Getting Started 2: The Nitty Gritty Stuff

So the job has been landed and everything on that end is buttoned up- what's left?  Now-a-days, a whole lot of hoops.  Since a couple years ago apparently going to Korea to teach was a relatively easy enterprise but since then a pedophile was revealed to have been living there for over 9 years and then some genius ex-patriot teachers had a "pot-ring" going where they were selling weed to new incoming teachers and students.  In a country with a ZERO tolerance policy to drugs where marijuana is on the same punishable level as heroin, this caused quite a stir.  So basically now you have to go through a criminal background check (an it has to be apostilled by your state's Secretary of State), a medical check, and a drug test when you arrive (all of which makes perfect sense to me, if you're going there to teach you're going to be with kids, seems more than logical to me), along with sending original documents like your bachelor's degree and an interview at a Korean consulate so they can make sure you don't seem creepy.  For a full listing of all the requirements you need to do on this end before you can get issued the visa, visit here.

So that whole process can take up to a couple months and unless you live near a Korean consulate you'll have to visit a city near you that has one, so it's best to get started right away and maybe even before you apply to the Hogawons.  

And since you're going to another country I recommend going to the center For Disease Control website and seeing what they recommend being immunized for in South Korea.  These shots can be administered at any travel clinic and are flippin' expensive if you don't have insurance, like I didn't.  Even if you do, I'm not sure where these would fall in terms of coverage so know it might cost a few pennies.  Also to get the visa you have to fill out a form that is called the Medical Assessment where you say if you have HIV, Tuberculosis, and are addicted to any drugs or alcohol.  This is going to be verified by the korean doctors when you arrive for your medical check to qualify for your Alien Registration Card (which allows you sign up for utilities, internet, etc).  So if you have any questions about any of these answers, I recommend a physical before filling it out.  

And that's basically the meat of what you have to do on this end.  After the Visa Interview with the consulate you are basically good to go.  But figuring out what you're getting into and research into the culture is of course recommended.  I used Dave's ESL Cafe Korean Forums as a resource into getting answers to the questions my employer and recruiter couldn't answer.  There are a ton of different forums on the web about living and working in Korea.  I also studied Korean using the Rosette Stone program to mixed results.  Personally I think they're just glorified flash cards and that's a hard way for me to grasp another language.  Instead my brother bought me the ECTACO Speechguard Translator and this thing is amazing.  It breaks down the language into categories such a Food or Reservations, etc, and you can hear what the request in English is when said in Korean.  This will be a very practical help.  It also has a mic that can interpret what is being said in Korea and give you an idea of what it means in English.

Now all this above took me about 4 months to get finalized and ready to go.  So make sure you allow enough time between your starting date at the school and lining your ducks up in a row.