Author Topic: Supplements in Korea (Read 12083 times)

flemtheflemster · « **Reply #60 on:** April 08, 2011, 11:35:49 AM »

I used to buy the costco crap which has little protein compared to other brands. I asked the Korean guys who worked in my gym and they ordered me stuff online for 60000 for a 10lb tub. It was delivered to the gym in about 4 days.

johanncoet · « **Reply #61 on:** April 13, 2011, 06:25:57 PM »

Does anyone know of a good place to get supplements in Korea?
I'm talking about the bodybuilding kind of supplements like Whey protein and creatine and the likes.

Davey · « **Reply #62 on:** April 13, 2011, 06:27:49 PM »

short answer: iherb.com is your best bet (bodybuilding.com is a rip off with respect to shipping).

read more here:

http://waygook.org/index.php/topic,5519.0.html

smores85 · « **Reply #63 on:** April 13, 2011, 06:32:10 PM »

What about regular supplements (as in not for body building) such as iron, or calcium? I know a friend of mine was taking some iron supplements, but they were given to her by a doctor. Can I find them without seeing a doctor?

baechu · « **Reply #64 on:** April 13, 2011, 06:36:19 PM »

I totally agree with iherb.com! I actually stocked up on all my supplements today. The shipping is the cheapest I've come across.

helen_chin · « **Reply #65 on:** April 14, 2011, 11:03:10 AM »

Ive been ordering supplements and protein powders etc.. from IHERB. They send it to you within a week, i just sent away my 3rd order in a space of a month!

If you want to order put add this code 'AGU714' to get $5 off your first order. It will ask for a promo code when you check out.

Good luck!

johanncoet · « **Reply #66 on:** April 14, 2011, 04:10:39 PM »

Thank you all for the info, I will look into iHerb.com

misskris · « **Reply #67 on:** April 14, 2011, 04:15:26 PM »

Just received my 3rd order from Iherb today! it ROCKs!

dvorders · « **Reply #68 on:** April 14, 2011, 04:20:13 PM »

You can get whey protein, creatine and other supplements at the foreign market at Namdaemun, but it is a little on the steep side. I think the protein was about 70,000 or 75,000 for 5 lbs.

On the other hand, if you join a gym, Koreans have solid access to supplements, but you have to have a national id number for the site. I have a guy at the gym who ordered all my stuff for me and now he just gave me his account info and I order off the website. The prices are cheaper than American for some stuff (Jack3d, some protein), but it depends on you want. The site is amazing www.healthkoreaus.com and you can check it out if you know Korean.

My best advice is find a Korean and have them sign-up for an account you can you or just ask them to order it for you. They are pretty accessible to the idea from what I have heard. I have the same deal about ordering chicken breasts and other food.

Davey · « **Reply #69 on:** April 14, 2011, 04:31:17 PM »

Quote from: smores85 on April 13, 2011, 06:32:10 PM

What about regular supplements (as in not for body building) such as iron, or calcium? I know a friend of mine was taking some iron supplements, but they were given to her by a doctor. Can I find them without seeing a doctor?

iherb.com pretty much has everything -- omega-3s, vitamins, protein, etc.

dvorders · « **Reply #70 on:** April 14, 2011, 04:38:53 PM »

i forgot to mention that shipping is only a flat 10,000 Won. They ship the products from Los Angeles and it only takes about three days. I ordered on a Wednesday and got it Saturday morning. I have had no problems with www.healthkoreaus.com. I usually spend about 150,000 - 200,000 to stock-up and order a booster (jack3d or 1mr), 10 lbs. protein (BSN or Now, but Now tastes like chalk), and then some miscellaneous stuff (new straps, BCAAs, Multivitamins, etc.)

Belle · « **Reply #71 on:** April 14, 2011, 04:41:10 PM »

Did u guys know theres also a GNC here in Korea... most of them can be found like at the bottom of a Lotte Department store or like a Hyundai department store. They pretty much have the types of supplements or things that you can get back home. I had to even get iron pills there because i couldnt find any anywhere else.

Davey · « **Reply #72 on:** April 14, 2011, 04:41:49 PM »

Quote from: dvorders on April 14, 2011, 04:38:53 PM

i forgot to mention that shipping is only a flat 10,000 Won. They ship the products from Los Angeles and it only takes about three days. I ordered on a Wednesday and got it Saturday morning. I have had no problems with www.healthkoreaus.com. I usually spend about 150,000 - 200,000 to stock-up and order a booster (jack3d or 1mr), 10 lbs. protein (BSN or Now, but Now tastes like chalk), and then some miscellaneous stuff (new straps, BCAAs, Multivitamins, etc.)

yah, that site is great, too, although harder to navigate since it's in Korean (shoot them an e-mail for guidance) and iherb has greater variety.

in terms of shipping, it is better than iherb.com as you mentioned since it's 10,000W flat regardless how much you order.

dvorders · « **Reply #73 on:** April 14, 2011, 04:46:57 PM »

What are the prices like at GNC though. I know there's a little store near my place that is all vitamins and everything. It is ridiculously expensive, probably 2~3 times the price back home and then same as compared to ordering it off of websites. Do they carry actually supplements or just vitamins and stuff?

Davey · « **Reply #74 on:** April 14, 2011, 04:58:47 PM »

Quote from: dvorders on April 14, 2011, 04:46:57 PM

What are the prices like at GNC though. I know there's a little store near my place that is all vitamins and everything. It is ridiculously expensive, probably 2~3 times the price back home and then same as compared to ordering it off of websites. Do they carry actually supplements or just vitamins and stuff?

GNC is expensive in Korea and IMO they don't make high-quality supplements, although they do a good job at marketing.

willinkorea · « **Reply #75 on:** April 14, 2011, 05:10:31 PM »

After two years in Korea, here are the sources of supplements I'm aware of either in and around the Seoul area, or on-line:

- Supermarkets, like Homeplus, have a (limited) range of supplements ie the standard daily vitamin and mineral supplements and energy/general health boosting supplements.

- GNC, as pointed-out by a previous poster can be found in some dept. stores, and in some Homeplus stores. Although generally a wider range of supplements than standard offerings in Korea supermarkets, the range isn't as extensive as in GMC outlets in America.

- Costo has a pretty limited range of mainly vitamins and minerals. Nb despite living in Korea for two years, the Costco I visited in Seoul on a Saturday afternoon last month was the single busiest store I'd ever been too. Hell. I left without buying anything.

- http://www.iherb.com/?rcode=LEL605 - this is the site I use mostly for ordering supplements. Cheap prices for brand name products. I order my also order my natural shampoo and soaps from here. $5 discount with first order.

- Smoothie King: very limited range of vit/min supplements and protein mixes.

Halcyon · « **Reply #76 on:** April 14, 2011, 06:06:09 PM »

In agreement with dvorders and daveyc18...healthkoreaus.com us hands down the best way to go...A couple of months ago I compared prices from iherb.com, bodybulding.com, mass119,com, and healthkoreaus.com. I looked at a few others as well but they're not really worth mentioning. Healthkoreaus.com turned out to be significantly cheaper than the rest. Bodybulding.com was the cheapest based solely on item price but when you tacked on the S&H they quickly lost the advantage..

The only trouble I had when I signed up was that my the site wouldn't accept my email address because my name was separated by a "." before the @ -sign. It took a little while for me to figure out but once I did registered a new email address and all was fine...I sent them an email in Korean and in English and they responded in English. Honestly, their reply made me feel like when you're here talking to a Korea in whatever muddle Korean you can come up with and they respond in fluent English.."doh!"

Healthkoreaus is definitely the way to go. You're going to end up spending a lot more money otherwise, especially if you're particularly looking at bodybuilding supps. If you need help registering or navigating the site and you can't find anyone to help you out you can shoot me a message.

If I recall correctly, healthkoreaus.com is a business registered & operated out of Los Angeles, California.

johanncoet · « **Reply #77 on:** April 18, 2011, 11:19:21 AM »

I am new to all the American brands. What are the higher quality and more respected brands for supplements like protein and creatine and the likes?

dvorders · « **Reply #78 on:** April 20, 2011, 01:07:19 PM »

Good American brands are BSN (Syntha 6 is a classic/Korean love it), GNC (expensive in Korea), Twinlab is OK for the price (it's cheaper), Muscletech has good creatine mixtures, but a little heavy on the sugar. NOW has a good reputation, but personally it's the worst tasting protein i've ever had (backed up by a friend who's warning I didn't heed). Optimum Nutrition is great, but expensive.

Creatine doesn't matter because it all comes from like the same 5 distributors. As long as you get a Pure Monohydrate Creatine than you are pretty much set. They may add extra BCAAs or something, but if all you want is creatine just make sure it's Pure Monohydrate.

johanncoet · « **Reply #79 on:** April 20, 2011, 06:24:45 PM »

Thanks, this is really helpful!

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Author Topic: Supplements in Korea (Read 12083 times)

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