Korean Job Discussion Forums

[lawyertood]

Does anyone on this board currently hold an E-1 visa? If so, are there any advantages to having an E-1 as opposed to an E-2? Any drawbacks? If you know of a good web site with detailed information spelling this out I would really appreciate it if you could pass it along.

[kimcheeking]

I believe, but make no guarantees, that the advantage is you get a 3 year visa. I would look at the Korean Immigration site.

[Bruce Willis]

Lawyertood -----
the distinction between the E1 and E2 is what manner
of place you work in: YooCheeWon (Kindergarten), Hogwhon,
Elementary School, Middle School, High School: E2 ---
Songsangnim: Teacher. This may also apply to teaching
English classes in churches or for employees of various
Korean companies and major corporations, and Korean
military personnel.

Junior College, college, university, graduate school: E1
visa, officially stamped "Gyosu" which is the Korean
word for "Professor," and it is definitely not a "Songsangnim"
(Teacher) classification.

Teaching English at City Hall, embassies, or a government
agency: E7 -- consultant.

F1 -- Foreign spouse of a Korean citizen; if the foreigner is
the husband, it is necessary that he holds at least 40 million
won in assets in Korea.

Tourist Visa: strictly for travel; never, ever leave your country
with one of these for the purpose of teaching. Korean embassies
will warn of the extreme danger of doing so. Maximum duration
of tourist visa: 90 days. If arrested for teaching with tourist
visa, you could pay a fine of 1 or 2 million won, the hogwhon
or school might pay up to 10 million, and also might be completely
shut down. Hogwhons have been known to confiscate tourist
visas for the purpose of holding teachers hostage until they pay
for plane tickets and lost salaries. Such action in North America
could result in imprisonment of 25 years or more and constitute
kidnapping and blackmail charges. That's why the warning of
extreme danger by Korean embassies in other countries: don't
touch it with a ten-foot pole. The embassies have also warned
that letting a teacher pass through with a tourist visa could result
in a 3 or 4-day suspension of whatever airline you take into Korea.

At this point in time, with the country bereft of English teachers,
extremely high tension throughout especially the Middle East & Korea,
and families in foreign countries warning family and friends not to go
near those regions, you could probably get authorization from your boss
to combine two or three of these, effectively doubling or tripling
your salary. It would not appear that there are going to be more
foreign teachers here in the near future; it would appear there
will be far less. According to an article on this board, the US has
just authorized Taiwan to use nuclear weapons against China if
it is attacked by them; not a real pretty picture right now, boys and
girls. So it's not real advisable to hop on a plane and switch over
to a Taiwan job from Korea, as some have done in previous years:
out of the frying pan into the fire!

[drcrazy]

[ttompatz]

E2 = teacher of foreign languages.
- Can work at many types of places.
- 1 year visa (renewable).

E1 - visiting professor.
- Limited to tertiary positions.
- Does NOT have to be a language teacher.
- Usually requires graduate level qualifications.
- Can be for periods of 1 or 2 years (renewable).

.

[ontheway]

The E2 visa can be issued for any period of time up to and including 2 years.