Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Gollum]

One of my high school girls is struggling with what nationality she should choose when she turns 18 soon. Apparently, she must choose.

She was born in the USA, and lived there for maybe 8 years, then came to Korea. Her English sounds perfect, although she won't admit to being a "native sounding" speaker. She realizes her vocabulary isn't as high as it could be as a native, but trust me... she sounds and converses like an American student of her age should.

She wanted me to help her make a decision about her nationality, however I told her to research it carefully on the web, and seek out others who have been in the same situation. Or find parents who have children in such a situation.

She feels she wants to study in the USA, and maybe work there too. I told her she should probably go with American citizenship then, but her fear is if that will hurt her ability to move back to Korea, or be with her family here.

Anyone have any thoughts of advice that is helpful which I could pass along? What are the pros/cons? Thanks.

[lush72]

Does Korea require she go to the US Embassy and formally renounce her US Citizenship? How do they verify this? I dont see a problem with her saying that "Oh yeah I choose you!" to Korea while keeping her US citizenship. She isnt trying to get out of her military service, so who would know?

I am curious as well, how would good ol' nationalistic Korea verify this?

[the_beaver]

[justagirl]

If she wants to travel, it's much more convenient to have an American passport. Koreans have to apply for a visa to go to a lot of countries, while Americans have a lot more free reign on travelling and getting an automatic visa when entering a country.

If she wants to study in the US, def. keep American citizenship. I would think her parents would want her to keep the Amer. citz, too, just because it's considered a huge advantage. So many Koreans travel to the US to try to have their babies there so they have that advantage.

Not to mention she should think of her future family, too. If she's a US citizen, her children can be too. If she has an desire for her kids to be educated in the US in the future, or to live in the US at all--or even to visit without waiting months for a tourist visa...

Gotta run to work, sorry so sloppily written

[Zyzyfer]

[Gollum]

Is it still easy for her to work in Korea, or does it limit her in what jobs she could work here in Korea if she goes with American citizenship?

[FUBAR]

Well, tell her. If she renounces her US citizenship she will need to apply for a visa just to even get back into the country. While with a US passport she can enter Korea freely without problem. She will also have an easier time getting a Korean visa since she has the heritage.

If she loses the Yank passport she will lose alot of freedoms and greatly reduces here opportunities in life. It's a no brainer to be honest.

I had student with the same sort of dilemna. She had to decide between Japanese and Korean citizenship. She is probably about a year away from having to make the choice.

[Real Reality]

Perhaps, the other posters are correct (choose American).

Want to Buy a New Nationality?
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200407/200407110011.html

Immigration fair draws throngs
A new wave of immigration fever seems to be sweeping Korea. Following the extraordinary success of the immigration products sold by Hyundai Home Shopping channel. More than 15,000 visitors crowded the COEX Center in Samseong-dong for the sixth International Emigration Fair, organized by Korea Trade Fairs Co.

A line began to form around 10:00 a.m. on Friday, one hour before the opening of the fair. The exhibition center remained packed until the close of the fair on Saturday afternoon. Representatives of 50 immigration agencies specializing in helping people move to 10 countries stayed busy throughout the two-day event. The majority of visitors, the agents said, were parents in their 30s or 40s with young children. For consultations on immigration to the United States and Canada, visitors waited in line for up to 30 minutes.

"I thought of emigrating because private education here is too costly," said Seo Ju-young, 35, a housewife. "I have a 5-year-old and a 3-year-old son. I think it is better that we move to the United States or Canada before they grow older." A Korea Trade Fairs official said, "At the immigration fair held in March, we had about 9,500 visitors. More and more people seem to want to move to other countries because of their unhappiness with our education system or society."
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/200309/08/200309080122117709900090509051.html

[the_beaver]

[Seoul Skye]

Tell her to relax. Women don't have to choose a nationality until they are 22. It's the men that have to choose by the age of 18. And, although it takes about five months, it's not hard to surrender her American and claim Korean citizenship.

On the more cynical side, she has a much better chance of "marrying well" if she keeps that U.S. citizenship.

[hellofaniceguy]

That's a "no brainer" question! If she can't figure that one out, she's hurting for smarts!
Obviously she would do much better in life with a citizenship from a country other than korea if she has the chance.
Would you want to spend the rest of your life in korea?

[prosodic]

Definitely U.S. Citizenship. She can get an F4 visa. As far as I know, the only important difference between being a Korean citizen and having an F4 visa is that you can't vote in Korean elections with an F4.

The website issue is true, but that doesn't seem to me like it should be a deciding factor.

[justagirl]

She can wait until she's 22 to decide because she's a woman? I've never heard of this....she doesn't have that long to wait from the American side.

American citizens have to choose at age 18 to keep their citizenship, or give it up for another one (assuming they have dual citizenship at birth).

Maybe in Korea, for Koreans they have until age 22? I'd like to see a link to this, if you're saying she has until age 22 to choose for American citizen ship.

justagirl

[jay-shi]

One of my housewife student's son chose korean citizenship over US citizenship two years ago, on a whim, mostly to piss off his parents (you know, teenagers).

He deeply regrets this decision now.

[prosodic]