Korean Job Discussion Forums

[blah]

I have experience as an EFL teacher in Taiwan when I was a single man. I showed up on a visitor’s visa, got a job, and then my employer took care of the rest. I am now, however, in the Philippines with my Filipino wife. My goal is to bring my wife with me to Korea. Has anyone else been through this? What will this entail? Is there any way for us to obtain visitor’s visas, or will I have to apply for a work visa from abroad? Will she have to obtain a Spousal or Dependant Visa? I would really appreciate any advice from someone who has been through a similar situation.

Thanks in advance.

[john]

I would suggest that you get a job.... come to Korea and make sure the job/apartment is not a hell hole ... then have your wife join you in Korea. I would also suggest that you negotiate a bigger sized apartment with a tub in the bathroom before signing a contract and that the school will pay for her airfare because the price to fly from the PI is half the cost of a flight from North America.

She will need bring these things to got to the Korean Embassy in Manila and the turn around is 3 days:
Letter of support and invitation from you
Invitation from your school - its a blueish sheet just like the E-2 but its for and F-3 visa
Your marriage certificate and a copy
Her passport and a copy
2 pictures of her (I think)
Her birth certificate and a copy
A copy of your alien registration card
A copy of your passport

As soon as she gets here apply for her alien registration card. It will take 2 weeks and then ask/tell your employer to put her on your health coverage.

She might be able to get a visitor's visa ... if she had property or money in the bank in the Philippines. She would need a bank certificate for this. But she would have to go on a visa run after coming to Korea to change a visitor's visa to a spousal F-3 visa and you have got to decide if it is all worth the trouble.

Best of luck

[blah]

Thanks for the info John.

Good advice about negotiating the airfare for two!

Just for the sake of argument – assuming I were sure that the job/apartment were acceptable (just suspend reality for a moment), would it be possible to arrange all this from Phil so that we could take one flight to Korea together? I ask this because my wife is from a pretty small village and has never even been to a city before. Considering she has never been on a plane either, I think asking her to fly to Manila, find a hotel, go to the Korean Embassy, and then fly to Korea on her own might be a bit much so soon. Manila is a tough enough go for a well traveled city boy. I think my wife might get eaten alive there.

[john]

Just for the sake of argument – assuming I were sure that the job/apartment were acceptable (just suspend reality for a moment), would it be possible to arrange all this from Phil so that we could take one flight to Korea together?

I do not know for sure but my guess is that the answer is yes. But you would not want a visitor's visa for her ... she would want and need the F-3 visa!!! If the school will supply the F-3 it can happen.

I ask this because my wife is from a pretty small village and has never even been to a city before. Considering she has never been on a plane either, I think asking her to fly to Manila, find a hotel, go to the Korean Embassy, and then fly to Korea on her own might be a bit much so soon.

I understand completely ... it was my wife's first flight abroad and she was very concerned about the visa (and be sure to tell her that there is no interview or physical) ... the visa is easy except for the 3 day wait.
My wife negotiated the passport and visa by her self with a Filipino friend and me doing some of the leg work talking to the Korean Embassy.
But I went to the Philippines to pick her up and bring her back on the plane to Korea.

Manila is a tough enough go for a well traveled city boy. I think my wife might get eaten alive there.

Yes, you are right to be concerned. I suggest the Heritage Hotel at 80 dollars a night. You get a locals discount because she is Filipina.


You might consider getting a job here in Korea. Come and check it out then go back and get her in September during the Chusak Holiday or during the summer vacation week the school is closed, which is usually the first week in August . You can write it into the contract that you will be off the entire weekof Chusak. That would give you the time you would need to goto Manila do the embassy dance and bring her back here on the plane with you.

[TJ]

I did all of the following and everything worked out fine. We have been here for almost three years now. Sure, you and your wife will have some problems but if you 'go with the flow' you will be OK.

She will need bring these things to got to the Korean Embassy in Manila and the turn around is 3 days:
Letter of support and invitation from you
Invitation from your school - its a blueish sheet just like the E-2 but its for and F-3 visa
Your marriage certificate and a copy
Her passport and a copy
2 pictures of her (I think)
Her birth certificate and a copy
A copy of your alien registration card
A copy of your passport

As soon as she gets here apply for her alien registration card. It will take 2 weeks and then ask/tell your employer to put her on your health coverage.

[/quote]

[Hank Scorpio]

I'm assuming that your wife speaks English, and not just Tagalog, so at the very least she'll be able to socialize somewhat with the expat community that you'll be involved with. I'm also assuming that she's probably Catholic, so church will be a decent outlet to socialize as well.

However, there's no way around the fact that Koreans are going to look down on her and she'll probably not be treated too great. Filipinas are outgoing as all hell (like you don't already know that, though), so this may be tough on her.

If she's got a thick skin this may work, but I'd advise against it if she doesn't. Korea can be rough for any dependent, but it sounds like she's possibly getting set up to have a really rough time.

[Tiger Beer]

Just random thoughts here.. having dated and been involved with Filipinas i think she will miss her family immensily.. but will probably meet other Filipinas here in Korea..

Regarding her meeting Koreans.. I think that would be difficult.. and generally I don't find Koreans really openly hating or discrimating against non-white minorities contrary to popular opinion.. they probably won't have alot in common.. but anyhow, she'll probably want to hang out more with either you or make some filipina friends.. so doesn't really matter that much whether she gets on with korean people in general..

I do think its going to be burdensome though on both you and her.. particularly since its a temporary situation I would imagine.. plus if she hasn't been hardly anywhere outside of her small town.. sounds like things might be extra burdensome for you.. and she'll probably often be bored.. but you probably already know all of those things already going in to this..

As far as marriages go.. i've heard alot of marriage don't survive after living in Korea.. but i think it mostly applies to the temptations for white guys that drive their white wives crazy.. but since you've obviously lived in Taiwan and Philippines you will probably get beyond this fairly quickly.. particularly after Philippines where the women are more significantly more interested in a relationship..

Just curious.. how long were you living in the Philippines? and how long have you been married? hope those questions aren't too personal?

[blah]

First I would like to thank everyone for the friendly and extremely insightful responses. I spent a year on a Taiwan forum (TEALIT), and was pretty disgusted at the amount of flaming going on. Simple grammatical errors were met with entire threads of bottled up hostility.

Tiger Beer, I don't find your questions too personal at all. I have spent, on and off, about two years in Phil. I originally came to do volunteer work with street kids, and that's when I met the lady who became my wife (no, she was not a street kid). We got married on Feb 5th of this year.

Hank Scorpio, my wife is actually a Protestant and speaks Vasian, but the concerns you outline are, nevertheless, perfectly comparable. Not all of this is going to be an easy ride. My Taiwan experience left no doubt in my mind that Asians can be pretty prejudice, and Filipinos, for some reason, are often on the receiving end.

Due to circumstances beyond the scope of this posting, my wife has lived away from her family for quite some time, so she is more used to being away from them than the average Filipino -- although she does at least have relatives and close friends nearby.

The fact is that I am running out of money (job opportunities here are dismal), and I need to work again soon. Our choice is that she can come with me to Korea, or she can live here and I will send money for her support. We both hated being apart when I went to Taiwan, and we are both willing to try living in Korea for the sake of being together.

I totally agree that life would be easier for her if there was a Filipino community in the area we reside in. I am currently looking at a job in Ulsan. Does anyone know anything about the place? The good thing about it is that I would only have to be at work for 6 hours during each week day. I am currently corresponding with the teacher I would be replacing, and she reports that the director has always honored the contract.

TJ, it sounds like your wife has settled in. What area are you in, if you don't mind? Same question to John. Are there any complications to adding my wife to my medical plan? Is it expensive?

Thanks again everyone. I sincerely appreciate your help.

[Tiger Beer]

I think your wife will be fine.. I'e been seriously involved with a couple filipinas in the past.. and they have an uncanny ability to locate each other and spend alot of quality time together as well.. something about Filipinos where they hate to spend time alone and have unlimited support and love for each other.. she'll probably find a very welcome community where she is at.. and my experience with most filipinos is they have an uncanny ability to find each other quickly as well..

So your wife speaks visayas language? is that cebuana? where did you meet her by the way?

I visited Philippines once for a month in Luzon.. but next trip I plan to spend it entirely in Visayas.. even considering living there for awhile.. perhaps Cebu.. and would like to check out all those islands north of Mindanao and south of Luzon.. (basically everywhere in Visayas)

[blah]

There are many spoken dialects within the vasayas. Cabuano is one of them. I live on Negros Island, in the province of Negros Oriental. The dialect spoken here is referred to simply as Vasayan, but it is quite similar to Cebuano, spoken in Cebu. Some here joke that one only has to drop the "L" in Vasayan words to turn them into Cebano words. For example: the word nothing in Vasayan is wala. The same word in Cebuano is Wa'a (I'm not sure of the Cebuano spelling). There are countless examples of this type. Most Vasayans understand Tagalog. So if you have picked some up it will be helpful.

Many expats who initially plan on traveling around the Vasayas end up finding one place to settle. This is largely because by the time you become comfortable communicating in one dialect, the thought of learning another one all over again, which is what you will have to do if you move, seems like too much work. Besides, my experience is that the more you can communicate in the local dialect, the more you will be seen as an insider instead of as an outsider. This means you pay local prices rather than tourist prices. It also means people will look out for you.

I met my wife after doing what you plan to do. I traveled through a bit of Luzon, then to Cebu. I took my chances and spent a few months in Mindinao, but ended up volunteering my time at a mission in Dumaguete City, on Negros. My wife-to-be was a Sunday school teacher for the preschoolers, and I was an outreach worker for street kids. She also sang in the quire, and I was asked to help out directing the music because I have a few years experience traveling with a rock band back in Canada.

I'm sure you will enjoy your adventures in the Philippines. I certainly have enjoyed mine.

[Tiger Beer]

Any updates on this? Is your Filipina wife now in Korea, and doing fine and well-adjusted?

Just looking for a 'happy ending' story here!!