Korean Job Discussion Forums

[JackSarang]

[elizabethjane]

Here's another update.

My recruiter won't talk to me.
I found another recruiter who is willing to help.

EFL Law, after reviewing all the details, says that it seems that the recruiter and school don't want to work with me so I should call the consulate that issued the E-2 and tell them that there's been a change of plans and the recruiter wishes not to work with me.

Hopefully that should work.

[matthews_world]

Quit whining and call your recruiter back on Monday in Korea.

Yes, give them a phone call. Don't e-mail them. E-mail doesn't get you anywhere.

Be as civil as you can with your recruiter on the phone. Be nice. Apologize for any bad language you may have dictated.

Ask the recruiter to simply help you get your documents back and cancel your visa. It's their job!

They'll do all the leg work. They are usually busy filling other positions, interviewing potential job candidates and schools so don't expect an automatic result.

Show some backbone when dealing with people and use some tact, especially if you wanna work in Korea.

***My .02***

[camel96]

And Elizabeth Jane if you do decide to come in on a tourist visa make sure you also buy a return ticket back to Canada. A lot of the airlines don't like people flying to countries like Korea with one way tickets and no visa. They may not let you on the plane in Canada.
And saying you can get a 6 month visa on arrival probably won't cut it. Trust Me!

[elizabethjane]

Ok....thanks so much. I really appreciate all the help

[Bulsajo]

I've flown to Korea from Canada on a one-way ticket and gotten a tourist visa at the airport with absolutely no problems, but that was some time ago- I don't know if things have changed.

[waterbaby]

Bulsajo, a lot of people have had very different experiences in regards to getting through immigration on a one way ticket - some no problem, some BIG problem!

Elizabeth Jane - you don't necessarily need a return ticket, you need an onward ticket... so if you can pick up a refundable onward ticket for Japan or Thailand, grab that and you should have no problems with Immigration. Then again, it might be nice to have a return flight to Canada, in case things in Korea don't work out for you.

[rapier]

elizabethjane: be sure to be safe and enter on a return ticket. Don't give them any reason to mess with you. I've had grief just entering on a tourist visa...immigration can be curious about waegooks to the point of insanity. Enter on a tourist visa, say you're visiting a friend for a couple of weeks, have some money to show them if they want to be sure you've enough funds to cover your trip...
Once you're in Seoul, sorting out a job shouldn't be too much of a problem. 2 months down the line you'll have some cash saved and you'll be on top of things. Once you're here you could even visit your recruiter in person and get your stuff.
Cover your bases, but don't stress, It'l work out....

[camel96]

Yeah why risk it???
I recently was nailed at the airport in Oz for only having a one way ticket to Korea. Korean Airlines said absolutely no way would they let me on the flight. In spite of the fact my boss already had an Asiana flight to Japan for the next day for me to go and pick up my visa. I had reservation numbers, ticket numbers and everything for the Asiana flight.
In the end I had to spend an hour racing around the airport, phoning Korea etc and they faxed through a copy of my Asiana ticket which got me on the flight - with 5 minutes to spare.
It's an experience no one wants to go through. Waterbaby is right. Pick up a ticket say on Korean airlines that flies to say Shanghai and make sure you arrange to stopover in Korea. You then either toss the Seoul to Shanghai leg or try and get a refund on it (You'd probably only get a few bucks back).
The other alternative IF you have time to kill which it sounds like you don't is to get a Thai Airways or Malaysian Airways flight one way to Korea and stopoff in one of those countries for a few days. This way you'll keep the Canadian airline guys happy because you have an onward ticket out of your destination (i.e Malaysia/Thailand). When you're leaving Thailand or Malaysia most likely they won't check onward tickets out of Korea. Kind of confusing I know. BUT the really officious airline staff are in the western countries. Whenever I fly out of Australia (also the US) now they ALWAYS check for either a visa or onward ticket out of my destination. ALWAYS!!!!!! Apparently the airlines get fined something like $10,000US for letting you onboard if you are going to breach the visa regulations of your destination.
PRESUMABLY anyhow whatever job you end up with will pay your return
ticket so you may as well get the ticket back to Canada. And if you decide to stay on in Korea or go travelling somewhere else afterward your boss has paid for the return ticket so you're not out of pocket anyway.

[schwa]

Much of the above supports my contention that immigration can be very arbitrary if your situation isnt straightforward. I'm wondering if much of it doesnt come down to the appearance, manner, & luck of the inbound foreigner.

I cant really speak to having valid tourist & E2 visas in your passport at the same time (can anyone?) but it sounds dicey should they happen to notice the E2 stamp when youre entering.

But the key fact here is that the original poster is still bound to her sponsoring contractor through her E2, & without a release letter, by no means a sure thing, she's SOL in terms of having a legal job here.

Sorting that out on the ground here is doable, but not easy if youre busy adjusting to a very different culture at the same time. Just housing & feeding yourself here can be daunting to an inexperienced traveler.

Given the situation, I think advising her to just jump in a plane & come over is irresponsible. Theres ample evidence EJ needs someone to walk her through procedures. I'd be saddened to see further posts from a desperate & confused would-be teacher from some Seoul pc-room.

[JackSarang]

[camel96]

Hey Elizabeth Jane - what's news?????

[elizabethjane]

I'm still in Canada.
I have a Korean friend who is working on my situation
I haven't heard anything in 3 days
I don't know what's going on
I guess no news is good news.....

[rapier]

What about your original copies of your certificates???

[elizabethjane]

I don't know where the original copies are. I asked my recruiter to send them to my friend.
I guess I just have to wait and see if he does.