Korean Job Discussion Forums

poet13

hello all.
I may have to do a tourist visa run on saturday. My contract expires on saturday, as does my ARC. I have appointment in Seoul at 7:45 am. I recieved the email last night.
I am near Daegu, so I am thinking ferry to Fukuoka.
I am also on a very tight budget.
Does anybody know if its possible to leave Busan on Saturday and return by Sunday evening early enough to catch a bus to Seoul?
The only travel agent in my town

Yup, asking for anybody with specific knowledge.

Thanks

VanIslander · Posted: Wed Sep 06, 2006 5:00 pm Post subject:

Contact http://kangsantravel.com travel in Busan NOW, today, this very second, and get the hydrofoil+hotel special. Needs a 48-hour notice to get the hotel combo (it's like getting a nice hotel almost for free!).

You can arrange it by telephone and then pick up your tickets and hotel free voucher at the ferry terminal.

Ferry + Hotel for 200,000 won.
Then all you need is local bus there. There are plenty of threads about Fukuoka here, simply search them for info on directions and sights.

Enjoy!

Moldy Rutabaga · Joined: 01 Jul 2003 Location: Ansan, Korea

I went with Kangsan travel in Haeundae, Busan. Talk to them or look at the website as someone speaks English there. At the time they had a quickie visa package with boat and one night in Fukuoka for 190,000. It is possible to get a visa in one day, but I am not sure that you can do this on a Saturday.

Ken:>

mithridates · Posted: Wed Sep 06, 2006 5:05 pm Post subject:

The cheapest way is to go here:

http://wiki.galbijim.com/Izuhara
http://wiki.galbijim.com/Daema-do

That's the Korean name of the island at least - its real name is Tsushima. Izuhara is the largest town, on the south side. There's another smaller town on the north side where the ferry also stops at called Hitakatsu. I'm not sure about the lodging there. In Izuhara there's a temple called Seizanji that you can stay at for 2500 yen a night. The other town I'm not sure but in the first one I found a hotel before for 5000 yen, so maybe something around that.

Here's the company that sells the tickets:

http://www.daea.com/

I think there's a ferry every one or two days, but you might also be able to get one to one side of the island, take the bus to the other side and then catch the ferry again from the other side back. I'm not sure how much the bus costs but it's not that big an island and I think it's only about 30 or 40 minutes from one side to the other. Ferry tickets are about 65,000 each way I think, which is about as cheap as you can get.

ajgeddes · Joined: 28 Apr 2004 Location: Yongsan

(If I am reading this correctly)

He doesn't need to get a VISA, he just needs to get out of the country so he can come back on a tourist VISA. He doesn't need a day, he just needs to get out.

poet13 · Posted: Wed Sep 06, 2006 5:07 pm Post subject:

ah, I should have mentioned. I am a Canadian, so there is no prior embassy visit requirement to get a tourist visa. I know at the airport, its a matter of going to the counter and showing an onward ticket (I have that). It's really just a matter of time.
I also do not have a credit card at my disposal. (thank you ex-wife)

mithridates · Posted: Wed Sep 06, 2006 5:13 pm Post subject:

Taking another look at the site, Daea Travel has a one-day course to and back from the island where you go and see some monuments to the Russia-Japanese war where the Japanese won and some other photography along with some free exploration before returning the same evening. Not sure what the price is but it's here:

http://www.daea.com/course/thusima01.asp

Called the Daema-do same day course (대마도당일코스):
대마도 이즈하라항 도착 입국수속 → 관광출발(전세버스 이동) → 하대마가 한눈에 들어오는 카미자카 전망대에서 기념촬영 후 중식(일식 도시락) → 러일전쟁 승리의 원동력 만관교 관광 → 오사다 쇼핑센터 쇼핑 → 차량탑승, 대마역사 박물관 관람 후 최익현선생 순국비 참배 후 시내 자유관광(도보) → 이즈하라항 도착 후 출국 수속(관광일정은 여행사별 다소 차이가 있음)

051-465-1114

poet13 · Posted: Wed Sep 06, 2006 5:19 pm Post subject:

mithridates. I looked at the website, but it's in Korean. I worry that some one day trips don't stamp passports. That has happened to me in a few countries when I did day tours. Myanmar was one. They stamped a piece of paper and put that in my passport, but then took it out when I left. It was like I was never there.

mithridates · Posted: Wed Sep 06, 2006 5:23 pm Post subject:

Yeah, I'm not sure if you should try it but it's the cheapest possible way to get out of the country and back. The other methods suggested to Fukuoka and back are probably a lot more convenient. Part of the reason I went there was to try to see how similar the dialect is to Korean but besides that there's really nothing much to do there, even for a single night. I would probably go with Fukuoka and it's my favourite city in the world anyway.

chronicpride · Joined: 16 Jan 2003

poet13 · Posted: Wed Sep 06, 2006 7:35 pm Post subject:

chronicpride. Did they stamp your passport?

I will look into the hydrofoil thingy. Had I even 24 more hours, this would be a simple task. I like the idea of not having to leave the terminal. Japan is fun, but I simple don't have the time to get sidetracked.

kat2 · Joined: 25 Oct 2005 Location: Busan, South Korea

Had a friend that did the fukouka thing recently. Kangsan Travel will book ferry tickets for you. YOu just go in the morning, wait for the next ferry and come back. Really easy and they will stamp your passport

chronicpride · Joined: 16 Jan 2003

poet13 · Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2006 12:04 am Post subject:

chronicpride.
thats cool. I ask because i went to myanmar on a day trip once, and they didn't stamp my passport. they stamped a piece of paper and stapled THAT into my passport. it fell out pretty quickly...

coolsage · Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2006 3:42 am Post subject:

poet, for what it's worth, I recently did a visa run to Myanmar in order to renew my status in Thailand. Tachilek, north of Chiang Rai. 200 baht for a day-trip, (got the stamp going in) and, importantly, got the stamp upon re-entry to Thai. You might have entered in one of the dodgier places down the coast, and given the political situation, there are few points of entry that are legit on both sides.