zippy the pinhead

Been busy, meaning to post these photos, finally getting around to it. These were shot at the Ilsan Costco in June 2018. Just random stuff that caught my eye. We took the bus out there from Yeonsinnae/연신내 and got the kids their fast food fix in the food court, then shopped around here and there. The wine prices are about 200% of what I'd expect to pay here.



Food Court prices...



I expected everything to cost much more.



But it was just like at home.

I didn't take any pictures of people eating "Costco Kimchi" (diced onions with ketchup and mustard) but we were interested to see many consuming good amounts of it.



Looks and tastes like the Costco Pizza we get at home.



Kids loved it, ate all of it.

And then some shopping. I do like the way that Costco stores localize and carry items you don't find at every Costco.



Roasted sweet potatoes.



Only about U$D 12 for a container. We roast these at home, so we got some. Very nice. Can't recall seeing these here in the US.



Korean sausage. I don't think we tried this, because we had a long way back to where we were staying and no way to keep it cool.



Twice what I pay here.

mikesaidyes

But did you make an onion mustard ketchup salad at the snack bar? Not to put on anything, JUST eat it! That's the true local way!

zippy the pinhead

Aventine

The Christmas tree markups are nuts.

renebt

zippy the pinhead

I will admit, I don't normally like to shop, but I enjoy visiting Costco in Korea for some reason, so I'm with you. Our whole famn damily enjoyed the visit there, especially the kids (fast food fix). I took more pictures that I didn't bother to post, to show to family members and friends.

Regarding navigation, if you install Naver Map on your smart phone, it can provide pretty detailed directions that would permit you to go by public transportation to Ilsan Costco, and it can provide those navigation instructions in English. KakaoMap will do the same, but not in English that I am aware. But you would need to buy a T-Money card at the airport to pay the subway fare. According to what I see, it appears that it should take around two hours to make the trip from ICN, so you're investing at least four hours of your layover just to travel there.

The Baekseok subway station (백석역) is within walking distance of the Ilsan Costco store, so it would be a pretty easy trip, just requiring a couple of transfers.

Regarding the Visa card, I can't recall if I used mine, but I have an actual Costco membership card, so I probably used that. Some other posters on the thread may be able to advise if they got admission using their Citi Costco Visa. To be direct, Koreans often allow foreigners a pretty wide leeway, especially non-Asian foreigners, so I'd say you have a pretty good chance of getting in with the Costco Visa, especially if your picture is on the card. You may need to show them the Costco logo, etc., on the back of the card.

beckoa

Can't see any issue getting in with the Citi Costco Visa. It's got the membership barcode on the back.

Not sure if they'll accept payment from it however... lots of agreements (even internationally) have been changing for which credit cards are accepted.

mikesaidyes

Costco is changing to Hyundai cards only as of May 24. Before May 24, they take Samsung cards ONLY. So if you do not have a Samsung (or Hyundai card depending on the date of your visit) - you MUST pay in cash.

renebt

zippy the pinhead

The Citi Costco Visa used to charge foreign transaction/exchange fees, if I recall correctly, but no longer.

I would describe the neighborhood around Ilsan Costco as urban mixed apartment & retail-oriented, and though we didn't conduct a lengthy tour, we walked from the bus stop and saw a number of places to eat. I popped in to a pub to see what they had on tap. There are tons of places around there.

rts123

Take a look at the Costco location in Incheon/Songdo. Assuming no traffic issues it's about 30 minutes on the KAL bus ($6 - 7) to the Holiday Inn Songdo and the Costco is a 5 minute walk from there. I went there in February when I was staying at the Holiday Inn. I had my membership card so I can't tell you if the CC will get you in.

zippy the pinhead

Korea, always changing. Interesting, never occurred to me to look and see if there were new locations. I much prefer to take the bus anywhere in Korea instead of the subway, just to see what is. My wife's side of the family thinks my bus preference is questionable, maybe a bit loony, but joy is in the journey. Such a nice suggestion, check the obvious.

renebt

zippy the pinhead

Funny, I had just mentioned these to Mrs. Zippy the other day. This is the one item I regretted not buying, but we had no way to keep them frozen until departing Korea. The American "Chicken Bake" is a common school lunch box item for our kids, but these Bulgogi Bakes are not sold in US stores that I am aware of. A great example of how Costco "localizes" product to suit customer preferences. Was it good?

BTW Mrs. Zippy recently asked if Costco Korea sells frozen Bulgogi bakes (as they sell the chicken bakes here in the US) and apparently they do not. A shame; I'm sure they would be popular if they did sell them.

JordanWalker

Read on an reddit thread that foreigners with foreign issued Costco memberships were allowed to use VISA for payment. Have anyone tried?