Just a random post for those of you moving to Yongsan this summer, or anytime really... 

SHEETS - if you like anything nicer than 200 thread count, bring your own!  Beds are still not that popular in Korea, so sheets are hard to find on the economy & the sheets at the PX, well, they are a polliy-cotton blend, 200 thread count.  If you are good with cheap and stiff, you are good.

FANS - housing does not turn the air conditioning on until late May, early June, and the fans at the PX go fast, so if you are arriving during the summer, bring your own.  You can buy them on the economy, but they use 220, and on post we use 110. 

AREA RUGS / CARPETS - The furniture store carries them, but in high season (summer) they can be hard to come by.

OK, you guys might think I am crazy, but I have been looking for a griddle since I moved here (almost 1 year ago), and I just found one this week, so if you like to cook on a griddle, bring your own.  I left mine at home, because I was told not to bring anything I did not find 'essential' for the kitchen.  I didn't think a griddle was 'essential', now I do. Same goes for the ice cream maker....I now have one here and one back in the states in storage.  An ice cream maker is 'essential' in my opinion.

Along the same lines...specialty food items, buy extra and bring them with you. Vanilla bean paste, can't find it here, my friends and family have been so gracious as to send multiple bottles to me (remember I like to make ice cream...I also use it for other things).  I haven't been able to find tahini either, I'm sure it is out there, but I cannot find it.  If you are moving here and you don't love tahini, you can still bring some for me please.  ;)  You can find most basic spices & Asian spices you can find here, but if you want things out of the realm of 'basic' bring extras to last.  (Example of out of the realm of basic, Chef Paul Phudhomme’s – any of the magic spices)  However, Penzey’s spices will deliver here, and they are pretty fast, spices typically arrive within one week.


Oh, another thing while we are on the kitchen.  I entertain just as much, or more here than any other place I have lived.  Bring things for entertaining!!  Party buckets (for ice & drinks) are hard to come by.

 
 

  I started this blog because when I found out I was moving to Korea I scoured the internet looking for information on Yongsan Garrison from the family point of view.  I never found what I was looking for, so Six In Seoul was born in my mind.  I want to give my readers a broad idea of what it is like living here, I hope I am doing Korea justice.  I recently realized I need to put more information in about moving here.  I am adding a new category, 'moving to Yongsan' on the right hand side of this page.   Feel free to pass this on to anyone you know that might be moving here.

Over the past few months I have talked to a few people moving here, and one of the questions they have about moving to Yongsan is about the furniture the Army issues you.  Let me tell you, I was worried about that too.  You see, if you are Army and you move here, you are only allowed to bring 5,000 pounds (I think that changes with the size of family you have).  5,000 pounds!?!?  Are you freaking kidding me you ask...no, I am not.  That means about 3/4 of my household goods are in storage.  The good thing is the army does issue furniture to you; the bad news it the army issues furniture to you.  Let me start by telling you the army issue furniture is not pretty, but we are all in the same boat, and almost everyone has the same 'style', or 'nonstyle' (I know, that is a made up word) here on post, so after your initial shock, you settle into the though and realized it is going to be okay after all.

II am going to start with the living room.  I feel very lucky because in my opinion I got the best pattern available for the living room set. 

The pillows do not come with the furniture; you will need to buy your own.  Yes, the couch and chairs (you get 2 chairs) are as firm as they look.   Notice the carpet?  BRING YOUR OWN!  You can buy carpets here, but the selection is not great and you might have to wait a while especially if you arrive during peak season.  With that being said, if you arrive during peak season, just as many people are moving out as moving in.  People moving out are anxious to get rid of things so, many people give away and or sell TONS of stuff. Any given day in April - August you can find tons of great stuff sitting out by the dumpsters. AND they put it there, beside the dump and not in it so people will take it. (And remember most tours here are only 2 years.) OK, back to the floors, they are hard linoleum big tiles, if you have ever lived in military housing before, you know what I am talking about.  Here, I will show you.....

That looks like a school cafeteria floor doesn't it?  Well, that is my dining room, so basically the same thing! :)

Next up is the one bookshelf they give you.  This is something I wish we would have brought - another bookshelf or two.  The furniture comes in 3 colors, the cherry wood I have here, an oak color and a very light color.  You do not get to pick your color, you can request, but I'm not sure it will do any good.

Next up is the desk.  They give you one desk, chair and bookshelf that is supposed to go on top of the desk.  We didn't think it worked to well together, so we separated the desk from the shelf (bookshelves are the short ones on the left side of this photo). Also, we wanted more desks - a desk for each child's room.  We put in a special request explaining why we wanted more than the allotted amount.  Our request was approved and we received 3 desk. 

Let's move to the dining room.  (again...colors can vary)

Picture #1 - Notice how the chairs in the dining room match the living room furniture?  Again, we got lucky.  Not all dining room chairs match the living room furniture. 

Picture #2 - china cabinet

Picture #'s 3 & 4 - the buffet

OK, let's head upstairs.  For the master bedroom you will get 1 queen size bed, 2 night tables, 2 lamps, 1 chest of drawers and 1 dresser.  Here is a sample of the bed & night table.

For the kid’s rooms, you can get a dresser and a chest of drawers, although I would not suggest it because there is not enough room.  You also get a twin size bed for each child. 

Notice how the chest of drawers and the beds do not match?  Nice.

I think that about does it for this edition of 'Moving to Yongsan'.  Stay tuned for more to come.

OH, I almost forgot you also get 2 end tables and a lamp for the living room. If you have any questions please feel free to ask!

 
 

Several months ago my friend Jana (don't worry, this will not be another Spam blog) ask if I would do a blog on Yongsan.  She has never been to a military instillation, which brings me to different topic…..how long have we been friends?  TWENTY-SEVEN years Missie, and you have never once visited me.  OK, I’m over it.  Anyway, it got me thinking about military life. So many things are just “normal” to me.  Like seeing this for instance……


Now mind you the first time I ever saw this, I was somewhat shocked.  Then after a few times of seeing this it just becomes normal.  I see soldiers walking down the street carrying their guns frequently.  This day there must have been some sort of exercise going on because they were everywhere.  I was going into the PX (Post version of a Wal-Mart) the day I ran into these two guys.  I stopped them and ask if I could take their pictures.  I'm sure they thought I was a little nutty, or a visitor here.  The thing I found amusing about this is, when we enter the PX (Post Exchange) we have to show our ID & Ration cards to enter, the man checking ID's made these 2 soldiers dig into their pockets and pull out their ID cards.  I guess being dressed in full uniform with guns isn't enough; they still need to see your ID card!

The picture above is taken from my back yard.  The red brick building is on post housing, the one you are looking at looks just like the one I live in. The buildings in the background are apartment buildings in Seoul. 

The morning I took these pictures, I was riding my bike around post to get these shots.  I tried looking up how big Yongsan is, but gave up after a few minutes as I could not find it.  I have heard there are about 1,000 families stationed here, but don't quote me on that.  The picture below is of the commissary, where I shop for groceries.  The background is Seoul - check out the sun on the right hand side.



In the next picture I am riding down one of our main streets (we have 2).  The wall you see on the left side is a wall that encloses Embassy housing.  I think at one point the Embassy housing was closed off & you could only go in if you lived there, but now the gate to Embassy housing stays open.  The bus in the picture below (you can see the back side of it) is one of the many busses that runs on post.  You can catch the bus 2 times an hour and take it anywhere on post.  When you first arrive here, you become very familiar with the bus system, as you don't normally get your vehicle for several weeks.  Boy 1 rides this bus all the time.

The next photo was taken outside our fire house.  Normally the dog has water coming out his hose, but I guess it was too early for him when I took this picture.

The picture below is of Seoul Tower, taken from a bridge here on post. Hazy days are pretty common here this time of year. I have yet to go to the tower, but Hubby rode his bike up this past weekend. He said it was amazingly hard. I won’t be trying that anytime soon, but I will hike it where Hubby’s mom is here in a couple of weeks. 

In the picture below, the lower buildings are post, the taller buildings in the background are Seoul.

The building below is our white house, it is where all the really "important" people work. (Notice Seoul tower in the background)

This next building is where the most important person on post works....my Hubby.

There are signs all over post guiding you to different buildings and clinics, this is common at all Army post. I am very thankful for these signs, but don't you think they could be a little prettier?  I guess they are for function, not beauty.

And last, a picture of one of the soccer fields my boy plays soccer on.  Isn't the background beautiful?  I hope you all feel a little closer to us now.  I will do a second posting on this subject at a later date, as there are more things I would like to show you around post.