Korean Job Discussion Forums

[periwinkle]

I went to Fukuoka (sp?) with only one page left for a visa (or so I thought). Well, it turns out it was for ammendments (I didn't bother to read that page before I went to the consulate, obviously). The guy at the Korean consulate told me to go to the American embassy to get new visa pages sewn into my passport, and I only had 40 minutes to do this (at 12:00 they go to lunch, and if you come back after lunch, you can't get your visa issued that day- I was only in Fukuoka for the day).

At the American consulate (turns out they are open to appointments only, and that day, it wasn't open for services). The receptionist was sympathetic, and she told me everyone had already gone to lunch, and that I should come back at 2pm. So, I went back to the Korean consulate to try to get them to start processing my paperwork, but the guy refused. Well, I went into the bathroom and burst into tears (I have dogs at home, and I hadn't planned to stay overnight- I was seriously stressed). When I came out of the bathroom, the guy called me over and said he would start on my visa. Yay!

I went back to the American consulate at 2pm, but no one talked to me until 3pm. The guy at the consulate said that my passport was in really poor condition, and I would need a new passport, which would take about 2 weeks to process. I told him I had a return ticket for that evening, and I couldn't stay in Japan for 2 weeks, etc. After listening to my sob story, and a lengthy lecture from him that I should have known better (true), he said he would put new pages into my passport, but I had to get a new passport once I returned to Seoul. He said he was going out on a limb for me (and I fully realized that), so I signed a document promising to get a new passport, and I went on my merry way back to the Korean consulate. No more problems after that.

Well, I was stupid and unprepared, to say the least. I didn't have any kind of back-up plan. I didn't take a lot of yen, because I didn't want to lose money in the buying/selling process. My ATM card is useless overseas, and I have no idea about western union. I didn't give my neighbor a key to my apt. to take care of my dogs in case something happened.

I promised the guy at the American embassy that I would write something on-line about my debacle so that this won't happen to someone else. I consider myself a savvy traveller, but I really thought my visa run would be a breeze- I had all my paperwork, passport, about 30,000 yen (around 300,000 won, I believe), and a credit card.

Oh! One more thing! I almost missed my flight to Fukuoka because the woman at the check-in counter INSISTED that I go to immigration and get a re-entry permit. I told her I didn't need one because I was coming back on a different visa, but she refused to believe me (I started to think, "Well, maybe they changed the laws or something..."). There must have been 15 people waiting at immigration, and I had 45 minutes before my flight left!!! I butted in front of everyone else with profuse apologies, and the immigration guy said I was right, the agent was wrong. He wrote me a quick note to give to the agent. I gave it to the agent with an "I told you" (she said nothing- not even an apology- grrrrrrrrrrr!). So! My point here is that I got to the airport 1 1/2 hours early, thinking that I could hit an express line for people who weren't checking luggage- well, there wasn't a check-out counter open that day for day trippers (or light travellers).

So, go ahead and berate me for my stupididty- I've learned my lesson! I hope this will be a warning to my fellow travellers- be prepared for anything, and have a back-up plan!

[MixtecaMike]

OMG, what a day. I vote this one gets stuck in the FAQ!

[the eye]

that sucks.
here's my admission to stupidity, in case it may make you feel better.

when i went there for my first visa run, i was told the last chance to change won for yen would be at the airport.
i thought this meant the airport IN JAPAN. yes, stupid, i know.

i would have changed my cash in busan airport if i had the time, but a series of snafus in getting from Daegu to Busan left me with no time to do so. i missed my stop at Gupo station, so i went too far on the train and had to backtrack in a taxi to get to the airport. barely made it.

i didn't mind spending the extra money on this mistake because my boss paid for the flight and gave me 200,000won spending money.

arrived in Japan, and was told to my suprise that my won was useless. i had cut up my credit cards (for tax purposes) before i left canada days ago. i was now really worried that i had made an unrepairable mistake.
i had no bank card, just small amounts of canadian and american $s left over from my flight to Korea.
and i also just developed a nasty case of diarhea from dinner the previous night.

i ran from the excahnge counter to the bathroom just in time.
back to the exchange counter, i traded my small stash for yen and took a subway to the embassy area.
a clenched walk, and 3 hard to find public batthrooms later, i arrived at the embassy during lunch. i had to wait. the diarhea was getting worse. now, i was regretting using that butter i left to soften up on my table for 2 days before this trip.

after the embassy lunch was over, i returned to beg the staff to exchange some yen. one official reluctantly agreed to exchange some pocket money at a very unfavorable rate (for me). all my free spending money was disappearing fast.
the agony of my internal organs was culminating and i sat down on the waiting chairs for a rest. i called back to korea on the public phone to see if the boss could pay for my visa and hotel with her credit card and i would pay her back on my return.
she told me to call her back because she had to check with her husband. that next return call would basically use up all the yen i had just exchanged. the phone was ridiculously expensive.

i made another trip to the toilet and then sat down next to this hefty american guy in the waiting room.
we got to talking and he said he was there on 'official business' because he was involved in a legal suit against immigration for some bullshit visa stuff.
he ended up exchanging $100 american with me, at an even worse exchange rate. what could i do, tho. i even had to sit thru 20 minutes of his bull about how he's been cheated too many times, and he was out to reform the visa system, and he's been to court countless times on his own expense, and the embassy staff are corrupt...yadda yadda yadda.

i was glad to have exchanged the cash, even though my ass was erupting again.
i spent the rest of the day and night on the toilet in my hotel room.
so much for my free trip to Japan.
the next day, i felt fantastic, but i had just enough time for my visa pickup and subway ride back to the airport.

[Tiberious aka Sparkles]

[jajdude]

I can sympathize as well.

I missed the transfer on the subway in Osaka (Japanese only) in 2002, and missed my flight. Was broke, almost. Spent 24 hours hanging out at the airport. Nice birthday that was. Well, it was different.

[casey's moon]

yep, I think we've all had our incredibly dumb moments. I've had 2 involving my passport and one of them was just last month (there is a thread about that one, but I don't think it is worth linking to). glad it all worked out in the end.

[chronicpride]

[phaedrus]

[jajdude]

[phaedrus]

[the eye]

[bosintang]

Great story Periwinkle! Now that it's over, I mean.

Two lessons I think are useful for anyone doing a visa run to Japan: 1) Prepare for the possibility that you will have to spend a night, anything can happen; and 2) it's impossible to underestimate how expensive Japan really is. Bring lots of money.

[nateyb]

worst ever... by far.

[Tiberious aka Sparkles]

[J.B. Clamence]