Originally Posted by
Roody
I don't want "excess packaging" but I think some packaging is great. An extreme example is eggs.I would not take a dozen eggs out of the carton and throw them in the panniers just to save space. But cereal is the same to me. I want flakes or nuggets, not cereal dust when I get home. And I don't want squished toilet paper either.
Haha. I still don't get the squished toilet paper thing but I understand cereal dust, not that I eat the stuff. Here you can buy eggs in a carton like the US or by the egg. Its often cheaper by the egg, especially with big purchases. Korea got its first Costco a few years ago and bulk buying is just starting to catch on as part of a "western" lifestyle. Koreans just carry a whole bunch of eggs home in a plastic bag. The bag could easily be reusable but I doubt it is.
I live in an older part of Seoul where there are outdoor markets, grocery stores, meat markets, delis, and produce stands all along the road as I walk the two hundred yards between the subway and my home. There is no need for bulk shopping or special packing for items that keep them protected during transportation. Most people live within spitting distance of some kind of grocery store. Local convenience stores carry far more fruits and vegetables than any 7-11 in the states. I buy all my eggs from a convenient store about 50 feet from my front door.
In the new part of Seoul, just south of the Han river, the city is more "modern" (read American). Wide boulevards that take 15 minutes to cross by foot, huge shopping complexes, and massive department/grocery stores. At the same time those areas are still far more livable than anything I experienced in the US because they are dense, no parking lots and very easy mass transit. A lot of those residents do drive their cars to get groceries though.