One big cultural difference I still struggle with in Korea is the bulk buying of everything! Even when you are just buying from the supermarket, things can be in huge packs. At the markets you have to buy a bunch of the same fruit or vegetables all at once too. No just picking out a few! This makes it hard for people living alone, but also for those in a small apartment. But so many people live in small apartments! It’s such a normal thing in Korea, and people give gifts which will be a big box of fruit that is impossible to finish.

I wouldn’t mind so much if we had the space, because there are savings to be had when buying in bulk, but we don’t have the space. I am constantly looking for ways to store massive amounts of toilet paper or paper towels or even skin lotion! A friend of Hugh’s at a skincare company sent him some. Not just a few samples, a big box of hundreds of the exact same lotion! Why?! We have been slowly giving them away, but I also had to find space for them.

It’s one of those cultural differences where we just have to agree to disagree. The savings made from buying in bulk, and also the convenience of not having to order again for a while, is more important to Hugh. But for me, having an ordered space without boxes full of stuff taking up room is more important to me. Hopefully this tension will ease once we are in a bigger space and it’s more manageable.

To see the small space we live in, check out our apartment tour video on our YouTube channel.