For the proof of identity, I had to give the post office my birth certificate and my driver's license. I actually had to get another copy of my birth certificate cause it was my mom's copy. My mom wanted to keep it just in case anything happened. I went to my department of health website for my state and print out an application. Fill it out to the best of my abilities and mailed it to them that was specified at the bottom of the form. Along with my application I sent in my $10.00 check and a copy of my driver's license that was 150% of it's original size. You can copy your license on a photo copier. I did mine at a local supermarket, haha. After a week or 2 I got my birth certificate.
My post office has a service that can take pictures for your passport. After handing in your application and your identification forms, you pay around $135 for the whole thing. It's $110 for the application fee and $25 for the execution fee. For more information you can check out Travel.State.Gov. The cashier took my application and took me to the side of the building. Took my picture and just put it on my application. Now......I didn't even know how I looked like when my picture was the taken. The cashier didn't even let me take a look. For all I know I could've had a lazy eye or something. Luckily it came out fine, but.....I looked like a 13 year old, haha. The photos were $15 for 2 copies. After about 2 weeks I got my passport mailed to me. It was only fast cause it was not at peak season. You can check your passport status to see how long it's going to take. I checked mine almost everyday, haha. Remember to sign your passport or it's not valid. Here's how my passport looks like:
Hi! I am not sure how to email you back, so I'm responding here. Sorry it took me so long to get back to you. I was actually reminded about your housing question today because in class we learned about how to choose a place to live in Korea. Perfect, right? I asked some of my classmates how they found their places, and it seems like everyone recommends just finding a place online. A lot of the owners won't speak English (or speak very limited English), but if you find a place online you can probably send an email to reserve. (As a rule, it seems like Koreans' reading and writing is much better than their speaking.) I hear there are a ton of pictures, so it's pretty easy to find a place you like. Sorry I can't be of more help... most of my classmates are Japanese, don't speak English, and started Sogang at Level 3, so they could sort of speak Korean when they arrived. And for some reason, most of the English speakers I know live in apartments, one-rooms, or officetels...
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