JB Life! Volume 2 (Spring 2016)

Some of the wares on offers at Ourshop India’s in-store location in Jeonju’s Hyojadong.
[Photos by Anjee DiSanto]
Bhavanam and partner are overall quite humble about these
efforts, though, which is why many patrons are unaware of
the shop’s good deeds.
“We don’t publicize this much because our results are not as
visible as other charities,” Bhavanam said. “We just do little
works to help as we can.”
As for the shop itself, Bhavanam is just happy to have the
time to spend with his child while tending the store and to
provide an ever-increasing list of what expats need for their
comfort and culinary delight.
“It’s totally an opportunity we created for ourselves,” Bhavanam
said.
The shop itself launched fully in July 2015, and has since
grown from 400 products to more than 650, often at specific
requests of the clients. Bhavanam explains that these are
mostly Indian goods, especially those which are difficult to
find.
And who’s buying these products? Well, while the shop
itself sits on a newer backstreet of Hyojadong in Jeonju, 95
percent of orders are fulfilled online, via delivery. Bhavanam
handles the packing and website management onsite at
the store. These orders go to foreigners throughout Korea,
including Jeju, but mostly to Seoul and Suwon, where large
pockets of Indian expatriates are working in industries like
software. Hand deliveries also go out within the Jeonju area,
and Bhavanam notes that Korean natives have been stopping
by the store more and more, too, for curry and various others.
Clearly, Ourshop has created a useful and fulfilling niche in
this community and beyond. And what of the future? Bhavanam
and family plan to continue the shop’s work for as long
as they stay in Korea, which may be two to three years. If
they leave, they hope to find someone new to take over the
project, so all of those hard-to-find essentials are sure to still
be accessible long into the future.
To find out more about Ourshop India or to make an order
from their ever-growing inventory, search for them on Facebook
or visit their website, www.ourshop.kr.
Jeonbuk Life 25