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getting there.... who pays up front?
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happeningthang



Joined: 26 Apr 2003

PostPosted: Wed Jul 23, 2003 10:39 am    Post subject: getting there.... who pays up front? Reply with quote

Just a general query...

I'm wondering who is it that pays the initial air fare if you're coming into Korea from over seas? Is the ticket purchased for me or do I have to pay for it and get (hopefully) reimbursed on arrival?
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CanKorea



Joined: 23 Jun 2003
Location: Pyeongchon

PostPosted: Wed Jul 23, 2003 10:50 am    Post subject: Airfare Reply with quote

I think this depends on your contract. From what I know, the employer will prepurchase one-way fare for you if you are on an E2 Visa. If you're on f4 you get reimbursed in halves throughout your contract year. Return fare depends on if you've fulfilled your contract or not.

I think this is right but I hope you get some more definite answers from others.

Cheers,
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jurassic5



Joined: 02 Apr 2003
Location: PA

PostPosted: Wed Jul 23, 2003 1:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

hmm...well..i'm going to korea on an F-4...but i got my plane ticket pre-paid for etc. maybe i'm just lucky....
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Anda



Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: South Korea

PostPosted: Wed Jul 23, 2003 3:07 pm    Post subject: Um Reply with quote

Most universities don't pay airfares. The goverment EPIK programe does pay but after arrival. Hogwons are a mixed bag so it is whatever you can get.
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Tancred



Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Location: Upon a mountain in unknown Kadath

PostPosted: Wed Jul 23, 2003 3:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

my suggestion would be to do what you feel comfortable with. That may sound like an obvious form of reasoning but it's true. I demanded my director pay for my plane ticket up front as part of negotiating the contract, but as it turned out, i'm sure he would've reimbursed me had i not asked for it up front.

It's amazing the kind of feel for one's personality you can get if you chat with them on the phone, even if their english is not up to par. My director came off as an honest and reliable man in our few conversations before i left for korea, and i was absolutely right. I couldn't have asked for a better director. I guess i'm just lucky...but if you can get a feel for their personality, you can determine whether they're going to give you a hard time about reimbursing you or not...my opinion, anyway.

T.
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Son Deureo!



Joined: 30 Apr 2003

PostPosted: Wed Jul 23, 2003 4:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

A hogwon job that you're arranging from overseas? You should insist on a pre-paid ticket. It's pretty standard in hogwon contracts, it seems to me.
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JackSarang



Joined: 28 Jan 2003

PostPosted: Wed Jul 23, 2003 11:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Some hogwans try to get you to do a reimbursement. That is, you pay for the ticket and they pay you back when you arrive. Don't do this. A number of teachers are consistently ripped off for their airfare.

If you're going through a recruiter, insist on a prepaid ticket. Even if the school won't pay it, most recruiters will fit the bill and then extract the reimbursement from the school themselves.

Insist on a prepaid ticket, having you pay first is just asking for all sorts of trouble.
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kimcheeking
Guest




PostPosted: Wed Jul 23, 2003 11:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I recommend paying for it yourself, and negotiating an extra 50,000 to 100,000 a month pay. It's not worth the hassle of having to try to get re-imbursed. Plus theres the fact that you are now less dependant on the boss.

I also recommend getting your own housing if you can afford it, especially if you stay for a second year. There is nothing worse than being dependant on your company for housing especially when owners like to snoop around when no-one is home.
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Anda



Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: South Korea

PostPosted: Wed Jul 23, 2003 11:48 pm    Post subject: Um Reply with quote

All this get tough advise. Well if the job is decent then it is quite likely that foreigners already here could be interested in it. If you are here on the doorstep and apply then it isn't often that you get paid a single fare from your home country. There is such a thing as competition for good jobs here.

Say a hogwan has had a bad experiance with one of our lot which by the way is quite common and wants to see if you can in fact teach before outlaying on an air ticket then what do you do.

Bottom line: an air ticket in general represents two weeks pay. MucKing about for a month or so trying to find someone who jumps up and down for you costs a month or two's wages. When you have been here a while you learn a couple of things. Get started and start earning usually pays better than sitting on your bum thinking that everyone should fall over backwards for you before they have even met you.
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William Beckerson
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 24, 2003 12:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

My personal experience has me paying for the ticket myself and then getting reimbursed after I arrive.
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camel96
Guest




PostPosted: Sat Jul 26, 2003 3:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I don't like the idea of placing a large amount of trust in a person I've never met. I like the idea of insisting the school pays for your ticket in advance. In theory it's pretty easy to do. if you're in the US or Canada they can use Expedia. If you're in Oz or NZ they can get onto Flight Center's website and provide the credit card details there. I've checked with various travel agents at home and they do let you pay with a Korean credit card. Unfortunately I find people in Korea don't like to take suggestions from someone they've never met - regardless of how sound advice it is and their usual response is to buy the ticket direct from the airline at 4 times the price and then hate you for costing them so much money. If you buy your own ticket and are arriving without a visa the school has no financial vested interest in you. You'd better pray that you're the right weight, have the right colored eyes and hair and don't have wonky teeth....
The one advantage you do have if you buy your own ticket is the flexibility. For example if time isn't an issue you could do something such as fly Thai Airways or Philippine Airlines and stop off in Thailand or the Philiipines for a few weeks on the way. If the school is paying upfront they may be a little reluctant to fork out the cash in advance for your holiday.
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fitzmacw



Joined: 12 Oct 2010
Location: Kwangjin-gu, Seoul

PostPosted: Sun Oct 17, 2010 11:42 am    Post subject: return ticket or proof of onward travel required? Reply with quote

Maybe this has been covered elsewhere but I have been looking for a while and have not found the answer I am looking for.... I am supposed to leave for Seoul tomorrow from the US. My school paid for a one-way ticket (leaving tomorrow) but I just tried to check-in online and I am unable to do so as I have to show proof of onward travel or my return ticket out of Korea. I have not purchased a return ticket yet and am not sure what date to do so.
I emailed my recruiter to ask her but I am anxious for some advice seeing as I am leaving tomorrow morning!
Thanks for you assistance!
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Carla



Joined: 21 Nov 2008

PostPosted: Sun Oct 17, 2010 6:51 pm    Post subject: Re: return ticket or proof of onward travel required? Reply with quote

fitzmacw wrote:
Maybe this has been covered elsewhere but I have been looking for a while and have not found the answer I am looking for.... I am supposed to leave for Seoul tomorrow from the US. My school paid for a one-way ticket (leaving tomorrow) but I just tried to check-in online and I am unable to do so as I have to show proof of onward travel or my return ticket out of Korea. I have not purchased a return ticket yet and am not sure what date to do so.
I emailed my recruiter to ask her but I am anxious for some advice seeing as I am leaving tomorrow morning!
Thanks for you assistance!


It might help to say what airline you're using. I've never heard of the online checkin doing that.

Besides, you don't need a return trip ticket if you have a visa. Those are only for people on tourist visas.
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ttompatz



Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea

PostPosted: Sun Oct 17, 2010 8:04 pm    Post subject: Re: return ticket or proof of onward travel required? Reply with quote

fitzmacw wrote:
Maybe this has been covered elsewhere but I have been looking for a while and have not found the answer I am looking for.... I am supposed to leave for Seoul tomorrow from the US. My school paid for a one-way ticket (leaving tomorrow) but I just tried to check-in online and I am unable to do so as I have to show proof of onward travel or my return ticket out of Korea. I have not purchased a return ticket yet and am not sure what date to do so.
I emailed my recruiter to ask her but I am anxious for some advice seeing as I am leaving tomorrow morning!
Thanks for you assistance!


If you have a visa you do not need onward passage or proof of return.

They make you go to a check-in counter when you don't have return passage because for those without a visa it (onward/return passage) is a requirement of no-visa entry.

You have no worry as long as your E2 is in your passport.

.

.
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liz88



Joined: 30 Jan 2011

PostPosted: Sat Feb 19, 2011 5:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

these are great tips Smile
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