Hostel

Hm......I have no place to really stay in Korea, haha. Short term accommodation considerations were hotels, love motels, 찜질방 (jjimjilbang), 여관 (yeogwans), and hostels. Hotels, love motels, and 여관 are expensive even for short term stay. I wouldn't have minded staying at a 찜질방, but I can't leave my luggage there. My last option would be a hostel, which I stayed in before in Canada. I used hostelworld which was the same website I used to get a hostel in Canada . I didn't choose my hostel by rating at all. I based everything on price, location, and reviews. I needed a hostel that was near Line 2 aka the Green Line subway stations, so I could get to Sogang and search for housing around the area for a few days. As pictured below, I needed to get from the blue (Line 2) to the red (Sogang):

The top 3 hostels I had to choose from was Mr.Kim's Friends Guesthouse, Hong Guesthouse, and Seoul I Guesthouse. Unfortunately none of the hostels are in Sinchon =/, but in Hongdae. When I think about....I don't know if there are any hostels in Sinchon. Hongdae is very close anyway, so I shouldn't have an issue. All the hostels that I rounded up were all close to Line 2 which I provided with pictures. Listed below are the prices per day and the types of rooms each hostel had that I considered to get:

==========================================================
Mr.Kim's Friends Guesthouse

Prices
Basic 1 Bed Tent Shared Bathroom - US$11.24 (weekday) + US$13.11 (Fri+Sat) x2 days = US$37.46
Basic 4 Bed Mixed Dorm - US$14.05 (standard) x3 days = US$42.14
Basic 10 Bed Mixed Dorm - US$11.24 (standard) x3days = US$33.71

Hong Guesthouse

Prices
4 Bed Mixed Dorm - US$14.05 (standard) x3 days = US$42.14
Standard 6 Bed Mixed Dorm - US$12.17 (standard) x3 days = US$36.52

Seoul I Guesthouse

Prices
Basic 10 Bed Mixed Dorm - US$12.46 (weekday) x2 days + US$15.45 (Fri+Sat) = US$43.36
==========================================================

Mr.Kim's Friends Guesthouse reviews were very shady. Getting that feeling means I definitely don't want to stay there. On top of that, I don't want to sleep in a tent, haha. It is by far the cheapest though. The 4 bed mixed dorm was the same price as the other hostels. The 10 bed mixed dorm seemed ok, but when I think about it.....just too many people and too much noise.

Hong Guesthouse reviews were pretty good. The 4 bed mixed dorm was the same price as the other hostels. I was going to get the 6 bed mixed dorm cause it was cheaper, but backed out cause I thought it was too many people. Albeit I'm sure it probably wouldn't be full, I just don't want to deal with drama.

Seoul I Guesthouse reviews were really good. I didn't choose this cause it was more expensive than the other hostels.
==========================================================

I ended up booking with Hong Guesthouse cause of how everyone said the owner was helpful. I'll be needing all the help I could get, haha. Bothering the owner all day =P. The pricing wasn't too bad either. I booked the hostel from February 25th - February 27th for 3 nights. I just put in the days that I wanted and chose 1 person. After that you need to pay a 10% deposit and a $2 booking fee. I paid $4.21 deposit + $2 booking fee = $6.21. After you booked everything you should be directed to a confirmation page and sent an email:

Confirmation Page

Email Confirmation

After a few days later I found out they dropped the prices >__<, but it was only a few cents though. I also checked my bank statement and was charged $0.16 for INTERNATIONAL POS FEE VIS 1227 IE. I think that's just silly, haha. Well if you're around the area, I guess I'll see ya around =D.

Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays everyone. Hopefully you guys got your jolly mittens and boots on. It's gonna be a white Christmas this year. I'm gonna go down Chinatown to get some good ol' dim sum in my tummy ^_^. Then visit my little brother. This will be the last time I see him before I head off to Korea T__T. Stay safe and warm everybody .

Interveiw

I got an email from Sogang on December 10th to do an interview for the placement test by phone:

I emailed Sogang back saying I can't speak Korean. They replied back, but for some reason I just cracked up from what they said. I guess I'm really a TOTAL newb, haha.

Dear XXXXXXXXXX

In that case, you don't need to take the placement test.
I will place you at the absolutely beginners class.

Sincerely
Kim Hyung-il

I couldn't do the interview anyway cause I work the night shift. Interrupting my sleep in the afternoon would make me say all kinds of incoherent things, haha.

Plane ticket

I just bought my one-way plane ticket to Seoul, South Korea. It cost me $603.90. Coming from Pennsylvania to Seoul Incheon International Airport (ICN).

Here's a list of websites to check on prices of flight tickets:

http://www.onetravel.com/
http://www.orbitz.com/
http://www.priceline.com/
http://www.sidestep.com/
http://www.cheaptickets.com/
http://www.cheapoair.com/
http://www.expedia.com/
http://www.kayak.com/
http://www.travelocity.com/
http://www.airfare.com/

These are the prices of my flight ticket to Seoul from each site:

Onetravel
$582 with fees included ($18) + $34 tax = $616.26

Orbitz
$619 + $149 of taxes and fees = $768 - It became unavailable even though it was still listed
It got changed to $933 + $37 of taxes and fees = $970.99

Priceline
$761 with fees included + $160 of taxes = $921

Airface/Sidestep/Kayak - With Sidestep and Kayak it lead me to Airfare.com. By far the cheapest flights around.
$475.59 + $128.31 of taxes and fees = $603.90

Cheaptickets
$619 + $147 of taxes and fees = $766.59

Cheapoair
$573 with included fees + $48.31 of taxes= $621.40

Expedia
$759.60 with taxes and fees included

Travelocity - when you selected the flight, you got different fees and taxes, but the total was the same.
$731 with fees of $30 = $761.10
$635.10 + $126 of taxes and fees = $761.10 - selected a flight

I bought my ticket from Airfare.com, obviously cause it was the cheapest. I could've gotten insurance for $36.84, but opted not to. Hm....I think I might regret it when the time comes, haha. Ah wells, I already went through with the purchase. Just fill out the forms online with YOUR information and you should be fine. After purchasing the ticket you will be at a page with your confirmation number and itinerary:

You will also receive 3 emails:

Plain text format of your itinerary

Issuance of your ticket:

Dear Traveler,

Your ticket with airfare.com has been issued

Your confirmation number is: XXXXXXXXXX

To view your itinerary online please click on the following . http://www.checkmytrip.com
(If your email does not support links, please copy and paste it into your browser.)

Please don’t forget to check the following before your departure date:
1- Call the airline to confirm your schedule and to assign your seat, meals or any extra services.
2- Check if you will need a visa and transit visa for the layover or for the final destination.
3- Make sure you've received the ticket if your ticket is a paper ticket.

Please note that our tickets are NON-REFUNDABLE.
To read our regulations and rules please click the following link.
http://www.airfare.com/airfare3/secure/regulations.aspx
(If your email does not support links, please copy and paste it into your browser.)

Thank you for booking with Airfare.com

Airfare.com team wishes you a safe flight,
Airfare.com customer service

What kind of ticket you have:

Dear Traveler,

Concerning your booking with Airfare.com (XXXXXXXXXX) ,
Please advise that your ticket is an electronic ticket now at no extra charge.

Thank you for booking with Airfare.com

Customer service,
Airfare.com

After just 1 day after purchasing my ticket, my itinerary changed, haha.

Dear Customer,

This is an automated notification to inform you that there were schedule changes in your flight made by the airline you are traveling with.
Please call the airline to confirm your itinerary.

You can check your updated itinerary from the following link: WWW.CHECKMYTRIP.COM/CMTSERVLET?R=XXXXXXXXXX&L=US&N=XXXXXXXXXX

Your confirmaion number is: XXXXXXXXXX

Thank You, Airfare.com

It was so quick. Instead of leaving at 10:30am, I will be leaving at 11:000am. My biggest problem is now that the ticket prices from Seoul to Pennsylvania is double the price. It's pretty crazy. A round trip ticket was only $850. I think I might have to buy my ticket from a Korean website instead of an American one so I can save some money coming back. The reason why I got a one way ticket was because I'm honestly not sure when I'll be back. On top of that I can't buy a return flight more than 6 months in advance. Anyways, here's what my itinerary looks like:

Visa Part 2

A few days later I was contacted by the Korean Embassy cause they didn't know what kind of visa I wanted. That's not surprising cause it never tells you what kind of visa you were applying for on the form. They also asked why I was going and the duration. Hm...didn't I put all of that in the application? I sometimes think they don't read the application, haha. I told them I wanted a C3 Visa and will be staying for 3 months, but they insisted that I didn't need one. The US and Korea has a Waiver agreement which says Americans can stay in Korea up to 90 days without a visa. Then I insisted I wanted one anyway. They kept saying since I was only going to Korea for 3 months that it wasn't necessary to get a C3 Visa cause it had the same duration as a regular tourist visa, but they would issue one to me if I still wanted it. WELL, since I had already paid a pretty penny to get all my materials over there, I think I still REALLY want that C3 visa, haha. Unfortunately they couldn't issue one to me without faxing over my admission letter. The confusing part was on the website, it states that there were no required documents. I didn't argue with them, I just went to work and faxed over copies of my certificate of admission, certificate of enrollment, and official receipt documents.

You might be wondering why I didn't just get a D4 visa from the beginning? Well, there's just too much work to get that visa and I'm just too lazy, haha. I didn't want them looking at my financial statements. You also might be wondering why I said 3 months instead of a year? I didn't want the Korean Embassy asking too many questions and how I was going to pay for everything. I didn't want to go through all the grief of telling them that stuff, haha. Anyway, after a few days I got my passport in the mail. This is the pre-paid envelope I bought. You see the over sized stamps?:

Front of Envelope

Back of Envelope

I open up my passport and to my absolute utmost surprise I got a.......

......D4 visa. Not a C3 visa, but a D4 visa. Do you see THAT? haha. I wasn't trying to get one until I got to Korea. I had to check 3 different times to see if I was seeing an illusion. I definitely wasn't, haha. D4 visa is definitely better than a C3 visa. BINGO!!!!! I think I hit a jackpot and this will give me more time to have fun ^__^V. I actually wanted to see what the process was to change my C3 visa to a D4 visa while in Korea, but I guess I'll do an entry later on how to extend your D4 visa.

I just noticed why my pre-paid envelope was so much. The top stamps were $4.90 each. The middle stamps were $1 each. The bottom left stamp was $0.10 and the bottom right was $0.75. So I paid $13.65 just for stamps =__=

Visa Part 1

I read a blog awhile ago about changing visas in Korea. Specifically a Tourist Visa (B2) to a General Student Visa /General Trainees Visa (D4). I guess what I forgot to remember was for American citizens I needed a General Short-Term Visa (C3) first in order to change my visa status to a D4. I thought I had read another blog saying I could do that, but I think I was mistaken. I confirmed you can't change a B2 visa to a D4 visa while in Korea. It's about 3 months before I'm about to leave for Korea and I didn't get one yet. Luckily someone told me I couldn't, haha. I checked visitkorea.or.kr website and confirmed it.

Applicants should obtain a student visa or a training visa (visa status C-3 or D-4). It takes about a week or longer, depending on where you are, to get a 90-day student visa at the Embassy or Consulate office. After 90 days in Korea, applicants may extend their visa as long as they continue to study at the Korean Language Program. People who enter Korea on a tourist visa cannot extend or change the visa status within the country.

These are the materials you'll need for the Visa application as per what the USA Korean Embassy website tells you:

==========================================================
General requirements for Visa Application

• A valid passport
• A completed visa application (ms-word) (pdf)
• Passport size photo (2”x 2” color)
• Fee: $45 for American citizens (Cash or money order only; Pay to the Order: Korean Consulate General)

==========================================================

There are no documents to send in for a C-3 Visa.

Status	Required Document
Short-Term Visitors (C-3)	- No documents are required.
General Trainees (D-4)	1. A student who learns Korean language at a language institute attached to college or university, or who is involved in study training according to academic exchange agreement between colleges or Universities needs the following documents; - Certificate of school enrollment or school attendance - Financial Affidavit * Certificate or remittance or money exchange (More than U.S. $3,000) - Letter of personal reference notarized is required in case that the applicant cannot prove his or her capability to pay travel expenses necessary to stay, including school fees etc., or if Justice Minister deems particularly necessary 2. A student who participates in other training programs will need the following documents: - Certificate of training - Documents regarding establishment of training institutes - Financial Affidavit * Certificate or remittance or money exchange (More than U.S. $3,000) - Letter of personal reference notarized is required in case that the applicant cannot prove his or her capability to pay travel expenses necessary to stay, including school fees etc., or if Justice Minister deems particularly necessary

==========================================================

The application form is a little confusing if you don't know the jargon listed on the application. Luckily I was able to figure out most of the information was actually on my passport. The only requirement you need to fill out the Visa form is your passport. I'll show you what I put on mine:

For #8. Classification, they didn't have P listed to choose from, but P and OR are the same, so I just circled OR. These are what the abbreviations mean:
          -DP = Diplomatic
          -OF = Official
          -OR = Ordinary
          -P = Passport (I thought it was Personal)

You can find more information on Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Vancouver, United States Passport on Wikipedia, and USA Korean Embassy. This is a sample visa.

After filling out the application I went to one of my company's retail stores, Rite Aid, to get a picture taken. The quality was pretty horrible. It's nothing like the picture that the post office took of me for my passport. Lighting was bad and there were no care for the customer (ie. tilt your head down, move to the left, etc). I get what I paid for I guess. It was $7.99 compared to the postal office's price of $15.00.

I took the picture, my passport, and my application off to the post office. I put everything in a cardboard envelope like this, but half this size:

I walked up to the counter to purchase a $45 money order. I paid it to Korean Consulate General with the mailing address on it. With Western Union money orders I know you don't have to put the mailing address, so putting a mailing address on a USPS money order was kind of weird to me, haha. If you don't live in Virgina, Maryland, District Of Columbia, or West Virgina you can not send your application to the Korean Embassy in Washington DC. Since I live in Pennsylvania, the Korean Embassy in New York has jurisdiction as stated in USA Consulate Service Gerneral Information and USA Consulate Service Area Of Jurisdiction:

==================================================

Consulate-General	Address	Phone/Fax	District
New York	Main Office : 335 E. 45th St.(4th Fl.), New York, NY 10017	T:(646)674-6000 T:(212)692-9120 F:(646)674-6023	Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania
	Public Office (Visa Section): 460 Park Ave. (57th St.) 6th Fl. New York, NY 10022	T:(646)674-6000 F:(646)674-6023

==================================================

I also purchased a pre-paid envelope and got it certified. The total amount to send everything to New York was......a whopping $65.60. As the clerk was putting stamps on my envelopes and putting all my materials in it, I kept asking several times, "This is the cheapest?" and "Are you SURE?". Come on now, it was close to $20 just for the pre-paid envelope itself. It was mind boggling on how expensive it was. I paid for it anyways and it was shipped on 11/30/2010. Here's the receipts:

Sales Receipt

Money Order Receipt

Certified Mail Receipt

On the left of the Certified Mail Receipt you have a serial number where you can track your package.

Passport

I got my passport a while ago. The application process was fairly easy. I went to the post office and got a DS-11 application form cause I never had a passport before. I read all the instructions and filled out the form. It was that easy. I left my "parent's date of birth and place of birth" blank on the form cause I was too lazy to ask them, haha. The post office took my application anyways.

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:

Application Process

For more information about the whole application process, you can check out Sogang's KLEC website. Just click on "Application Process" link on the front of the website. Here's a direct link.

Admission Letter

If you requested your admission letter from Sogang, then will look like this:

Front of the envelope

Back of the envelope

The documents

Of course I blanked out my personal information. The 2011 Spring term is from March 3rd ~ May 17th which shows on the Sogang website. Now, on the documents it shows that the last date is May 24th. The email from Sogang that I received will clarify this:

Lastly, when you receive your certificate of admission and certificate of enrollment, you can find last date is 1 week later than we posted at the web site. If we notified the last date at the certificates, student visa will also expires that date. In that case, students must leave Korea by last day of term. Therefore we give 1 more extra week for students who need time to finish the life in Korea.

Tuition

After getting accepted to Sogang, I had to pay for the tuition. The tuition is 1,575,000won (include tuition: 1,515,000 KRW, application fee: 60,000 KRW).

Dear XXXXXXXXXX

Congratulations, you have been accepted into Sogang Korean Language Education Center’s program.

If you transfer total tuition to us, your application process will be finish.

So, please transfer 1,575,000won (include tuition: 1,515,000 KRW, application fee: 60,000KRW) to below account by end of January 2011.

---------- Wire transfer information ----------

Woori Bank (Sogang University Branch)

Depositor : Sogang University

Seoul Korea

Account # : 1006-301-271661

Swift Code : HVBKKRSE

Application Name and Passport number.

Address : Korean Language Education Center. Sogang University 1-1 Sinsoodong,

           Mapo-gu, Seoul 121-742, KOREA

------------------------------------------------------

---------- Domestic transfer information ----------

우리은행

Depositor : 서강대학교

Account # : 1006-301-271661

-------------------------------------------------------

※ Textbooks fee is not included at the above mentioned fee. You must buy your textbooks at the Sogang University campus bookstore by yourself according to your placement test result.

If you can’t wire it in KRW, you can send it in USD, JPY and EURO also according to daily exchange rate. But, if the transferred amount is less than KLEC needs caused by different exchange rate, please pay the difference after you arrive in Korea. (Of course you can get surplus if the transferred amount is more than KLEC needs.)

And, I will send a Certificate of admission after I receive your total tuition.

Thanks again for applying to Sogang KLEC’s program and I’m look forward to meeting you soon at Sogang University Korean Language Education Center.

Best Regards

Kim Hyung-il

Err....how am I suppose to do that? I searched around the internet and found out that Money Gram has a partnership with Woori Bank. I went to CVS where you can just pick up a Money Gram phone and it dials itself to their automated line. Hm....yea, the automated system is kind of stupid. I kept saying "KOR-EA" when they asked what country I'm sending the money to and they never took it. The automated system would say, "Did you say Syria? I would say "NOOOO" several times and get frustrated. So I said it another way, "KO-REA", "KAR-EA", and "KER-EA".....still saying a different country than what I wanted. Out of nowhere a white lady comes up and was like "LET ME TRY". In my head, I'm thinking, "Uh....did I not say KOREA CLEARLY....in ENGLISH? Did it seem like I had an accent, stuttering, or saying it incorrectly in any sort of way?" I just let the lady say "KOREA" anyways cause I didn't want to make a scene. Well.....she got it wrong too. At this time I was frustrated and irritated, but didn't show it. I just waited on the phone until I got customer service in which.....still didn't go so well. At one point I forgot to get the amount for the tuition I was suppose to send, so I had to drive all the way back home and get it. Anyway, it seems like you can't send money to a company or university. You have to send money to an actual person. I waited an hour at CVS for no reason. After I went home I realized I should've said "South Korea", duhhh, hahaha.

Next, I sent a message online to my bank about wiring money to Korea. I thought you had to do through the phone cause that's how they replied to me. I called them and they said I didn't have an agreement to do wire transfer through the phone and I will have to go to my local bank. I was at the bank several times that week so I could withdraw money and deposit the money bank when I went to CVS. It just feels awkward going back so many times, haha. I ended up going to my bank at a different location and was finally able to wire my tuition to Sogang University. I justed talked to the teller and gave them all the information. They did everything on the computer. We tried to send the money through as KRW cause it's more accurate, but my bank didn't allow that. We ended up wiring $1450 USD. My bank said it costs $45 for a wire transfer, but only charged me $25. The final paperwork had the wrong address for the bank, so I was extremely worried it wouldn't go through. This is from my wire receipt from my bank:

What my bank statement showed:

Yea.....as you can see, all the information gathered got me so confused. I emailed Sogang anyway and told them I wired the money with the reference number provided by my bank when I did the wire. Two days later, Sogang said they received the money, but I had overpaid 16,023 KRW.

Dear XXXXXXXXXX

Thanks for sending your tuition.
I've received 1,591,023 KRW well.
However, as you see it is 16,023 KRW more than KLEC needs.
I guess it is caused by difference exchange rate.
Sorry for bothering you but, for refund it, you must let me know the bank account information that opened at bank in Korea.
And, you can get your certificate in 10days.
If not, please let me know it soon.

Lastly, when you receive your certificate of admission and certificate of enrollment, you can find last date is 1 week later than we posted at the web site. If we notified the last date at the certificates, student visa will also expires that date. In that case, students must leave Korea by last day of term. Therefore we give 1 more extra week for students who need time to finish the life in Korea.

All the best,
Kim Hyung-il

I asked if I could get the refund when I arrived, but they said because of a rule, they can't give me cash.

Dear XXXXXXXXXX

So sorry but, we can't five cash at the office because of Sogang's rules.
You must open the bank account for refunding and if you will bring your passport to the bank at first floor of KLEC building, you can open it.

Sincerely
Kim Hyung-il

This finalizes everything and can say that I am definitely going to Korea.

Applying To Sogang KLEC

It took several months for me to decide on which Language Institute I wanted to go to. It was between Yonsei KLI (Korean Language Institute) or Sogang KLEC (Korean Language Education Center). My ultimate goal is to be able to speak proficiently and not really fluently. Based on reviews from various blogs and websites, I decided to apply to Sogang KLEC cause they can help you speak faster and more fluidly. I did want to go to Yonsei before cause I could dorm there for a while until I got to know a bit of Seoul. I wanted to play it safe, but it wasn't what I really wanted.

I went to Sogang's website around August and you couldn't apply for the Spring 2011 semester cause....uh....the radio button wasn't there, haha. Even after the summer semester ended they never updated their website for me to apply. I waited a while for the fall semester to apply. Even after the fall semester started they STILL didn't update their website. By this time I was getting worried cause I wanted to apply as early as I could.

A week later Sogang updated their website, so you could apply to the Spring semester. YAY!!!! So I applied.....5 TIMES!!!!! Well, why did I apply so many times? After sending in my application, I was redirected to another page to set your interview date. Um....the website didn't ALLOW me to choose one. There were no dates at all to choose from. At this point I was like, "They didn't update their website fully. I will wait 1 week". I waited and I pretty much applied EVERY single week in the month of September. TWICE every week. Can you tell I REALLY wanted to go to Sogang? haha. After applying a dozen times, I emailed Sogang, but never got an answer.

After no answer, I just made a user account with the website not knowing if I even had to do it. The account required a Social Number and a Korean name. I didn't have either, so I put in my Social Security Number for Social Number and put in my real name for Korean name. I applied once more thinking that this is what I had to do to get an interview date.......WRONG as usual. I waited and waited....waited some more for an answer from Sogang. Never got one. On October 4th, I was so frustrated that I pulled up Yonsei's website and said that if I didn't get an answer today, that I was going to Yonsei. I checked my email one last time and BAM!!!! I got an email from Sogang saying they needed a copy of my high school diploma and passport. How ecstatic am I now, hahaha.

Dear XXXXXXXXXX

Thank you for applying to Sogang University Korean Language Education Center. (KLEC)

I need more documents to admit you to study in Sogang University KLEC.

So, would you please send your scanned passport, Alien Registration Card (if you have) and diploma (transcript from university or college is possible) to me via e-mail?

(KLEC must check that documents because of Korean Immigration Rules for foreign students.)

I will send a mail about your total tuition and Sogang’s bank information after I check your documents.

Thanks again for applying to KLEC’s 2011 Spring program.

I look forward to meeting you soon at Sogang University KLEC.

Regards

Kim Hyung-il

I just took pictures of them and sent them an email back. Several hours later I got accepted ^__^V. Here are the pictures:

A Whole Year?

In order for me to immerse myself in a culture I was interested in, I wanted to stay a year there. I didn't want to JUST visit. I wanted to learn the language and about the people. In order for me to stay a year I needed.....MONEY. And lots of it. I calculated I needed about $12,000 (includes airfare). I had the money and was set to leave in early 2009, but ran into a problem. You can only stay in Korea for 90 days without a visa. I didn't know how to get around this at all. I couldn't get a visa long enough for me to stay except for a tourist visa, but I would need to do a visa run (going to a different country to renew your visa). I didn't want to do that in a country I didn't know with limited funds. I searched all over the internet for a way. I was able to find it luckily....sort of.

I could apply to a Language University and get a student visa while I was there. Specifically a D4 student visa that can last 6 months. Well, there's another problem with that too. I would need MORE money to pay for the tuition and other miscellaneous fees. I set another goal of $24,000. I pretty much sacrificed 2 years of my life to save this amount of money. As of now, I'm pretty close, but will still need a large sum. We'll see if I can do it.

Hello New Adventure!!!

Welcome to my first post. Am I bothering you that much already? haha.

I created this blog so I can record my mishaps in Seoul, South Korea. Mistakes you shouldn't make and some information on what I did to get to Korea. All the troublesome stuff for a person like me has to go through. I've never been out of the country, so it's gonna be a new and fresh experience for me.

Hm....why am I going to Korea in the first place? Well.......I can honestly say that I want to learn about the culture first hand. Something I've been interested in for a long time. I know, I could just watch stuff on TV or the internet on it, but.......that's just no fun at all. A little history lesson: I use to live in a VERY small Koreantown in my hometown of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Specifically in the Olney area. My mom use to take the family to the Korean supermarket to get groceries. Little did I know, I was eating Korean food at a young age and always thought I was eating Chinese traditional food, haha. Only into my mid-teens did I realize what I had been eating. I even watched the Korean version of Dragonball and didn't know it. Just until a few months ago I thought one of the verses for the Korean Dragonball theme was "Metri metri met metri" (I was thinking it was something like Metroid). It was actually saying "Let's fly let's fly let's let's fly". Ahhhh, the retardedness, hahahaha.

Anyways......the medium that got me to want to take this adventure would be.....a movie called "My Sassy Girl". It's still one of my favorite movies. When I was 19, something overwhelming had sparked within me and I just decided I wanted to go to Korea. I needed to do this NOW or I wouldn't ever get a chance to. If I waited too long, things will fall out of place. Sooner or later, I would get discouraged. If anything ever happened, I can always say that I fulfilled a long time dream. I got myself out of debt by paying off all my loans (a lot) and getting a higher paying job. Fast forward to 2010 and I have saved up several thousands of dollars to stay in Korea for a year. Everything starts now.

I do this for myself and for you!!!!