[Korea Report] Mini market selling world food in Itaewon is a great comfort for foreigners

Ahda Fajri, Indonesian Student, buys Indonesian Products in a world food mini market in Itaewon, Seoul (Photo: Meidyana Rayana)

Living abroad away from home could be tough for some people. There would be a lot of things that must be missed. One might think that foreigners miss all the time are the food from his home country.

As people travel and move here and there easily now, most of host countries have their own area for foreigners, from market to place to hang out.

In Seoul, such place can be found in Itaewon. All sort of foreign restaurants involving Italian, Japanese, Thai, France, Turks, and Indonesian restaurant are there.

Foreigners and locals usually hang out in cafes or clubs in Itaewon. There are also a lot of shops selling clothes, Korean ornaments, bakeries, etc.

The restaurant selling foreign foods, especially the one serving foods from one’s own country’s dishes, is like paradise for foreigners.

To eat familiar food reminds us of home and make us feel comfort and can ease the homesick a little bit.

But of course there are some dishes that you still can not find in the restaurant, such as your favorite snacks back home, or your country’s instant noodle, for example.

Do not worry, because most of the stuffs can be found in some mini market selling various kinds of imported products.

Recently, I went with one of my Indonesia friends here in Seoul to a mini market in Itaewon to shop.

Ahda Fajri, Seoul National University’s student, regularly comes to a world food mini market in Itaewon to buy Indonesian products.

He misses Indonesian foods a lot. Therefore he bought Indonesian instant noodles, chili sauce and soybean sauce that he said would be enough for his consumption for the whole month.

The mini market sells many kinds of foods from around the world, such as from Thailand, the Philippines, India, Bangladesh, Russia, Pakistan, Malaysia, and other countries.

They sell products from instant food, beverage, and snacks, cooking ingredients to daily need products such as shampoo and body lotions.

This market definitely brings sunshine to foreigners’ hearts in this cold winter.

Meidyana Rayana Intern Reporter news@theasian.asia