Follow-up and Links for Korea

While I have left South Korea, I still have friends and contacts there. Though Korea wasn't the place for me, a lot of people have better experiences there than I did.

If you find yourself going to, or thinking about going to Korea, but have questions/fears/ or simply want some advice on how to choose a school, what to look out for before signing a contract, or how to travel, feel free to ask.

I realize I disappeared for a long time--my computer died and when the replacement came I just didn't have the interest in starting up again... However, most of that was stress and my own bad experiences.

After having some time away, I can more easily remember the good things.

The reason I am starting this up again is that I will be leaving for Japan this December and will be blogging about my experiences (hopefully this time I can keep it up ;)

Here are some great links, I forgot to post them before:

For Travel in Korea:

These are for the trains. You can choose your start and destination, it will give you the fastest route and how long and how much the charge is. The first is the main site, if you click the picture you ge the second. You can link either, but it only works on Internet Explorer (No Mozilla).
http://www.visitkorea.or.kr/ena/TR/TR_EN_5_1_4.jsp
http://www.smrt.co.kr/program/cyberStation/main2.jsp?lang=e

This one is for buses. You can enter the starting point and destination, or just zoom on an area and choose the 'Route Search' tab. (*Note: Buses aren't always kept up to date and they this site isn't 100% trust worthy... nothing is here with buses.)
http://bus.congnamul.com/SeoulRouteWebApp/view_english/map.jsp

This is for the KTX--fast train to Busan and other places. You can go here to pre-order tickets once you have your alien card.
http://www.korail.com/

For Learning Korean:

Told you before, the alphabet is easy. You will need some basic understanding of simple Korean words/phrases, but this is the best site I've found.
http://ecamp.cyberkorea.ac.kr/
It's actually really good, but if you want better you have to pay for classes, or find the free ones. It also needs IE.

For Discussion Class Ideas:

These are just links with Discussion Topics and Questions in case you need some ideas.
http://iteslj.org/questions/
http://www.btinternet.com/~ted.power/discuss.html
This is a site where it talks about laws that schools are supposed to follow with their foreign teachers.
http://www.efl-law.com/recruiters&the-law.php

Arrival in Korea

Hello again. I arrived in Incheon airport last night after a horribly long 21 hour flight, only to have been left mostly to my own devices. Luckily I had a friend who could come meet me and help me get there, but I met another girl who didn't and my friend helped her out as well.

When you arrive in Korea, it is normal for someone from your school to pick you up... however, sometimes this doesn't happen for one reason or other. In my case they were still in classes when I arrived and my school was an hour and a half drive from the airport, so they couldn't pick me up. Even if this is the case, don't worry too much.

When you arrive, you will follow the general masses through the airport until you see the sign saying "Immigration". Then you will need to look at the signs near front of the lines and find the lines marked for "Foreign Passport". Wait in line with your passport and yellow arrival card (given to you on the plane) out and ready. Since you will already have your visa, it will take all of a minute.
Then you will pass through and go right or left to the escalators going down to baggage claim. There are big digital sign boards next to the top of the escalators telling you which luggage rail to go to, check it first! Then go down and grab your luggage. There are free luggage carts that you can get to put your luggage on if you have too much to carry. Once you have it, make sure you have out your cards for 'items to declare'. You will pass through the declarations/none area and out into the main area. If someone has come to pick you up, they will be in that area.

If no one is picking you up, there is an exchange counter on the outside wall, go there first. If you wait to exchange your money in Korea, you won't have to pay extra fees. If you exchange cash, you will only need about $30-$50 dollars for bus fare. Taxis are expensive and the buses are nice, so don't be afraid to take one. If you take a taxi, you will need more money. If you use a debit or credit card at the exchange counter, the minimum you can change is $100. If you don't want to change that much (you will get better rates at a bank) you can use the ATM's next to the counter. They have an English button on them.

To take the bus you will need to go to a ticket counter that will be outside the airport doors, next to the pick-up area. FYI, when you walk out the doors there will be people asking if you want a taxi, if you do, ok. If not, just say no. Once we exited there was an airport working who asked us "where you want to go", we said Bundang (because that's where I am), but apparently if you say Seoul they will often try and take you to a taxi. My vote is to just say bus. He will tell you which way to the ticket counter.

When buying the bus ticket, you will need to know the name of your stop. Tell the person and they will tell you the departure times for that bus. Make sure you have at least 15 minutes to find/get to the stop because they are not neccessarily in order. Also, sometimes you will be on the same side as the counter, and sometimes you will need to go across the road. Ask them where the stop is located so you don't have to waste time. You can pay in cash or credit for the ticket.
Note: The buses are mostly set up by prefecture. Some prefectures have more than one stop, so make sure to check each sign to see that your stop is on that bus line.

When the bus comes they will place your luggage under the bus, at this time they often ask you which stop you will want. Tell them, then just get on and enjoy the ride. Make sure to pay attention to the stops though so you don't miss yours!!!

If no one met you at the airport, they will often meet you at the bus stop. They will usually put you up in a hotel room if your apartment is still occupied. If it's not, you can take your bags to your new apartment.

Also, don't be surprised if they want to take you to meet the other teachers right away if it is a weekday and not too late. I was asked to join them, but luckily given a little time to refresh myself with a quick wipe down and a new shirt. Which was good since I felt like a sweaty, smelly pig after the trip.

Other notes:
Don't bother get an international plan or cell phone. Most of them don't work anyway.
If you need to call your school after you buy the ticket to tell them when you'll arrive... ask at the information counter, what is the best way to make a local call. Also, have some change ready for the phones, it's easier than trying to decifer the phone cards.