Tefl in South Korea

squeakyduck

rich1874 wrote: »

Recently i received an email from another company called teachersforsouthkorea(TFSK), through a grad ireland email alert. !

I would be very wary about using that recruiter. I worked with one of the guys there for a while and I found him to be very arrogant, pushy and even yelled at me a few times. I know a girl that is working over here after getting a job with TFSK and she found that this recruiter was the same with her.

I started with tiger english (they were absolutely crap....never keep up emailing and didn't seem to realise that I just went off for another recruiter) but I went with ATC. Was very pleased with how they got me to Korea although I did work with other recruiters via daveseslcafe.

some of my friends had good experiences with footprints.

dsane1

rich1874 wrote: »

Hi Guys


Just a quick question, i'm thinking of teaching in S Korea after Christmas and i strated my application with Tiger English a few weeks ago. I have received Garda clearance and just have to get my documents stamped with an apostille (garda clearace cert and degree scroll).

Recently i received an email from another company called teachersforsouthkorea(TFSK), through a grad ireland email alert. They deal specifcally with EPIK for public school teaching, so i decided to send an email asking for the application procedure. They sent me quite a substantial list of documents i must gather, included signed references and notarised college transcripts, thing which tiger english have not asked for.

So my question, why haven't Tiger English requested these documents, is this TFSK comapny more repuatable (by virute of requesting far more paperwork)? Has anyone had any experience with either of these companies and if so can you offer advice on who i should proceed with? I'm kind of looking to have all my documents ready by the end of this week and was warned by TFSK that once I begin my application process, not to remain in contact with any other recruiting agency and this could affect my chances. (The pros of staying with Tiger English are natually that i won't have to provide any of these extra documents thereby speeding up my application)

Please advise, thanks!

I used Tiger English as my recruiter, however I'm in a private school. I'm here 8 months. The only documents I needed were the Garda cert and degree scroll. Tiger English said to get my transcripts in a stamped sealed envelope from the college but that they may not be required. As it turned out they were not needed so a waste of €30. I've no idea if there is a difference in the requirements for public school though.

kraggy

roosh wrote: »

I was just making a cup of tea earlier and the vice principal, out of nowere, asks me if I'm a christian. I know the koreans are pretty forward about asking this kind of stuff but it was unusual; so I had to give a brief rundown on my philosophical/spiritual position

My head of department asked me shortly after I started if I had any religion or not.

I politely said no. I'm lucky I did, because if I had lied and said that yeah, sometimes I go to church, I would have been caught by the balls and got roped into coming to school early to pray with some of the teachers.

As that's what a former Native English teacher in my school did.

Imagine getting up early to come to school to pray with your co-teachers...

So just be honest (if you're not religious) and say politely that you don't have any religion. They have no right to give you a hard time over it.

This country is waaaaaaay more Christian than I thought. According to statistics on the net, there are more Buddhists and only 25% are Christian. That's bull. The vast majority of this country are devout Christian from what I can see.

roosh

kraggy wrote: »

My head of department asked me shortly after I started if I had any religion or not.

I politely said no. I'm lucky I did, because if I had lied and said that yeah, sometimes I go to church, I would have been caught by the balls and got roped into coming to school early to pray with some of the teachers.

As that's what a former Native English teacher in my school did.

Imagine getting up early to come to school to pray with your co-teachers...

So just be honest (if you're not religious) and say politely that you don't have any religion. They have no right to give you a hard time over it.

This country is waaaaaaay more Christian than I thought. According to statistics on the net, there are more Buddhists and only 25% are Christian. That's bull. The vast majority of this country are devout Christian from what I can see.

early morning prayers?? fook that.

I just told them I was raised as a christian but that I had developed an interest in Buddhism, and that I wouldn't call myself either.

roosh

rich1874 wrote: »

Hi Guys


Just a quick question, i'm thinking of teaching in S Korea after Christmas and i strated my application with Tiger English a few weeks ago. I have received Garda clearance and just have to get my documents stamped with an apostille (garda clearace cert and degree scroll).

Recently i received an email from another company called teachersforsouthkorea(TFSK), through a grad ireland email alert. They deal specifcally with EPIK for public school teaching, so i decided to send an email asking for the application procedure. They sent me quite a substantial list of documents i must gather, included signed references and notarised college transcripts, thing which tiger english have not asked for.

So my question, why haven't Tiger English requested these documents, is this TFSK comapny more repuatable (by virute of requesting far more paperwork)? Has anyone had any experience with either of these companies and if so can you offer advice on who i should proceed with? I'm kind of looking to have all my documents ready by the end of this week and was warned by TFSK that once I begin my application process, not to remain in contact with any other recruiting agency and this could affect my chances. (The pros of staying with Tiger English are natually that i won't have to provide any of these extra documents thereby speeding up my application)

Please advise, thanks!

Hey rich, have you looked into the differences between teaching in a private school and teaching in a public school? I opted for a public school bcos to my understanding the hours were preferable - start at 9 and finish at 5.

There is the possibility of being asked to teach extra classes outside of those hours but if they go over your standard 22 teaching periods a week you get overtime.

From what I can gather, public schools have better holidays too. I'm contracted to get 3 weeks in January and 2 weeks in the summer, plus public hols; I've been told that private school teachers only get public holidays - someone here might be able to confirm or deny that.

The recruitment agency I used was called reach to teach and they were pretty good. At times it seemed like they were a little slow with communication but I think that may just be because the EPIK application process can be a bit drawn out, straight forward but drawn out - just bcos of the extra documents, but that's really no major hassle.

When I contacted reach to teach there was only about 2 weeks until the EPIK deadline, but they helped me get everything sorted. I didn't hear anything from them when I got to korea and thought they were done bcos I was placed, but I got an email the other day with a link to a facebook page where they update info about events they organise for teachers in Korea - I forgot that they had mentioned that on the website.

Anyway, it might be worth figuring out whether you want to go public or private, and then deciding if the hassle of getting the extra documents will be worth it.

Brimmy

rich1874 wrote: »

Hi Guys


Just a quick question, i'm thinking of teaching in S Korea after Christmas and i strated my application with Tiger English a few weeks ago. I have received Garda clearance and just have to get my documents stamped with an apostille (garda clearace cert and degree scroll).

Recently i received an email from another company called teachersforsouthkorea(TFSK), through a grad ireland email alert. They deal specifcally with EPIK for public school teaching, so i decided to send an email asking for the application procedure. They sent me quite a substantial list of documents i must gather, included signed references and notarised college transcripts, thing which tiger english have not asked for.

So my question, why haven't Tiger English requested these documents, is this TFSK comapny more repuatable (by virute of requesting far more paperwork)? Has anyone had any experience with either of these companies and if so can you offer advice on who i should proceed with? I'm kind of looking to have all my documents ready by the end of this week and was warned by TFSK that once I begin my application process, not to remain in contact with any other recruiting agency and this could affect my chances. (The pros of staying with Tiger English are natually that i won't have to provide any of these extra documents thereby speeding up my application)

Please advise, thanks!

For EPIK you need need all those documents. If you want to come with EPIK though I suggest that you apply directly rather than using a recruiter, it will speed up your process (the interviews have been happening for a few weeks already) and it cuts out a load of crap. The two main recruiters for EPIK as well are fluent English speakers and even though I didn't use them my friends who are here have all said they were absolutely fantastic, helpful and extremely quick in getting back to you about any problems/queries.

Brimmy

roosh wrote: »

From what I can gather, public schools have better holidays too. I'm contracted to get 3 weeks in January and 2 weeks in the summer, plus public hols;


When I contacted reach to teach there was only about 2 weeks until the EPIK deadline, but they helped me get everything sorted. I didn't hear anything from them when I got to korea and thought they were done bcos I was placed, but I got an email the other day with a link to a facebook page where they update info about events they organise for teachers in Korea - I forgot that they had mentioned that on the website.

Anyway, it might be worth figuring out whether you want to go public or private, and then deciding if the hassle of getting the extra documents will be worth it.

You can't be contracted for 3 weeks in January with EPIK. It's 8 and 10 working days unless they've changed it from this semester but no one I met so far from the August intake has mentioned it. Whether you take them in the Winter/Summer is your own/schools choice. You probably have your 8 days in the summer (when there's a bank holiday so you can make it 9 if you want) and 10 in winter + Chinese New Year which can be another full week off. If you renew with EPIK as well you get another bonus 2 weeks off at the end of your contract/before the next one begins which you can take in one big block with your holidays to get a full month off. Most schools will let you carry these 2 weeks to the next semester as well so you can take the 4 weeks off in the Summer (if you renew in Winter or vice versa) but that's your schools own choice.

JFitzgerald

kraggy wrote: »

My head of department asked me shortly after I started if I had any religion or not.

I politely said no. I'm lucky I did, because if I had lied and said that yeah, sometimes I go to church, I would have been caught by the balls and got roped into coming to school early to pray with some of the teachers.

As that's what a former Native English teacher in my school did.

Imagine getting up early to come to school to pray with your co-teachers...

So just be honest (if you're not religious) and say politely that you don't have any religion. They have no right to give you a hard time over it.

This country is waaaaaaay more Christian than I thought. According to statistics on the net, there are more Buddhists and only 25% are Christian. That's bull. The vast majority of this country are devout Christian from what I can see.

Yep, I got asked about my religion on the first day by one of the teachers too. I just said that although i was born Catholic, i don't do religion. i almost got roped into a korean language class that's held with some church group on saturday mornings. although i'd like to learn korean, i didn't fall for that one. i dont want any **** like that eating into my weekends.

kraggy

@Squeaky

I saw your pic in Ladies Lounge at Boys Noize. How did you hear about that gig? My girlfriend and I would have gone had we known about it. Aaargh!

I've checked theyeogiyo.com for gigs and everything regularly for the last few weeks and there was no mention of that.

Balls.

roosh

Brimmy wrote: »

You can't be contracted for 3 weeks in January with EPIK. It's 8 and 10 working days unless they've changed it from this semester but no one I met so far from the August intake has mentioned it. Whether you take them in the Winter/Summer is your own/schools choice. You probably have your 8 days in the summer (when there's a bank holiday so you can make it 9 if you want) and 10 in winter + Chinese New Year which can be another full week off. If you renew with EPIK as well you get another bonus 2 weeks off at the end of your contract/before the next one begins which you can take in one big block with your holidays to get a full month off. Most schools will let you carry these 2 weeks to the next semester as well so you can take the 4 weeks off in the Summer (if you renew in Winter or vice versa) but that's your schools own choice.

Apologies, I should have specified that it's 21 Calendar Days in Winter and 14 Calendar days in Summer.

the_antagonist

kraggy wrote: »

This country is waaaaaaay more Christian than I thought. According to statistics on the net, there are more Buddhists and only 25% are Christian. That's bull. The vast majority of this country are devout Christian from what I can see.

Statistics on wikipedia say about 30% Christian (Catholics & Others), 20% Buddhist and the rest as no religion and from my experience that's about right.

You just don't notice the Buddhists or non-religious because usually they don't make a fuss about it. And don't forget that if an employer is Christian the employees might pretend to be too. In fact it's required by many companies from what I've heard. Some Christian companies won't hire non-Christians.

A word of advice, be very careful with anyone claiming to be Christian and wanting you to come to their Church. There are a lot of very strange Christian cults in Korea. If you are Christian and want to get involved with a Church check them out beforehand on the internet or better yet stick with the mainstream ones.

squeakyduck

kraggy wrote: »

@Squeaky

I saw your pic in Ladies Lounge at Boys Noize. How did you hear about that gig? My girlfriend and I would have gone had we known about it. Aaargh!

I found out about it from a friend in Korea from another forum. It was pretty epic alright.

The girl who got the tickets had ones to spare too and was selling them for less than cost price!

Lost my freaking ARC at walkerhill though. Have to go to Suwon on Friday morning to apply for a new one! :(:(

Brimmy

roosh wrote: »

Apologies, I should have specified that it's 21 Calendar Days in Winter and 14 Calendar days in Summer.

With EPIK? Are you sure about this? Because if you are getting 15 working days off in winter and 10 in Summer you're getting a better contract than everyone else with EPIK. Unless you're counting Chinese New Year?

ekevosu

Brimmy wrote: »

With EPIK? Are you sure about this? Because if you are getting 15 working days off in winter and 10 in Summer you're getting a better contract than everyone else with EPIK. Unless you're counting Chinese New Year?

Gangwon-do province has more holidays than other provinces. This is to entice people there as it's a bit rural and a bit cold :-)

They actually advertise ad 35 days holidays but then in very small print they say that includes the sat and sun so it's 25 working day holidays.

SpatialPlanning

I'll probably be flying home for a few weeks from January 14th - 28th. Is expedia/ebookers my best bet for flight tickets, or has someone found a cheap website?

Had planned to be at home for Christmas but I'm starting my Winter camp on December 26th :mad:

JFitzgerald

SpatialPlanning wrote: »

I'll probably be flying home for a few weeks from January 14th - 28th. Is expedia/ebookers my best bet for flight tickets, or has someone found a cheap website?

Had planned to be at home for Christmas but I'm starting my Winter camp on December 26th :mad:

www.skyscanner.net is good for finding the cheapest flights.

kraggy

Everyone I know here in Korea uses kayak.com.

They swear by it. I've heard of crazy cheap fares being got.

roosh

hey guys. I'm still getting to grips with the whole lesson planning process. I was thrown in at the deep end when I started last week and was able to get by bcos I just used the initial classes to introduce myself. I've managed fine all week to plan my lessons - largely thanks to waygook. With trying to get settled in an everything I've only been able to plan lessons the night before.

I've got 5 classes tomorrow though; grades 3, 4 (X2), 5 and 6 - on my own; and am facing into a long evening of lesson planning, so I'm looking for ways to reduce my workload. Does anyone have any suggestions for a "one size fits all" lesson I could adapt for the 4 different grades?

I was hoping to do a lesson relevant to what we've covered with the co-teacher, but if I have to do that for all 4 classes then I'm not sure I'll get it finished.

Any help would be greatly appreciated! (I'll try over at waygook as well)

SpatialPlanning

roosh wrote: »

Does anyone have any suggestions for a "one size fits all" lesson I could adapt for the 4 different grades? (I'll try over at waygook as well)

If you are stuck and only have time to plan 1 general lesson then Prepositions is an easy one to adapt to multiple classes. There are plenty of resources on Waygook for that 1.

Here are some links..
http://waygook.org/index.php/topic,10539.0.html
http://waygook.org/index.php/topic,13689.0.html
http://waygook.org/index.php/topic,6047.0.html

Depending on the various levels or your classes, there are more than enough activities, with varying degrees of difficulty, to keep them busy.

Download 2 or 3 powerpoints from waygook.org.

Worksheet ideas (after going over the various prepositions using a PPT);

Low level - 6 boxes on a page. Instruct the kids where to draw a ball in relation to the box.

Mid level - Requires no prep! Design a room. Give each kid a blank page and they must construct a living room based on where you tell them to place the furniture e.g. there is a table. The TV is on the table. The bookcase is next to the table.... etc. Each kid then presents his room to the class.

High level - Use a wider range of prepositions. Give them a picture that has various animals/people/random things on it. Tell them to write as many sentences as they can in X amount of time using prepositions...

There is an almost endless amount of activities you could do with this lesson. Good luck!

ekevosu

Roosh, does this mean you're not teaching from the book, you have to make up entirely different lessons / subjects each class. That sucks. Why? Is it just a temporary situation while coteacher is away? Otherwise just carry on with the books?

roosh

SpatialPlanning wrote: »

If you are stuck and only have time to plan 1 general lesson then Prepositions is an easy one to adapt to multiple classes. There are plenty of resources on Waygook for that 1.

Here are some links..
http://waygook.org/index.php/topic,10539.0.html
http://waygook.org/index.php/topic,13689.0.html
http://waygook.org/index.php/topic,6047.0.html

Depending on the various levels or your classes, there are more than enough activities, with varying degrees of difficulty, to keep them busy.

Download 2 or 3 powerpoints from waygook.org.

Worksheet ideas (after going over the various prepositions using a PPT);

Low level - 6 boxes on a page. Instruct the kids where to draw a ball in relation to the box.

Mid level - Requires no prep! Design a room. Give each kid a blank page and they must construct a living room based on where you tell them to place the furniture e.g. there is a table. The TV is on the table. The bookcase is next to the table.... etc. Each kid then presents his room to the class.

High level - Use a wider range of prepositions. Give them a picture that has various animals/people/random things on it. Tell them to write as many sentences as they can in X amount of time using prepositions...

There is an almost endless amount of activities you could do with this lesson. Good luck!

cheers that was a very helpful suggestion. I'll undoubtedly use it at some point in the future, but I had alrady started putting something together on "nationalities" so I'll just use that tomorrow.

roosh

ekevosu wrote: »

Roosh, does this mean you're not teaching from the book, you have to make up entirely different lessons / subjects each class. That sucks. Why? Is it just a temporary situation while coteacher is away? Otherwise just carry on with the books?

I teach a few classes with my co-teacher - I say teach, I really mean he gets me to pronounce a few words and sentences every now and then - and he uses the books and DVDs. When I was preparing my very first lesson I was going through one of the books and asked him where the students had left off; he told me that we'd use the book in the classes he teachest not in the ones I teach on my own; he basically just told me to go onto waygook and get something from there.

I initially intended to put together lessons that followed on from what the students did but with 4 classes tomorrow, there wasn't a hope I'd get that done.

squeakyduck

roosh wrote: »

I initially intended to put together lessons that followed on from what the students did but with 4 classes tomorrow, there wasn't a hope I'd get that done.

Could you not put together a class that has some elements of revision for the students. If you have the book to work from and take into account what was done in the last class it would be half the battle?

roosh

squeakyduck wrote: »

Could you not put together a class that has some elements of revision for the students. If you have the book to work from and take into account what was done in the last class it would be half the battle?

that's what I would like to do in future but on Thursday I had 4 lessons to plan for Fridayand I wouldn't have managed to get them all done in one evening. I'm expected to have my lessons planned a week in advance, but because I was thrown straight into teaching classes I've only been able to plan one day in advance, so I need to just get a few lessons in that are easily planned to give me time to get on top of things.

johnnycnandy

Well I'm off to Korea in 3 weeks, my first job over there. I'll be in Daegu. What's an acceptable gift to bring for the school director? Anyone got some websites that are good for resources/ex-pat communities/events/etc for korea??

SpatialPlanning

johnnycnandy wrote: »

Well I'm off to Korea in 3 weeks, my first job over there. I'll be in Daegu. What's an acceptable gift to bring for the school director? Anyone got some websites that are good for resources/ex-pat communities/events/etc for korea??

www.waygook.org - Probably the best 1.
www.eslcafe.org

For events/ex-pat groups - There are facebook groups about everything. Daegu has 3 soccer teams and a GAA team. You can find the GAA team on facebook. Ask them any questions and they'll help you out.

hyperbaby

Can ye guys receive texts and calls from Irish mobiles over here?

What code/number have ye guys given people at home for it to work?

roosh

hyperbaby wrote: »

Can ye guys receive texts and calls from Irish mobiles over here?

What code/number have ye guys given people at home for it to work?

As far as I'm aware irish mobiles won't work in korea. If they did, there would be no code or number, it would just be a case of calling the number as is - to my knowledge that is.

hyperbaby

No i meant Irish mobiles calling/texting my Korean mobile.

roosh

hyperbaby wrote: »

No i meant Irish mobiles calling/texting my Korean mobile.

my apologies!

I don't have a mobile myself yet but the country code for Korea 0082, so presumably diall 0082 and drop the first 0 of your mobile number.

red_bairn

hyperbaby wrote: »

No i meant Irish mobiles calling/texting my Korean mobile.

For my family, I can use 001353. Even though I ring by LG/SK Telecom I would get a bill from KT Telecom, because the call goes through them for international calls.

It's expensive. I'd suggest using a smart phone with skype or kakaotalk on it.

cloneslad

i would suggest skype too. even if your family don't have it, it works out much cheaper to call them on it. about 2cent a minute to a landline or you can pay about €4 for unlimited calls to Ireland per month.

I also got a 'skype in' number for about €25 a year. It meant my family without the capability to use skype or internet could call my skype phone number and they'd only be charged for making a local call.

JebusCripes

Hey guys can somebody clear something up. Im getting my documents ready for my visa application.

I have the police check - and i need to get that apostilled

I have my degree, original and copy, now I need to take this to a notary, to have it notariesed ok, but then i read that i "might" need to then take it tot he registar of the sumpreme court for another stamp or something before i can get it apostilled, the notary i called didnt seem to know about that.

Can anyone set me straight?

I'll be entering Korea on a tourist visa so i want make sure i have everything i need before i go....

thanks

red_bairn

JebusCripes wrote: »

Hey guys can somebody clear something up. Im getting my documents ready for my visa application.

I have the police check - and i need to get that apostilled

I have my degree, original and copy, now I need to take this to a notary, to have it notariesed ok, but then i read that i "might" need to then take it tot he registar of the sumpreme court for another stamp or something before i can get it apostilled, the notary i called didnt seem to know about that.

Can anyone set me straight?

I'll be entering Korea on a tourist visa so i want make sure i have everything i need before i go....

thanks

lol, supreme court. Nah, you don't need to take it there.

ekevosu

JebusCripes wrote: »

Hey guys can somebody clear something up. Im getting my documents ready for my visa application.

I have the police check - and i need to get that apostilled

I have my degree, original and copy, now I need to take this to a notary, to have it notariesed ok, but then i read that i "might" need to then take it tot he registar of the sumpreme court for another stamp or something before i can get it apostilled, the notary i called didnt seem to know about that.

Can anyone set me straight?

I'll be entering Korea on a tourist visa so i want make sure i have everything i need before i go....

thanks

Are you planning on changing your visa once you get there as you don't need any of that for a tourist visa?

JebusCripes

Yes, im entering on a tourist visa and staying with a friend there until i find a job, the i'll do a visa run or whatever i guess.

Here is where I read about having to take the notarised copy to the registarof the supreme court....

http://teachersforsouthkorea.com/how-to-apply/steps-involved/irish-teachers/

As im currently in Thailand and having to do all this remotely, its quite a pain lol

So i just get it notarised by my nearest notary back home, apostilled and good to go?

red_bairn

JebusCripes wrote: »

Yes, im entering on a tourist visa and staying with a friend there until i find a job, the i'll do a visa run or whatever i guess.

Here is where I read about having to take the notarised copy to the registarof the supreme court....

http://teachersforsouthkorea.com/how-to-apply/steps-involved/irish-teachers/

As im currently in Thailand and having to do all this remotely, its quite a pain lol

So i just get it notarised by my nearest notary back home, apostilled and good to go?

In some cases, you may be able to skip this Step 3, but please consult with the notary public you deal with and they will advise you on this.

It says it there, you most likely don't need to do it. Tbh, it's the first I've heard about it.

JebusCripes

red_bairn wrote: »

It says it there, you most likely don't need to do it. Tbh, it's the first I've heard about it.

super , thanks

cloneslad

JebusCripes wrote: »

Hey guys can somebody clear something up. Im getting my documents ready for my visa application.

I have the police check - and i need to get that apostilled

I have my degree, original and copy, now I need to take this to a notary, to have it notariesed ok, but then i read that i "might" need to then take it tot he registar of the sumpreme court for another stamp or something before i can get it apostilled, the notary i called didnt seem to know about that.

Can anyone set me straight?

I'll be entering Korea on a tourist visa so i want make sure i have everything i need before i go....

thanks

You used to have to get that years ago. I had to do it when I first applied for my visa, but it's no longer required.


Will this be your first Korean visa? When getting your first visa, they now require you to have an interview in the Korean embassy in your home country before they will grant the visa.

As with Korean rules, these are subject to change upon the person you're dealing with on any given day. With a bit of luck they'll let you have the interview in Japan for the visa.

ekevosu

cloneslad wrote: »

You used to have to get that years ago. I had to do it when I first applied for my visa, but it's no longer required.


Will this be your first Korean visa? When getting your first visa, they now require you to have an interview in the Korean embassy in your home country before they will grant the visa.

As with Korean rules, these are subject to change upon the person you're dealing with on any given day. With a bit of luck they'll let you have the interview in Japan for the visa.

If you work for a public school (EPIK) and get a 'letter of appointment' you don't need to even leave the country. Rules are changing all the time but this was the case for me on a first visa this year. I just changed from a tourist to a teaching visa while I was here (never leaving Korea). Several officials in different locations confirmed this was the case. Hagwon jobs will still have to leave the country but as always confirm with emigration. Don't trust the Korean embassy in Ireland as they usually are clueless .....or were the times I rang them anyway.

cloneslad

ekevosu wrote: »

If you work for a public school (EPIK) and get a 'letter of appointment' you don't need to even leave the country. Rules are changing all the time but this was the case for me on a first visa this year. I just changed from a tourist to a teaching visa while I was here (never leaving Korea). Several officials in different locations confirmed this was the case. Hagwon jobs will still have to leave the country but as always confirm with emigration. Don't trust the Korean embassy in Ireland as they usually are clueless .....or were the times I rang them anyway.

That bold part..........I think it's their mission statement!!

Mr. Loverman

I know the thread is sort of talking about this at the moment but...

Does anyone know if it is possible for me to go to Korea on a tourist visa (I currently live in China), find a job, and then get my brother or whoever to sort out any of the necessary paperwork at home so I don't have to return to Ireland?

JebusCripes

Mr. Loverman wrote: »

I know the thread is sort of talking about this at the moment but...

Does anyone know if it is possible for me to go to Korea on a tourist visa (I currently live in China), find a job, and then get my brother or whoever to sort out any of the necessary paperwork at home so I don't have to return to Ireland?

This is exactly what I'm doing. I'm in Thailand at the moment.

Cloneslad mentioned something about if its your first Korean visa you might need to have an interview in your home country but I imagine that can be worked around. Its my second Korean visa. My mum is having my degree copy notarised as we speak!

JebusCripes

cloneslad wrote: »

You used to have to get that years ago. I had to do it when I first applied for my visa, but it's no longer required.


Will this be your first Korean visa? When getting your first visa, they now require you to have an interview in the Korean embassy in your home country before they will grant the visa.

As with Korean rules, these are subject to change upon the person you're dealing with on any given day. With a bit of luck they'll let you have the interview in Japan for the visa.

It will be my second work visa!

cloneslad

Mr. Loverman wrote: »

I know the thread is sort of talking about this at the moment but...

Does anyone know if it is possible for me to go to Korea on a tourist visa (I currently live in China), find a job, and then get my brother or whoever to sort out any of the necessary paperwork at home so I don't have to return to Ireland?

As I said before, it all depends on who you're dealing with on the day. the only thing you need to be back in Ireland for is the interview, which last all of about 5-10 minutes, or so I'm told. (I didn't have to do one as I'd already worked in Korea before they brought in that rule).

JebusCripes wrote: »

This is exactly what I'm doing. I'm in Thailand at the moment.

Cloneslad mentioned something about if its your first Korean visa you might need to have an interview in your home country but I imagine that can be worked around. Its my second Korean visa. My mum is having my degree copy notarised as we speak!

You'll be fine, the furthest you will have to go is to Japan to get yours sorted, and as said before, if you work with EPIK you'll not even have to leave as they'll get it sorted out for you.

roosh

cloneslad wrote: »

As I said before, it all depends on who you're dealing with on the day. the only thing you need to be back in Ireland for is the interview, which last all of about 5-10 minutes, or so I'm told. (I didn't have to do one as I'd already worked in Korea before they brought in that rule).

I don't even think you need to do an interview. I literally just went to the consulate, waited a few mins at reception, filled out a form, gave my documents, photos and fee to the girl at reception and that was it.

If it is the same procedure you could just get someone who looks a bit like you to go in for you - a bit risky but very possible I would say

cloneslad

roosh wrote: »

I don't even think you need to do an interview. I literally just went to the consulate, waited a few mins at reception, filled out a form, gave my documents, photos and fee to the girl at reception and that was it.

If it is the same procedure you could just get someone who looks a bit like you to go in for you - a bit risky but very possible I would say

An interview is required for all new applicants by the new regulations set out a few years ago. Like all things to do with that embassy, it's up to how they feel on the day.

I went up on a Tuesday with all my documents, went to hand them in and was told I would need an interview. I told them I wouldn't as I already had a visa.

The woman told me she would check to see if I needed one and she'd get back to me the next day. I asked her could I leave my stuff there and if I needed an interview I'd come back, and if not then they could process them. She said no.

I called at 10 the next morning, she told me she'd call me back in a few mins.... I had to call back myself at about 12 to be told I didn't need the interview.. It's a 2 hour drive for me just to get there.

roosh

cloneslad wrote: »

An interview is required for all new applicants by the new regulations set out a few years ago. Like all things to do with that embassy, it's up to how they feel on the day.

I went up on a Tuesday with all my documents, went to hand them in and was told I would need an interview. I told them I wouldn't as I already had a visa.

The woman told me she would check to see if I needed one and she'd get back to me the next day. I asked her could I leave my stuff there and if I needed an interview I'd come back, and if not then they could process them. She said no.

I called at 10 the next morning, she told me she'd call me back in a few mins.... I had to call back myself at about 12 to be told I didn't need the interview.. It's a 2 hour drive for me just to get there.

No way??!

OK, the risk factor of getting someone else to go in for you just increased dramatically.

kraggy

You don't need to do an interview in the embassy if you're going to a public job.

However, when someone goes to the embassy to hand in/collect your passport for the purposes of getting the visa, it would be very difficult if the person doesn't look like you

Unless things have changed and you can get someone to drop your passport in and collect it?

roosh

kraggy wrote: »

You don't need to do an interview in the embassy if you're going to a public job.

However, when someone goes to the embassy to hand in/collect your passport for the purposes of getting the visa, it would be very difficult if the person doesn't look like you

Unless things have changed and you can get someone to drop your passport in and collect it?

as long as someone looks remotely like you, and they have the necessary info to fill in the form you'd probably get away with it; they can give a registered letter for it to be posted out.

When I got mine there was no major scrutiny of any of the documents passports included; obviously if the person looks nothing like you then they might suss something