Getting a Visa (Part II)

It took a long time, but eventually I did get my Visa Issuance Number from Korea. The process has since changed (at least for me) since I last wrote about this. Once I got the number, it was much easier to bring the Visa Application Form (with said number written in the correct space - remember, don't leave anything blank, put "N/A" for anything that does not apply to you), a sealed transcript, a photocopy of your passport information page, your passport, a passport sized photo and $55 in a money order to the consulate myself.

So I got on the Go train and took off for the big city of Toronto (until I get to Seoul, I'll still refer to Toronto as a big city, but I'm sure living in a city of 10 million may change my perception of Ontario's largest city). If you're trying to get to the consulate in Toronto the directions are simple enough. Take the subway to St. Clair Station (the one at St. Clair and Young). When you get out of the subway you will probably be pretty disoriented. The first time, I started walking the wrong way. You want to head toward Yonge Street and keep going until you get to Avenue Rd and St. Clair. The consulate is on the northeast corner of that intersection (if you're really lazy or have never taken it, the streetcar goes from the station to the intersection - it's route 512).

Here is a picture of the consulate:


So far I have been here twice. My first visit was to drop off my documents. This was very quick. I talked to the nice lady and she gave me an appointment to come back for an interview - almost a week later. I had to fill out yet another form (answering many of the same questions I have repeatedly answered over the course of the last few months) for the interview.

When I came back, I found myself waiting in a room with between 10 and 20 others who were also their for E-2 visa interviews. We talked a little bit about what we had been going through the last little bit (the general consensus was that everyone dealt with people who didn't really know what the rules were). I waited a bit but the interview itself was super short and super easy. They asked me: a) my name, b) my birth date, c) my major, d) what age of students I would be teaching in Korea and e) what I knew about Korea. It took probably less than 2 minutes.

I have to wait a few more days to pick up my visa (I can check online to see if it's ready - but right now, that site is not working... this could be bad). So I will have to return to Toronto for a third time.

Keep in mind this is the process for Toronto. The Vancouver process was different (Alex may or may not share her story) and I imagine the Montreal and Ottawa processes would be different as well.

Not much more to do beyond packing now...

Getting a Job

Now that you have a recruiter working for you, your job search becomes much easier. In my case, my recruiter gave us several options to pick from and gave us time to look at them. Like anything you do in this process, the most important part is to do your research.

Where can you do this research you may ask? Finding out about a place that doesn't even use the same language as we do is not an easy task. Wikipedia can provide some insight to some cities in Korea, so that might be your first task (some recruiters may even allow you to pick from any region of the country). Lonely Planet and other travel books can be helpful - though I did find the libraries in Victoria only had older versions of the Lonely Planet book and not the various other series of Travel books. Simple search engines can also provide some results, but most of them won't search through Korean sites unless you make your searches super specific. Looking for a particular school online can be fairly easy, though often if a school has a website a recruiter will give it to you for you to check out (even though they are mostly in Korean - or whatever your browser determines the characters are, usually "???" - I found that pictures of students and other teachers can be very telling). There are also several sites out there that "blacklist" certain schools. Don't believe everything you read, but don't ignore it either. If you have concerns, make sure you ask. If you're curious make sure you ask. Just ask a lot of questions, ok?

You will likely also have to make a decision between public and private schools. I will assume that if you've gotten this far you've likely run into one of the many resources on the internet that talks about the differences. Your recruiter will probably give you information on that as well, so I figure there is no point in repeating it here.

If you like a school then your recruiter will contact them with your info and the process is pretty simple from there: set up an interview if they like you, do the interview, the school decides and then you have to decide if you want to work at the school.

As everyone should tell you at this point, don't immediately answer. Take your time to consider the terms of the contract. Read it over. Get your friends and parents to read it over (maybe someone who has a law degree too). Do more research just to make sure. The most important thing though, is to get an email address of someone who has worked at the school or someone who is working there. Ask them questions, but if the school can provide someone who says good things about the school then that is definitely a good sign. If you can make multiple contacts with this person (not just through the email - often teachers in Korea have facebook) then that just assures you that the person actually exists (though I doubt a school would go through all of that trouble just to get someone to Korea to give them a raw deal).

Once you have made your decision, then you should make sure the school finds out (probably through your recruiter). There is still more work to be done, however, before you step in front of your class the first time.

If you have any questions about the process up to this point, please don't hesitate to ask.

Big news is coming soon to this site, so stay tuned!