K-MART, First South Korean store in Cuba since the restart of diplomatic relations

Havana/Since the beginning of this year, Havana has a new establishment that has become a meeting point for lovers of Korean culture. K-Mart is the first market with South Korean products in Cuba and arrives at a time of approach between the two countries.

The inauguration of private trade, located at the intersection of streets 27 and J, in El Vedado, has coincided with the Opening of the South Korea Embassy In Cuba in the middle of this month, almost a year after both countries restored their diplomatic relations, broken since 1959.

K-Mart offers a varied selection of products from the Asian nation, ranging from Ramen, Soju, tea and instant coffee to energy and energy drinks. Rare thing in Cuba, despite the tiny space that the establishment has, has for sale a large range of food, tight on shelves, filling the showcases and accumulating in the counter.

The corner where K-Mart rises is part of an area that since the 90s has had successive very popular private businesses

The entrance, also small, does not go unnoticed by those who know the neighborhood. The “Open” poster shines from Monday to Saturday from eight in the morning until six in the afternoon. The location could not be more favorable: next to 23 A few meters away the university hill.

Product prices are in tune with the inflation times that are lived and purchases can be paid in Cuban pesos, in cash or by transfer. A package of cookies is around 1,260 pesos, while a Café Bustelo, imported from Miami, costs 2,000. Not far from these figures are typical products of Korean food, such as the Ramen Shin at 1,400 or the spicy variety Buldak for 1,500.

This Wednesday, some of those who entered the store were only to curly. The eyes perched on a box of chicken broth condiments for 1,920 pesos or in the wine bottles, ranging from 1,200 to 3,500. “It’s expensive, but it’s an experience. I can eat something different that I could never have tried without leaving Cuba,” explained a customer while a glass of ice tea was served, in the small area for consumption in the place that includes the market.

Together with Korean brands, many imported products from the United States, Mexico and Panama also stand out. Among them, the rice packages of a kilogram at 450 pesos, those of sugar for 900 and a pomo of mayonnaise to 1,200 took exclamations among some customers, who calculated that the cost of a small purchase in trade can widely exceed the average salary Cuban, of a little more than 4,000 pesos per month.

One of the dependents working at K-Mart counts 14ymedio that since its opening the store has been well received. The clientele that comes most are young, students of the nearby university faculties, neighbors of the neighborhood and people who find out to the extent that the voice is running that a store of this type has opened in Havana. A short distance also rises the Tower kabout to be inaugurated next February, and that could potentially nourish the small market as a clientele.

“I never thought to find such a place in Cuba,” said a young fan of the South Korean musical group BTS on Wednesday. “Here I can find posters of my idols, decoration articles that I only saw in the K-Drams and, of course, Korean food that only dreamed of trying.” It is common to see in the walls of K-Martes of K-Pop stars and Korean series, very popular in recent years on the island.

Pavel Kim, Professor Kim, who gives Korean classes at the Asia Museum, is in K-Mart’s in charge of serving customers, and preparing the coffees or ramen that the public wants to consume in the premises. “It is a good opportunity for Cubans to learn more about South Korea, not only through food, but also to learn about their lifestyle and traditions,” he said enthusiastically.

The establishment is also supported by the Myom private store: ispecialized in the sale of cosmetics and skin care products, all of Korean origin. It also has the support of the Cuba-Corea Cultural Exchange Association, an entity that helps several local entrepreneurs, facilitating the importation of products from the Asian nation.

These supports, the good supply of merchandise and the careful distribution of the premises make many, when transfer Of musical idols, a dimension without deterioration or shortage where the cash register adds in each purchase, at full speed, hundreds or thousands of pesos, as fast as a good ran running through the throat.