Your first month in Korea (What you spend your money on before payday) with Chungdahm

When you first begin looking into teaching in Korea, especially through Aclipse, they will reassure you that you really only need $1000-1500 until you get paid.

Is this realistic? NOPE.

I'm actually not super sure why they decided to budget with such low numbers. Especially since everyone starts training in Seoul where food is the biggest expense. 

What your $1000/1500 should be spent on according to CDI: 

Food: ~$200-250

Transport to the hotel: $25

Alien Registration card: $20

Photos for health check and ARC: $5 

Realtor fee for your flat: $250 

First month's rent: $800-1000 

Realistically: 

1) Food was my biggest cost alone. If you eat out a lot or simply buy coffees/take away drinks expect to go over your $200 budget quickly. It is possible to eat cheaply, but you're not gonna have time to really cook (and the hotel isn't super well furnished in the kitchen area), so get used to convenience store food quickly. I kept track of roughly how much I spent on food my first week alone was over $100. How is $200 supposed to last a whole month. My first month's food bill was over $400 and I think I did more than my fair share of eating from the convenience store. If you're not paying attention or you go drinking a lot it's pretty easy to drop tonnes of cash before you know it, especially with beers ranging around 5-9,000 won and mixed drinks running above 10,000 won. 

2) Realtor fees are definitely above $250, mine was $330. A friend did a simple title transfer (took over another teacher's apartment) and still had to pay like $150 for that when the realtor only had the sign some papers in an office. Expect to pay more than what you might be told. Budget probably like $400-500 and then be surprised when it's less. This is assuming your branch uses the same realtor and has a set deal with them. 

3) Rent is probably the only thing that's budgeted for properly. It does suck cause it means that you're expected to spend more of your own money on rent than the $600 stipend that you'll get. If you really don't want to deal with that then try to find a housing included contract but expect them to be in not so ideal locations (ie small cities and more rural). I said straight away that I want as close to $600 as possible and the closest they could get me was around $700. I got shown 4 apartments within my range and I chose one. Some people were not so lucky and ended up with more expensive places. Also expect these flats to be small and somewhat janky in some way or form. Luckily, mine was nice is most respects. 

4) Furniture expenses: 

Try to get as much of it as you can free or cheap. Ask around, look on FB. Use Gmarket if you need something more expensive as they will ship to your flat for cheap or free. A lot of it is cheaper than IKEA.

Things I bought new:

A korean sleeping pad (I decided on this a long time ago): $75, but I am going to upgrade to a nicer $200 one soon and keep this for guests. Ask around at your branch and see if you can borrow a bed before you order one (a real matress even) online from Gmarket or sleep on the ground for a day or two while it comes. 

A rug (probably didn't specifically need on right away) $40

A standing mirror $30 

A drying rack $20
misc kitchen stuff $30

Things I got cheap (mostly from a flea market near my flat):

Toaster oven for cooking/baking: $15

Pot/pan: $25

Bare minimum kitchen stuff: $25

Plates/bowls for 4: $20

Things I got free: 

Router for wifi (from a coworker)

Cabinet/shelf thing (found by my building's dumpster)
Couch (2 different couches actually, switched one for the nicer one, both found near the dumpster)

Giant desk I'm going to use as a table (also dumpster)
Some misc kitchen things (coworkers)

Unexpected things I needed to pay for: 

ATM fees - I was surprised by how many ATM withdrawls I had to do. Apparenlty many ATMs have low withdrawl amounts, plus so many surprise limits on my cards that my bank didn't tell me about. I ended up having to do a lot of ATM hoping before figuring out which ones worked best. I discovered that the Woori and HanaKEB Global ATMs had the highest limits, around $1,000USD. I paid about $10USD for a 500,000 won withdrawl. What is the worst thing about this is that it means you have to stratigically plan withdrawling enough to pay rent.


Final thoughts

Overall, I spent almost $2200 just getting set up. This is for my first month alone in Korea, it was another month before I got paid, so plan accordingly. It would be great if CDI would just say that you need to bring ~$3000 with you or have someone close (ie mum or dad) who's willing to lend you the money until you can pay them back after your first paycheque. 

Edit: April 20, 2017- name change to make it easier to understand what the topic is. 

Applying for a Korean Work Visa (Aclipse) Part 2

Aug 2016 edit: Changed to part 2 from part 1.5; added a new section.

So where I last left off was waiting....waiting for the offer to come in, waiting for my visa stuff, etc. I feel like that's the worst part of this whole process. Hurry up and wait. Get all these documents, and then wait till someone says "I want you to work for me!"

So let's get started shall we?

This post is a continuation of Part 1 which I recommend you go read if you haven't!

THE JOB OFFER
So the way they word the communication so far, you're basically being told: there will only be ONE job offer and you have to take it or NEVER COME TO KOREA EVAARRR!
However, it is possible to be a little selective with your choices. Obviously, they make you feel like this so you don't just reject a place cause it's not Seoul. I actually received a few offers but had to reject them for various reasons, mostly stuff which was out of my control. They way notice works in Prague is that you can't just give 2 weeks notice and leave, it can take a few months before you actually can end working. I also turned down a position because it was less hours (less $$) and it didn't include co-paid health insurance, which seemed a bit weird for me that it was like that. I sent a quick email out saying why i was rejecting it. I guess it helps to really be clear about what contract you want, not just the location. For example, I want housing included or I want the top level of pay, etc.

Luckily, there were more branches looking for teachers. I've been watching a lot of Eat your Kimchi so I had my heart set on Bucheon, but I knew it wasn't going to happen (my recruiter told me there weren't any positions available at the branch in Bucheon).

I read through the offer, checked all the paperwork, and sent back an acceptance email with a signed/scanned copy of the paperwork (official offer contract, another MOU, and the E2 visa form).

I was asked to set up a time to chat with someone from head office. After a bit of confusion, we managed to chat on the phone. It was surprisingly quick. He mostly congratulated me and then asked about if I was ready to go to the emabssy as soon as the visa issuance # arrived. I asked a few general questions about where I was going to be staying, but he wasn't able to give really specific answers because he was from head office. Overall it was less than 10 minutes. I was told it would be about a week or maybe 2 for the issiance #. Really it was closer to 3 weeks.


Now wait!
During my waiting time I have been practicing Korean a little, trying to prepare....hahaha! That's a lie, I didn't prepare at all. The only reason I'm halfway able to leave so suddenly is cause all my stuff basically fits into a suitcase anyways.

Talk to me in Korean is a great listening/learning resource. Or if you're more textbook style koreanfromzero.com has a free downloadable textbook you can print out and use. I've been using both so far and slowly getting into the Korean swing of things.

Visa Issance #
Once your # is ready, you will recieve an email with the information plus an info packet with some instructions to keep on hand in the future.

With this # you will head to your local Korean Embassy. However, what you'll need exaclty varies from embassy to embassy so call or email a head of time to find out exactly what you need. Read the paperwork carefully so you only need to make one trip. Don't, for example, forget to bring a passport sized photo (3.5mm x 4.5mm! Make sure you get the right size) and have to go twice. Some embassies require a sealed transcript, others might want to see your contract. What you generally need is:

-Passport (you will probably leave it with them, so don't plan any travel for a while).
-Photocopy of your passport photo page.
-Recent passport photo (3.5mm x 4.5mm). You will probably have to specify the size when you get it because Canadian standard is much larger.
-Visa fee (again double check this, it often fluxuates due to the exchange or changes in government). Bring exact change in cash or ask a head of time if they accept some other form of payment.
-Visa application form filled out as required (make sure you have the address of the hotel you'll be staying at, you might need it, you might not).
-Any extras as required by your specific embassy.

Once you hand it all in, you'll probably get a reciept of some kind and then told to wait a few days/week-ish/forever and they will call you or email you to come get it.

Wait again and book your ticket
I spoke with my recruiter and let her know I had sent in my visa application. She gave me the go ahead to book my ticket. Sadly I was basically a week and change out from the weekend when I was suppossed to arrive so I was really banking on having the visa stamp in my passport in time. My recruiter reassured me that it would most likely only take 2-3 days, but when I spoke with the embassy they said "we can't guarantee a specific date.. blah blah blah". I wanted to fly out on the friday before so I could have all saturday and sunday to recover/settle in. But with the tiny possibility that my visa might take longer (always plan like Mr. Murphy himself is standing over you softly cursing your every move), I booked a flexible ticket for the saturday before my training. This way I could move it if I didn't get my visa in time.

Get ready to leave
This is most likely the hardest step of everything. You now gotta fit your life into a suitcase, or maybe 2. Luckily I've had a bit of experience with this because I moved from Vancouver to Prague in 2014. I brought 1 large suitcase, and a carry on. I thought I should have brought some more things. I thought I had given away/gotten rid of too much stuff and I would be horribly lacking in Prague for basic essentials. Well, I actually over packed, if anything.

Bring the basics, and a few comfort things. I personally don't really like the clothing styles in Prague so I actually ended up not really even buying too many extra pieces of clothes. Friends of mine brought multiple suitcases filled with things they thought they might need: DVDs, books, etc. Most of them ended up getting rid of all of it because it just wasn't useful for them here. Why watch a film when you can go explore your new city?

Everything I didn't have I could buy easily and cheaply.

Plus, you're going to be living out of a suitcase for 1 week in a hotel. You don't want to have to lug extra suitcases around.

Your visa is READY!!
So probably you got a phone call or an email to go pick it up. One slightly ironic thing is that you should bring a second piece of ID with you. I know, they have your passport, but they still need to confirm your ID before they can give it to you.
What you will see: A full page sticker with your picture on it, your info and most importantly a date of entry and date of last entry.
This is not technically your visa, before you can get your final OK and finsih the registering process you actually must pass a medical exam. This visa is basically an entrance into Korea visa, but it's all you need for now. Hopefully your visa came quickly, and now you're a week or more away from your leaving date so you have lots of time to get ready and pack!

I hope this was helpful. I will be continueing to update with the rest of the process, and the things people forget to tell you along the way!

Sept 2016 A small update about money: Check out this soon to be coming post!

Applying for Korean Work Visa (Aclipse) Part 1

Hello!

As far as I can see it, you're here to learn about the application process for working with Chungdahm Learning through the recriuting company Aclipse! Ideally, you're from Vancouver, Canada as the process and costs might be different if you're not. If you're from somewhere other than Canada, this post won't be super useful for you.

As of this posting, my application is still being processed, so this is not a finalized posting. I will make another post as the process progresses. I just wanted to let anyone else out there know the info stuffed into my head.

Step 1: Apply to Chungdahm learning or CDL as they call themselves. I did so through Aclipse recruiting, which my friend recommended to me.

Your recruiter will contact you to confirm your application and to ask for some follow up information. Be prepared for the first of many copy+pasta emails.

This first email will include:
- Introduction to CDL
- Rundown of benefits and the basic contract information
- Links to an info packet with a bit more history and info about CDL.

Step 2: Finish the interview process. 
This interview has a few parts. The first part is a reading part. You will be sent a short passage and asked to answer some questions about it.

They will also send you a pdf with information about the recruiting and application process. Read the whole thing, it's also helpful to review it every once it a while so you can understand what's next. It can help answer any questions you might have as well.

Part 2 of the interview is the actual interview which was via skype for me, no video. You will schedule this with your recruiter, it must be during their working hours (Boston time).

You will be asked to make a short lesson to teach a 12yo intermediate level student. They give you a few lesson ideas you must use. The demo is 5mins so it's reaaaalllllyyy easy. It's basically to see if you're able to teach since many people apply without any experience. Don't sweat it or overthink it.

My advice: ask lots of questions, get the student speaking, use your questions to guide the lesson. Speak enthusiastically and slowly.
Example: Space travel/aliens -->What are the things you see at night in the sky? Stars. Where do people live? Earth. Do people live in the stars? No. Do you think people might live in the stars one day? Yes? Why?..... etc.

The rest of the interview is pretty standard:
- Why are you interested in CDL?
- What would you do if you had a disruptive student?
- What experience do you have teaching/what would make you a good teacher?
- What interests you about Korea?

Glassdoor.com has a lot of good information on the interview questions you will get.

The interviewer will also go over what you need for the visa and how to get it, and also confirm when you want to come. They will also answer your questions about the process and teaching abroad.

Step 3: Interview success!
At this point you will receive an email saying you're successful and asking you to fill out some forms needed to get the application process going.

You will need to send them:
- Application form and consent form (so they can use your image to send to future school locations).
- Signed and scanned E2 health statement (hopefully you're fairly healthy and no history of serious illnesses)
- A self-intro video that you make yourself. Look on youtube for some examples.
- Scan of your passport.
- CV/resume in word format
- jpeg of yourself looking like the business person you are.

You will have about a week to send all this back to them.

Step 4: Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) 
After sending back these things from above, you will have a short wait and then you will receive either a rejection or a memorandum of understanding, which is essentially a base contract between you and CDL saying "we want you offer you a job, but we need you to get your shit together first." It gives both you and the company an easy out if something should go wrong during the next few steps (ie. you're not able to go to Korea or get the visa for some reason).

This offer will outline your expected salary, next steps and important deadlines. It's mostly just fun to see that huge number in writing and then tell your friends and family. "Mum, I'm gonna make 2.5 million won!"

Very simple, sign it and scan it and send it back.

Step 5: Document Collection

This is one of the more 'difficult' parts, as you must actually put on pants for this part. I initially tried to do this all via mail as I am/was (depending on when you're reading this) in Prague. However, the criminal background check was going to cost me upwards of $300CAD to get because I wasn't in the USA or Canada. I recommend booking a few week holiday back home and getting it all done while you're there, unless you're lucky enough to be able to get fingerprints done cheaply and are ok spending at least $200 on getting the process initiated via a few certified companies. You will also need to have someone do all your running around for you as the notarization must be done by a Canadian notary in the Korean embassy's jurisdiction.

During my trip home, I spent probably no more than 5-6 hours over the course of 2 weeks getting all the paperwork together.

You need:
- 2 notarized copies of your degree ($40 cash) I used Kitty Lam, super quick and she's next to the embassy. However, you will need an appointment.

- Certification for the 2 notarized copies of your degree by the Korean embassy ($9.40 + 10c) You will need a photocopy of your passport. You can do this in the embassy.

- 2 Fingerprint based criminal record check ($85 x 2) I had to go back twice due to a misunderstanding and miscommunication/lack of knowledge by my recruiter. You need two originals as they will be submitted at different times or something. It might be cheaper/more expensive because you pay a separate fee ($60 for me) for the fingerprinting plus $25 for the check.

- Certification for the 2 criminal records by the embassy ($9.60) + photocopy again (10c).

- 1-2 unopened transcripts ($10-25 each). You will only need 1 for the degree certification. Your second one is for your degree confirmation for Aclipse. Check with your school if they issue specific letters, or else an official unopened transcript is fine.

- At least 9 passport photos I got 12 because of how they printed out (~$26)

- Signed E2 form physical copy.  Just send the one you previously scanned.

- Postage to Boston (~$6) plus another $3 for the nice cardboard envelopes so everything stays nice.

Overall I spent about $330 for everything. I had a few extra costs that maybe you won't have due needing to rush some things as I was only in Canada for a short time and needed to mail everything.

Double check you have everything you need, tick off those boxes in the document collection list and then seal it up and thennnnn..........

Step 6: Send it all to Boston.
Now you wait. You'll get an email once it's all received. Once it's received they will send it all off to do whatever magic CDL needs to do with it, and then release you into the 'pool' for managers to decide where you will go and which school needs you.

I suggest checking out eatyourkimchi for some great videos about living and working in Korea by two fellow Canadians! I've been watching them non-stop!


Part 2 is here!

Other posts you might like to read:

Training week Day 1