Top Christmas Gifts to Send Home
What will you send home for the holidays?
When you’re half a world away from your friends and family, last-minute gift shopping is not an option. Being separated from your loved ones during the holidays makes thoughtful gifts even more important. If you’re struggling to think of things to include in that Christmas parcel, here are some ideas to get you started.
For the food lover: Send a tasty and easy bulgogi kit from DestinationDinners.com for those with friends and family in the U.S., with hard-to-find ingredients included as well as trivia about Korean food and etiquette.
For those outside the U.S., why not make your own Korean recipe kit? Pack some shippable staple items, like doenjang and gochujang, with a Korean cook book. Korea may not be known for its wine, but bokbunja ju, or Korean blackberry wine, is a surprisingly lovely after-dinner drink. It’s produced in Damyang, comes in small bottles that are easy to pack and ship, and can be bought in most any corner market.
For culture enthusiasts: If you don’t have the time to make a trip up to Insa-dong in Seoul, pay a visit to Art Street near downtown Gwangju. One excellent shop for gifts is Sin Sin Yeseul Oeu Jip. It’s a narrow store chocked full of reasonably priced traditional Korean trinkets and pottery. Consider the wooden masks, miniature Korean-style bells, or sets of painted soju cups. Other Art Street shops boast calligraphy brush sets, Korean paper fans of various sizes, and some inexpensive, unframed paintings by local artists. If you’re willing to shell out a bit more money for the gift and the shipping, choose a Korean tea set or celadon vase from one of the pottery shops. Another excellent place to find items steeped in Korean culture is the gift shop outside Wongak-sa temple near Geumnamno 4-ga.
For those with a sense of humor: Konglish always makes a good gift. These zany sentences and seemingly random collections of English words can be found on mugs, shirts, bags, pencil cases, stationery – just about anything you can think of. Try your local stationery store, or even Home Plus or E-mart. There is also plenty of comic value in the ubiquitous sparkly ties and crazy socks, or the packages of whole, miniature dried squid and cans of beondaegi found in Family Mart or 7-Eleven.
For kids: Korea is probably the easiest place in the world to shop for little girls. Art Box, which recently opened a new store in the Jeonnam University back gate area, is a sure bet. Visit one of the cosmetic stores like Etude House and pick up some fruit-shaped jars of hand lotion, and don’t forget to throw in a few sheets of stickers. For boys, save room in your package for a squeaky hammer or a remote-controlled helicopter or car, which are surprisingly affordable at around 35,000 won. Cute socks and phone charms work for both genders, not to mention all ages.
Don’t forget to include some issues of the Gwangju News print edition – give everyone back home a taste of life in Gwangju, and keep them informed!
A version of this article appeared
in the Gwangju News print edition, December 2011.