Korean Job Discussion Forums

[erinmack]

I'm hoping to start teaching in Korea this August, but planning to spend July in Sweden. I live in San Francisco but usually fly to Scandinavia via NYC & London. Rather than flying back to the US & then to Seoul, it seems like it might make more sense & prove less costly to fly from London to Seoul. (I have friends in London, so stashing my heavy luggage while I travel around Scandinavia will not be a problem.) My question: if my home address is in California, would it be possible to be reimbursed for a flight from the UK? I figure that since it's also a "native-speaker" country, it's a possibility. If that's not possible, can I at least expect a lump sum equivalent to whatever the one-way fare would be between San Francisco & Seoul even if I arrived via an alternate point of origin?

What do you think - does it make more sense to fly back home first and then head to Korea, or would the above itinerary streamline things a bit?

[interestedinhanguk]

I'm assuming this is your first contract in Korea.

Most likely, your school will request a visa number for you soon before you need to start work (they can do this after you mail your documents to them). The visa number takes about a week.

Once you have your visa number, you must go apply for a visa. When applying, you must have an interview with the Consul since this is your first visa. You must do this in your home country, per visa rules. So, you'll have to be in the US. A few days after the interview, you will get your visa in hand. At this point your school will fly you to Korea.

If you have the uncommon circumstance of getting your visa far in advance of your start date, and are traveling in the meantime, you'll have to negotiate with the school.