Korean Job Discussion Forums

[chungbukdo]

Well that's cool that you found out there is an online class.

I will call them / email them and request them to expand the online class to more people next June. Especially with regard to the cultural course. I recommend everyone else do the same. The cultural course is the integral component to getting the F2 visa. We can all study Korean at home or with any tutor we want so the other levels are not needed as widely.

Actually I had my gf email them for me once and they replied asking how they could serve us better, she suggested a quicker reply time and they replied back saying they would work on it. Maybe they're open to suggestions.

[Lolimahro]

[nick70100]

Well I got lucky and found a level 4 class in Seoul that meets on Monday and Wednesday evenings from 6:30-8:30. I'll be doing the class at Inje University. I also heard that there is a Saturday class at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. And as far as I can tell, from all the calling around that I did, these are the only 2 places in all of Seoul that offer level 4 classes that are not during working hours on weekdays. I spent hours on the phone Friday and today trying to work this all out. They really should provide some better information ahead of time about this stuff in the future. If they can't give exact schedules they should at least be able to tell people if they plan to have their classes days, evenings, weekends, etc. It would save a huge amount of wasted time. There's really no reason that I should have to call 15 different phone numbers to ask when their classes are, have them all tell me that they haven't made their schedule yet, and then call them all back again after the registration deadline and beg to be allowed to register late once they actually come up with the schedule. The current system is insane.

[chungbukdo]

I wonder if one can do this course while on a tourist visa. You can still get an ARC while on a tourist visa if you plan to stay over 90 days.

I was thinking that after my contract expires I might do some full time Korean study, but without wasting money on a university program.

[crossmr]

[chungbukdo]

[crossmr]

[chungbukdo]

Well I am actually in the Sahui Tonghap Program language course, and my teacher is really great. She's good at explaining the meaning of the word through the Korean language and she's very positive.

It only meets Wednesdays and Thursdays. I noticed the same building has a TOPIK level 3-4 preparation class on Tuesdays and Fridays so I'm going to go there early tomorrow morning and see if I can get in that too.

Hopefully in 4 months with a lot of vocabulary study I'll pass the level 4 test. I need the level 5 for the F-visa points.

All of this is free by the way, so despite the long bike ride I'm very grateful for finding this Family Center.

[naturegirl321]

Has anyone got anymore info about the online courses? And for those in the KIIP regular course, how is it going?

[PigeonFart]

almost a year since last post, so bumping this thread up ^_^

(given the sparse English info on the 'Korean Social Integration Program,' thread like these are my only source of info)

[thatkidpercy]

I thought that the next test was in August, but have annoyingly just discovered it's this weekend with the application deadline being last week...

For those that are planning to register, the next placement test is on
July 28th and the registration period is July 9th-20th.

I got this info from http://www.kiip.kr (알림마당 > 자료실 > 2012년도 사회통합프로그램 홍보 자료 (1st link) > PDF poster)

[thatkidpercy]

Does anyone know if there's a study guide for this test? There were a couple of example questions posted earlier in this thread (the significance of the length of ddeok / the name of a traditional Chuseok dance), both of which I had no clue about. I've bought a general book on Korean history and culture which I'm planning to work through to build my vocabulary but I'm sure there will be holes not covered by the book that might appear in the test.

I've had a quick look to see if there's a specific book, but didn't find anything. Are you supposed to just somehow know this stuff? I don't think the language section will be a big issue, but I'll be frustrated if I end up missing points on some obscure question related to food or culture.

[Son Deureo!]

Percy,

I'm in level 5 of the integration program now. If you want to try to prepare for the Social Integration Program's admissions test, your best bet would be to study a book that's geared towards helping foreigners pass the Korean naturalization exam. After looking through a prep book for that (귀화시험 한번에 통과하기! published by 시대교육 is the one recommended to me by my Integration Program teacher, but there are plenty of others), I recognized a LOT of the questions from the Integration Program's admissions test, particularly from the sections on proverbs and Korean culture that I'm pretty sure I lost enough points on to land me in level 4 instead of 5 in the program. There's a lot of material to learn for the naturalization test, but if you invest the time into studying that, it could very well save you 100 hours or so of integration program classes. Plus, if you ever want to go for the naturalization test, you'll have a good shot at that as well.

Hope that helps.

[Son Deureo!]

As I mentioned in the previous post, I'm in level 5 now (한국 사회의 이해), and they are scheduling an interview with Immigration for me. Has anyone else here been through this, and if so, can you tell me what kinds of questions I can expect?

[nick70100]