Korean Job Discussion Forums

[impressionn]

Hello everyone, this is my first time posting after months of lurking around. Teaching in South Korea has been my lifelong desire and passion. I am just so worried that because of some visa/citizenship issues I would not be able to pursue my dream, and so, I was wondering if it was possible for me to receive an F4 Visa. For a month now I have constantly been trying for figure out my eligibility for an F4 VISA because of my complicated status. From my readings, many posts were either contradictory or were just full of minor differences and ended up being very confusing so please give me some detailed and thorough insight!! Please!!

The rundown :


- Date of Birth : 3/4/1988 South, Korea. Immigrated to the United States when I was 3 with my family.

- My family and I are now naturalized citizens ( Time of naturalization for my whole family was about 8 years ago).

- I am a Male

I am not sure if my name is still on the Korean Family Registry Tree, but if it still is, would I get drafted into the Korean army? If so, how can I prevent it?

Given my information what problems can/will I run into? Thank you in advance.

[andrewchon]

Firstly, confirm whether you are in/not in your family registry. My guess is that you are, if you immigrated at age of 3. Draft rules for US gyopos are rather strict. Just for the US gyopos (but not for gyopos of other countries) even if you renounce Korean citizenship, you are still liable for army service.

But if you are one of these:
over the age of 35, nix that
already served in US military
disabled in someway e.g. too fat, too short, diabetic, etc
only son for three generations

then you might be exempted.

During the Japanese colonial times, Korean young men used to cut off their trigger finger to avoid draft. I wouldn't go that far. George W Bush route of joining the US Air Force reserves to avoid draft might be the easiest.

[impressionn]

This is what I read from elsewhere "It depends on if the person has dual citizenship. If you are born in the US or any other country that grant citizenship based on birth place, this may be the case, but if you are born in Korea and obtained a foreign citizenship later on, you lose your Korean citizenship at that moment, and the hojeok records are then simply considered wrong."

And also :
Military Service Obligations for Those with Dual Citizenships
In principle, all Korean males between the age of 18 and 35 are subject to the Korean military duty. Males with dual citizenships who are registered in the Korean Family Registrar are required to fulfill their military obligations, unless they postpone or obtain exemption before they reach the age of 18. Koreans who acquired the US citizenship by naturalization are not considered dual citizens; they are US citizens not subject to the Korean military duty. According to the Korean Nationality Act, those who have obtained foreign citizenships by naturalization automatically lose their Korean citizenships. Only those who acquired their foreign citizenships by birth are able to have dual citizenships until the age of 22, at which time they are required to choose a nationality. In addition, all Korean males who were born in the US to Korean parents but are not registered in the Korean Family Registrar are not subject to the military duty.

Doesn't the above message mean that I am eligible for an F4 visa and exempt from military service also since I was born in Korea and became naturalized later on?

[andrewchon]

I don't know where you read that BUT the easiest person to fool is his ownself. The way it is written, it is a bloody dream come true for every draft dodging US gyopos. You can chance it if you want. However, standard practice of ROKA is to draft you first and then release you only after they are quite certain that you are not draft-able.

You may have gathered that draft dodgers are not liked over here by now. Vibe of the nation is: they don't like those who studied overseas, either. If they want to come back and work in Korea, they are seconds behind the domestic applicants. Same applies to those with overseas job experience.

[impressionn]

This is one of the places where i got the information from. Are you implying that this might be false? Not trying to be offensive, just need all the information there is about the topic.

http://icenter.ucsd.edu/ispo/current/forms-guides/guides/korean-military.html

Also, according to that link, I am not draft DODGING since I am not a Korean citizen in the first place. The information informs me that I am not a dual citizen because of my naturalization.

I am aware that there have been horror stories from Korean Americans that were born in America and do not know a lick of Korean nor have ever been on Korea soil before that have been denied a F4 Visa and/or drafted into the ROK army, but I am Korea born 1.5 gyopo that has been naturalized. It seems there is less information and stories about people in my particular situation. Just need more info!

[ttompatz]

That information on the university website is old.

If you were born in Korea you may very well qualify as a dual citizen under current law and may also be subject to the draft (you wouldn't be the first gyopo that was surprised by being inducted into the ROK Army).

As a naturally born Korean citizen of Korean national parents (Korean citizens in Korea at the time of your birth) the US government cannot help you once you are on Korean soil in spite of your naturalization as a US citizen and Korea won't let you renounce your citizenship if you are subject to the draft UNTIL you after you have served.

You might get lucky.
You might get drafted.
You might have to wait until you are 36 years old.

.

[jvalmer]

[andrewchon]