over the odds for them. With just a 30kg luggage allowance, there was no way I was going to load up my suitcase with towels and bedding. After all, Koreans must use some of this stuff themselves.

• Deodorant - they sell Rexel, which judging by the tick on the can is Sure under another name, in Watsons (sort of like Superdrug) in the Mall.
• Bedding - I bought sheets, pillow, duvet etc in Emart when I moved into my apartment. Reasonable prices and the sizes seemed roughly equivalent to UK sizes. I've also found a whole shop selling nothing but bedding near Homeplus.
• Towels - again, I found them pretty easily in Emart.
• Make up - some well known European brands are sold in Korea, for instance, I've seen my shade of L'oreal Minerals stocked in a cosmetics shop. I even bought a Korean brand foundation and it suits my skin tone (and I am pale!)
• Clothes - I'm a UK size 12, so no problems so far. I've seen people of all shapes and sizes here, so presumably there are clothes available to fit all?
• Bras - likely to be a problem as all the ones I've seen so far only going up to a B Cup! However, I've seen a Triumph concession in one of the department stores (I think it was GS Square?), I'm fairly sure they will have bigger sizes. Plus, there are a few branches of good old M&S in Seoul which I will have to hunt out.
• Coffee - most of the instant coffee seems to be sold in sticks with sugar (and sometimes milk) already added. They sell fresh coffee in Emart. They have lots of different types of tea here, but not the type that we Brits call a cuppa. The world food shop in Hyundai sells English Breakfast and Earl Grey etc, a bit pricey, but if you need a decent cuppa, you've got to have it!
• Coffee shops - are everywhere. There's even a Starbucks in Hyundai.
• Chocolate - I have a craving for a Twirl! In the aforementioned World Food Shop they sell Cadbury Dairy Milk and Picnic bars (I haven't seen Picnic bars for years!). Apparently, Cadburys use different recipes for anywhere outside Britain. I don't care, chocolate is chocolate!
• Alcohol - Korea is not called the Ireland of Asia for nothing. Sadly, they don't seem to sell much in the way of decent beer (the best lager is OB, I'm never drinking Cass again as it tastes like soap) and definitely no cider (sorry Lisa!)

Turns out, the only things I regretted not bringing with me were Marmite and tea bags. Luckily for me, a parcel arrived today containing a big tub of Marmite, a big box of PG Tips and a selection of Cadbury's finest. Yum!