Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Cognorati]

I have teaching supplies delivered to my home, and on every occasion that I've attempted to receive a delivery, there has been a new excuse as to why a certain **Express** delivery service must speak to me, personally, before shipping my teaching supplies.

Previously, the Korean branch of this service requested a copy of my passport and ARC card faxed to them, and held up my package in customs; currently, they are claiming that my address is unknown, although I've received packages to this address on numerous occaisons...

Other posters have complained of sealed documents being opened or damaged, and of packages being lost and destroyed (incidentally, the service threatened to destroy my teaching supplies unless they spoke to me, personally).

At first, I thought it was the usual Korean incompetence, but now I'm starting to think this another facet of discrimination: they see my foreign name and a foreign point of origin, so they have whatever they need to discriminate.

Because these are teaching supplies (crafts, markers, learning aids, white boards, etc), they have limited my teaching aims, and the children are always asking when our supplies will arrive -- I've had to scrap activities and replan, because of their inability (or refusal) to provide a service.

Luckily, this company based in America: I'm going to contact them about the matter, and see if they can investigate the Koreans refusal to provide a guaranteed and costly service...

Has anyone else experienced this?

[just another day]

people in the west believe that discrimination is imagined.

[KumaraKitty]

Usually when I order clothing I have to talk to the delivery company and verify my passport info. I have had them tell me it is because of Duty, and I had a really sweet woman fudge the amounts when she produced the Korean waybill so I didn't have to pay duty on a large order. Never had a problem, they usually deliver the items later the same day or the next day after calling, and always within a week of my order date. That being said, I was ordering from the UK.
I made an Amazon order on November 9th, 3 books, expedited Int'l shipping. By December 15th I'd received nothing. Amazon said they couldn't track it, it was assumed to be lost. Odd, since I'd had previous orders that were fine. So they refunded and they reshipped/recharged the order. By January 3rd it also had not arrive. Amazon again says it must be lost, so sorry, here's your refund. 2 weeks later, I get a call from a Korean guy speaking decent English. We have your Amazon order, we need to verify your address, passport, etc to deliver it. The books cost $30, so I was surprised they needed this info. Verified it, he said next day delivery. 5 days later it shows up. SURPRISE! BOTH Amazon orders! The November original order AND the December replacement order! They had the original order for 2 months almost, AND my phone number! They had the replacement for almost a month,SAME phone number! So my Christmas/Birthday presents for friends came way late and I had to deal with Amazon, charging me again and me sending one order back!!
The only thing I can think is that the Korean guy who is supposed to contact the foreigners just didn't want to or was being lazy. Why would they not contact me for so long when they had the order for so long?? Bizarre.
So yeah, maybe some delivery companies here are biased.

[Ilsanman]

That would explain why certain online companies have refused to deliver to me in Korea.

I'll remember to get anything sent here in my wife's name.

[bluelake]

I've had things sent to me here over the years with few problems. Once, back about seventeen years ago, I had an overhead projector sent; I had to pick it up at the post office because I had to pay duty--understandable. The only other time was when my waterbuffalo horn supplier in the Philippines sent me whole horns to check out (I hadn't asked for them); I had to go through a mess of paperwork and driving from agricultural office to office, but finally received the horns. That is significant as importing WB horns into Korea is highly restricted, yet I still got them. The only time I've had letters opened was when I first lived in Korea back in '84; back then, being a dictatorship, they wanted the foreigners to know they were checking the mail.

[lucas_p]

I've never had a problem with anything, and I've had books, video games, computers, letters from my dear ol' grandma, hardware, etc sent to me in my name over the years here. Nobody has called, and besides the very rare occasional delay, I get everything in a really timely manner, too.

I think it must be the company you are going through or something.

[Zaria32]

I've been told that the reason they request your passport and ARC is that if you are a resident alien, which we all are, then you don't pay import duties.

Others have said that they DID have to pay duty, but in those cases they were not asked for the ARC and passport.

Also, DHL is the company that opens everything, including sealed transcripts...but they open it as it's picked up, before shipment, not as it's delivered, and do this, supposedly, because of security concerns. They do it no matter to which country it's being shipped.

[oldfatfarang]

Never had a problem until recently. Then a courier service didn't deliver my passport. I didn't have a phone number on the address label, but my name and address was clearly typed in both Korean and English.
The Korean courier company didn't even bother trying to deliver the package - they just returned it to the sender overseas. Thanks guys.

Eight stressful days of tracking, phoning, and pleading to get my passport back to Korea and, finally, delivered to me. Discrimination because of the foreign addressee's name? No, I don't think so. Just plain incompetence.

[Young FRANKenstein]

[xtchr]

[GoldMember]

I blame the morons who send themselves dope in the mail, using a different name. Package sent to a foreigner, mmm, must be dope!

[princess]

I never order stuff from abroad. But if I wanted to, I'd just have it sent to my parents' house, and have them rebox it and mail to me. Then, I'd bypass all this nonsense.

[Zaria32]

Young Frankenstein...in my case it was a brand new Dell computer, $1500 declared value, no duty.

You seem to know more than I do...what did you mean by "it depends on what's being sent?"

[bluelake]

[cunning_stunt]

They allow you to teach ? I quiver at the thought !!!!

Hopefully not impressionable people .