For Those Coming or Thinking About Coming to Korea

I've gotten several comments lately about people coming to Korea who want to ask me questions (some comments not published to protect the innocent), so I figured it worth the effort to post the questions and my answers to benefit anyone interested. Below is a sampling. I'll add more soon.

What is the cost of utilities there?

Utilities for me include a flat apartment management fee of 30k won a month. Internet costs about 36k a month, and cell phone is about 15k a month. It varies a little. All of this is taken directly out of my paycheck, so I don't have to worry about paying bills. I did not have to put down any deposit on anything at all. HOWEVER, as I'm writing this, I just got an IM from a teacher friend of mine whose year is up in September, and he tells me that he had to pay a 700k won safety deposit on his apartment. You should ask your school about this if you're concerned.

What's your apartment like?

My apartment is small, but nice, and it was cleaned professionally before I moved in. This isn't always the case, but usually is, I think. I have a queen size bed with Korean style bedding. This means there is a bedspread similar to any Western style bedspread, but the sheets are not Western. Korean sheets involve just one thin quilt, not fitted, which is lain atop the mattress cover. You don't have a top sheet, so you just sleep under the bedspread. They provided me a pillow, but it was too small for my problematic neck, so I bought another bigger one. Pillow cases in Korea are more like pillow shams, with frills and such. Not the most comfortable. I recommend bringing your own bedding if you can fit it.

For furniture, I have a table with two chairs, a tall bookshelf, a vanity-style cabinet, and a small cabinet. For appliances I have what seems like a new refrigerator (It's not as big as the standard family fridge, but has ample space for one person. It's not like a college fridge or anything.), a tv (Cable is included. There are several channels that play American movies, too.), a washing machine, a two-burner gas range, a rice cooker (which I don't use), and a hot water heater. The apartment came with pretty much all the dishes I need, except for glasses. I had to buy three (they cost a buck) to add to the one mug that they gave me. I did get a brand new set of pots and pans, cutting board, cooking utensils, etc. The only things I've bought for the place are the glasses, a broom, a couple small trashcans, clocks, hand towels, a steam tray, and the pillow.

Is there training?

Despite what I was told before coming here, I was not given any training, nor did I shadow any classes before I jumped in and started teaching. I'm not sure if this happens commonly with private academies. Luckily, my school uses American English textbooks, so I just had to follow the lesson plan. I was given access to the books during the weekend I arrived, so I was able to get a feel for what I was doing beforehand. With teachers going into public schools through programs like EPIK, there are large orientations, but I've heard you don't really learn anything at those. I think in any case, unless you already have teaching experience, it's all pretty much learning to swim by being thrown in the lake. Whatever.

What's the toiletries situation?

I pretty much brought all my toiletries, because I was paranoid about things costing a lot. AND I WAS RIGHT! Now I wish I had brought even more than I did. For the girls, definitely bring tampons--I haven't even noticed any on the shelves. I just put mine in plastic sandwich bags to save space in the suitcase. They have plenty of shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, mouthwash, body lotion, and bar soap here, for sooort of decent prices. The toothpaste doesn't have fluoride, but that whole fluoride hype is just hype. Just, you know, brush your teeth. Definitely bring facial cleanser and moisturizer if you use that stuff. Clearasil costs 13k won a bottle. Retarded. They have Korean brands of facial stuff for cheaper (like between 6 and 10k), but it's a little harder to figure out if it's right for your skin.

If you wear contacts, I would recommend bringing plenty of that stuff, too, or at least plenty of eyedrops. I saw a bottle of Renu multipurpose solution at 7-11 the other day that didn't seem to cost much more than in the US, so that might be okay. Bring deodorant. Bring sunscreen! I didn't think of it, and I had to buy a tiny bottle for 11k won. What a ripoff. Bring condoms. They don't seem to sell condoms in droves here. I haven't looked much, but I haven't noticed, either. Medicine! Apparently Koreans don't self medicate, they just go to the doctor to get drugged up. I highly recommend cold and allergy medicines, especially if you're concerned about the yellow dust they have here (it's not severe). I pretty much had a cold the first four or five months I was here, as did the teacher I mentioned above (I don't think it was the dust, though).

What's the visa process like?

The visa process was pretty quick, but a wicked hassle. I overnighted the application with FedEx, then got a call a couple days later saying they had just changed the requirements and I had to go to the "local" Korean consulate for an interview. This meant driving from Maine to Boston for a ten minute interview. It's possible I might have actually gone home with my visaed passport the day of the interview, but the visa processer was on vacation, so they FedExed it back to me a few days later. The whole process only took a week or so, but you should call your consulate to ask about processing time.

Of course getting the visa only happens after you get a bunch of other required documents, like the criminal background check and the medical examination form. I only had to do a criminal background check with the city of Los Angeles, where I was living at the time, but I believe now you have to get either a state or federal check. A city check is a one hour process; the state process takes weeks, and I think the federal check takes months. Best to get that out the way immediately. The medical check was a hassle, too. I called the agency that got me the job in Korea to see if there is a specific form that they had that I could bring. They told me that doctors usually have a general form for this sort of thing. When I called the hospital to find out if this was true, they said the company requiring the exam would have to provide the form; otherwise they wouldn't know what to look for. I ended up digging out the medical examination form I had to fill out to get into college (I can't believe I saved that), and copying all the questions onto a Word document and printing it out. It totally worked.

Speaking of visas, once you get here, you need a visa to leave and come back, if you're taking international trips while here. The US automatically issues a multiple reentry visa on your E-2, but it expires a year after the visa is issued, not a year after you get here. So if, like me, you are travelling internationally the month or two before your contract is up, you have to go over to immigration and get a new reentry visa. This costs 50k won.