Kang Yoon-chul, a former North Korean soldier who says he once served with Kim Jong Un’s bodyguard unit, walked into Costco for the first time with a simple mission: spend $100 with the help of an American friend named Zach from Kansas.
According to the DimpleVideo report, filmed in Korea, Kang expected a shopping trip, but what he found looked less like an ordinary store and more like a giant symbol of American abundance, choice and confusion.
“I learned that choosing in Costco is greatest challenge of humans,” Kang said at the beginning of the video, setting the tone for a visit that quickly became part comedy, part culture shock and part quiet reflection on how different life can look depending on where someone starts.
A Store That Felt Like A Symbol Of America
Kang said Costco had always felt to him like “the symbol of America,” even though he did not really know what it was before his friend told him he needed to go there and spend $100.
The first surprise came almost immediately. Instead of entering a simple supermarket, Kang found himself surrounded by electronics, luxury jewelry, computers, Apple products and massive displays that made the store feel almost impossible to categorize.
“What is all of this?” Kang asked as he looked around. “My brain could not explain.”
Zach tried to make sense of the layout for him, explaining that Costco often begins with expensive items like big televisions and jewelry before shoppers move deeper into the store and start feeling like everything else is cheaper by comparison. In Zach’s view, that contrast is part of the experience, because a $5,000 necklace near the entrance can make bulk groceries seem suddenly reasonable.
Kang was also struck by the jewelry case and joked that if something like that existed in North Korea, the glass would be broken within an hour.
The joke landed lightly in the video, but it also carried the kind of background that makes Kang’s reactions interesting. To someone raised around scarcity and control, a warehouse store full of consumer choice can feel less like a convenience and more like a strange, overwhelming machine.
Apple Watches, Family Talk And A Giant Food Maze
Before Kang could decide how to spend his money, Zach led him toward the electronics. Kang said he already had “too much Apple,” while Zach asked whether he had a watch, showing him yet another product inside the store.
The two also talked about a very ordinary shopping truth. Zach said that when he goes to a store with his wife, he usually follows her, but when he goes with a friend, they look at technology.
Kang smiled at that, and the moment worked because it was simple. Even in a video built around big cultural differences, some parts of shopping are universal enough that they need no translation.
Eventually, Zach introduced Kang to one of Costco’s best-known items: the rotisserie chicken. Zach called it one of the best things in the store, pointing out that it was cooked fresh and sold cheaply, which has long been part of Costco’s appeal.
Kang then found himself facing beef, salmon, sushi and cheesecake, all in quantities that seemed to surprise him. He said he had never seen so much beef in one place, and when Zach showed him sushi, Kang admitted he did not know Americans ate it.
That line is funny, but it also shows how much of America’s food culture now comes through variety rather than one clear national identity. Costco can sell beef, sushi, cheesecake, salmon, pizza, hot dogs and bulk snacks under the same roof, and to many Americans that feels normal. To Kang, it looked like a new map of the world.
The Alcohol Aisle Changes Everything
For all the food that impressed him, Kang’s mood clearly shifted when he reached the alcohol section.
Zach noticed it immediately, joking that Kang had walked past beef, cheesecake and sushi with mild interest, only to light up once he saw the liquor. “He’s like a kid in the Christmas store,” Zach said.
Kang said he finally knew how to spend his $100.
Still, Costco’s pricing and shelf layout created confusion. Zach warned Kang that new shoppers can easily mistake one price tag for another and end up thinking a bottle costs much less than it does. A moment later, Kang appeared to make the same mistake again, which made Zach laugh because he had just explained the trap.
Kang considered vodka after a Costco worker tried to sell it to him, but he said he was “not a vodka guy.” Whiskey became his choice instead, partly because he had tried it before.
The scene is lighthearted, but it also says something about choice itself. Kang was not just deciding what to buy; he was learning how to shop in a place designed to make every choice feel like an opportunity and a risk at the same time.
Free Samples And The Strange Joy Of Buying Too Much
The next discovery was Costco’s free samples, which Zach described as one of the reasons people come to the store. He explained that some shoppers move around sampling food throughout the day, which Kang found strange and funny.
When Kang received a sample, he reacted with real surprise. “Free food. How is this possible?” he said.
Zach added that in America, the sample worker often gives a full speech about the product while shoppers stand there awkwardly, and Kang seemed happy to keep taking part in the ritual. He joked that he could do it all day.
When it came time to make his $100 decision, Kang returned to the alcohol aisle, but Zach also introduced him to beef jerky and protein products. Zach said American stores usually carry far more jerky options, with many brands and flavors, while the Korean Costco appeared to have only a couple.
“American people love protein,” Kang said, after Zach pointed out the difference.
That part of the visit was one of the more quietly revealing sections of the video. Kang was overwhelmed by America’s excess, but Zach, standing inside a Costco outside the United States, noticed where it still did not feel American enough. Even abundance has levels, and Zach could see the missing ones.
The Checkout Line And A Shared Human Pattern
As they headed toward the cashier, Zach explained what he considered two bad things about Costco: shoppers bumping carts into one another and long lines, especially on weekends.
He also pointed out a familiar pattern near the checkout lane, where one person waits while another runs back to grab a last-minute item. Kang watched and said he began to think he and Zach had many things in common.
“Maybe some things are same for all humans,” Kang said.
That observation may be the most important line in the video, because the whole report is built around contrast, yet its best moments come from recognition. Costco may have overwhelmed Kang, but the behavior around him — hunger, curiosity, impulse buying, joking with friends — was easy to understand.
Kang also admitted that spending money made him hungry, which led to another classic Costco stop: the food court.
Hot Dogs, Pizza And A Small Lesson In Similarity
Zach told Kang the third best reason to come to Costco was the hot dog and pizza, and Kang was amazed by the price and the unlimited soda. He said he was “loving Costco” by that point.
The pizza created a small cultural difference, as Zach explained that Americans eat pizza with their hands while Kang preferred a fork and knife. Zach had never eaten Costco pizza with a fork before, but he went along with it, and Kang said cutting the pizza with a knife made him feel like he was eating steak.
Kang was less sure about the pizza itself, while Zach gave it a blunt review: “Costco pizza. It’s a five out of 10, but it’s good.”
The hot dog, however, seemed to win more approval. Kang said he ate hot dogs often as a child, and Zach called the hot dog the best part of the food court.
While they ate, an older man approached the producer and joked that the most important thing was for both men to eat at the same pace, meaning Kang needed to eat faster. Kang said he was surprised by how similar their humor was.
By the end of the visit, Kang framed the Costco trip as more than a shopping challenge. He said Zach was from America, and he was from North Korea, but both had families, both had stories, both knew how to laugh, and both loved food.
“This place brought us together,” Kang said, “so we’re not so different.”
It would be easy to treat the video only as a funny culture-shock segment about a former North Korean soldier discovering bulk groceries, whiskey and Costco hot dogs, but the better story is simpler and more human. Kang entered the store overwhelmed by choice, and he left remembering an American friend.
He said that if he ever comes back to Costco with his family, he will think of Zach while his wife shops and he looks at phones and televisions.
That is a very Costco ending, somehow: a man surrounded by giant products, cheap food and too many choices, walking away with a memory that cost nothing.
Mark grew up in the heart of Texas, where tornadoes and extreme weather were a part of life. His early experiences sparked a fascination with emergency preparedness and homesteading. A father of three, Mark is dedicated to teaching families how to be self-sufficient, with a focus on food storage, DIY projects, and energy independence. His writing empowers everyday people to take small steps toward greater self-reliance without feeling overwhelmed.
