Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Yim]

Hi!

I'm currently teaching in Thailand and seriously considering coming to Korea to reap some of the big big money I've heard about to augment my pathetic savings.

I have been looking at the job listing on this board and most seem to want "sealed" transcripts. I have a BBA and I have my transcripts, but they are not sealed...I don't think they ever were. I graduated not long after the last of the dinosaurs roamed the earth...1976. Unfortunately for me, the school I attended went belly up in the early '80's. It is impossible for me to acquire a new set of transcripts. I would guess that even if the school was still around, it might be difficult to get transcripts from so long ago.

A few questions: Are "sealed" transcripts a government requirement for working papers (visa/work permit)? If so is there any leeway or a way to circumvent this problem considering my particular situation? Has anyone else had this sort of impasse?

Another question:>>>>>I read someone's tag line which quoted some stats about teachers working legally and illegally in Korea. There were two or three times as many illegals as legals. Is this generally true? Are they paid as well? Does the Korean government turn a blind eye to unpapered teachers as it does in Thailand? Do illegals get deported from time to time...does immigration actively pursue teachers without proper documentation?

Any thoughts, opinions, or experiences regarding transcripts and paperwork would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Yim

[lbellamy]

Hi. Some quick answers to tide you over until you trawl the cafe board a bit more (it's loaded with a lot of information about illegal teachers.)

- Sealed transcripts: new rule applied by Immigration as of a few months ago. So even if a prospective employer says sealed is not necessary, don' t take their word, take Immigration's.

You just ask your university to print your academic extract, officially sign/stamp the printout, stick that in a university envelope (ie with logo etc, glue it down, stamp across the opening, and send it to you. You then give the thing, intact, to Immigration. If you're getting one set done, get a couple because you'll need a new set every application/every Immigration office.

- Old alternative: Get a Justice of the Peace (a registered solicitor) to sight your original degrees and copies. S/he stamps the copies. Mail the copies to nearest Korean Embassy and the officer there co-certifies them and mails them back to you. Use registered mail for this part. Then send them to the employer in Korea, who goes to Korean Immigration who issue a Confirmation of Visa Issuance. That gets sent back to you, which you then forward with the visa fee and your passport in an express return evelope back to the Embassy for your visa.... Then you come to Korea.

The other common way is to come over with your original degree and enter on a tourist visa, sign your contract here, then go to Immigration with the employer to get the COVI. A Korean Embassy on foreign soil has to give you the actual visa, unless you are renewing your contract with the same employer, (of I've heard in some cases, changing employer but staying with the same Immigration Office). So many do this then go for a day trip to Japan. This was we all call the "visa run". But now it's apparently a 2 day run not one (Embassy won't give same day service).

Why people didn't use their originals before:
I used the old alternative because my degrees had already been taken out of their frames once and become dog eared. I didn't want to risk losing them in the post either. So I got a batch of certified versions done. Also some unscrupulous employers would take your originals to Immigration on your behalf but not give them back to you. ie hold them as 'security' so you couldn't run away. Perhaps even your passport too.

Why we can't now: Too many people used fake degrees.

Your options: Hmm I guess your only option is to contact the nearest Korean Embassy to where your uni was to get advice. Seeing as the officer probably won't have been working there since 1976 and will have never heard of your uni, you could try to provide them with 3rd party official information to show it existed and was a nationally registered uni. e.g. a major newspaper article from its hey day, another about it closing down... Also your government's Education Department will probably have a record of it being an accredited university. Maybe you can dredge up a webpage link from their site.

Otherwise, contact the uni that took over your old one. They'll have files somewhere to support your claim.

Once you have someone at the Embassy to help you out, it's probably just the logistics of getting someone at home to send your original degrees and/or lawyer certified copies over to them for co-certifying.

Just make sure you have something suitably official before arriving because the Immigration Officers over here have no choice but to apply the rule very strictly, unless they have some document from their seniors that will help them over rule it. I don't know that any Embassy official will be regarded as senior, but it gives the officer something to take to his/her intra-Department seniors on your behalf.

If you don't get any joy from the Embassy, contact the Ombudsman over here with copies of your correspondence. Maybe they can help.

As to numbers of illegals: I don't know what the proportion is. And yes there have been deportations.

The teacher's visa is called E2. Check Immigration website for other rules. Also they have a news board that probably mentions deportations.

Here are some links to start you off.....

http://www.korea.net/Search/Target/TargetList.asp?menu_id=E
http://english.chosun.com/
http://times.hankooki.com/

Now: Perhaps you could help me... Do you know any great dentists in Bangkok? I've had a quote from Bangkok Dental Spa but wondered what similar places I could compare them with. I need crowns....