[Terry's Tale] To Feed The Body

The large grocery stores in Korea are set up in similar ways to those in the US.  The biggest differences are simply those of scale.  The largest chain of food stores in the US is Kroger. 

Kroger offers a good variety of foods, in fact, a greater variety of foods than other stores I have seen.  The largest seller of foods in the US is unfortunately Walmart.  I say unfortunately because Walmart sells by far, a significantly larger percentage of the kinds of foods that have helped to create the obesity epidemic than any other food store.  If a product contains unnecessary sugars or is so highly processed that it contains no natural nutrients, Walmart stocks it.  If the product is a candy or snack food product, Walmart stocks it.  If the product contains GMO materials, Walmart stocks it.  If the product contained a deadly virus and Walmart could sell it, they would stock it.  That is Walmart.

Anyway, the largest store here in Cheonan, E-Mart, tries to be a carry-everything store such as Walmart though the physical size of the store does impose some limitations.  The grocery area is about the size of a smaller grocery store in the US, perhaps just a bit smaller.  Still, they are able to supply almost all needs at the lowest prices around.  And, like Walmart, they even have E-Mart greeters.

The next largest store is Lotte Mart.  There is one such store within a ten minute walking distance from where I live.  Though they compete head to head with E-Mart pricewise their product levels are not even close.  Anyway, I took a quick stroll down to Lotte-Mart so as to briefly show people back in the US what the grocery shopping experience is here (it is actually very similar to the experience in the US, some difference in product, but mostly in quantities).  Fresh product pricing tends to be cheaper here – growers even sell fresh vegetables from the street, but processed foods and goods (mouthwash, for example) tend to be higher.

Below: The twenty minute walk to the Lotte Market brings you.

Below:  The Foyer

Below:  The Entrance Way

Below: The Aisles

Below:  The Total Space Allotted Breakfast Cereals

Below:  The One-Half Aisles for Snacks and Candy

Below:  The Candy Part Including the Chocolates

Below:  The Chocolates Section

Just as the US had fifty years ago, Cheonan has tons of smaller grocery stores and a plethora of convenience stores (the two largest grocery chains that I remember in the US at that time were A&P and Piggly Wiggly).  All of the smaller grocery stores sell fresh fruits and vegetables and you can even find people vending them on the street.  Thus, fresh fruits and vegetables are little problem here.  Still, refined sugars have made some inroads here so the people here should look at what has happened in the US and be wary.