Costco

I love Costco.  In the States, Costco is spread out and huge with a huge parking lot.  In Korea, Costco is also huge.  But instead of out it goes up.  The bottom floor is electronics and clothing and the second floor is food and the food court.  Then there are three floors of parking.  The food court is kind of the same as the food court in the US.  They have all the same stuff plus a few other things.  Pizza in Korea is much different.  At Costco, everyone puts onions, tons and tons of onions, ketchup, and mustard on the pizza.  Lucas' first observation was "Why does it smell like mustard in here?"  Well, now we know.  Seeing the onions, ketchup, and mustard on pizza here has me wondering what kind of stuff I eat that other people think is crazy.  

Since the stores are all built up there are cart escalators to help you move from floor to floor.  Everyone is so polite and there is an employee at the end of each escalator to help you get the cart off.

cart escalator and yes, those shoes are on the wrong feet- he likes them that way

Costco is pretty much the same.  Lots of electronics, clothes, bulk toilet paper.  The food here is awesome.  Anything that is packaged or anything that is an American brand is super expensive.  I was told there's a big import tax which is why stuff seems so expensive.  Some of it is worth it to have the brands we're used to but most stuff just seems expensive.  More than actually buying stuff I just like looking around.  I think I'll always be amazed at how big the stores are here.

Spam is very popular here.  Very, very popular.  Like, lets-make-a-gift-set popular.

Spam gift set, complete with fancy oils

We actually saw a cart filled with 18, yes 18, of these gift sets.  Now that's a lot of spam.  And speaking of spam...

Why do single personnel have to eat Spam?  And so much of it.  What a strange assortment of items on this display.  Pre-portioned peanut butter, fruit cups, shoe polish, and gauze.  Gauze?  I don't want to know.