ARRIVAL TO KOREA
Be aware that the first few days in Korea will be exhausting. You will have jetlag and it will take some getting used to. The best way to overcome this is to sleep according to the time in Korea. If you can stay awake during your flight to Korea, it will help a lot. It is best to adjust to Korean time as soon as possible to fight the jet lag.
Normally, you will have someone to greet and meet you once you step out of your exit gate into the main terminal. Some schools will pick you up directly from the airport and in some cases, schools send out a pickup service that puts you on an airport bus or taxi. The person will call your school director to notify them of your arrival and will prepare for your local arrival. The bus/taxi will take you to your appointed stop and your school will be there to meet you.
It is best to buy some food/snacks for the ride if it is long.
It is common for your school to take you to buy household necessities upon your arrival, so ask your school or ask your fellow teachers for advice on where to shop for things.
It is best to write down your home address, school phone number, and the closest subway station and exit number to help you get orientated to your local area. It would be wise to meet with your fellow coworkers to find the local routes to school.
HOUSING
The usual type of residence in the greater metropolitan area of Seoul is an officetel. These units are either for business or for residential purposes. They are usually fully furnished and are equal to a studio size apartment or a one bedroom flat. The utilities are your responsibility. The maintenance fees vary from place to place, but the main things are electricity, water, gas. These fees usually get grouped together and are charged monthly by the building. You will have to go to a local bank to pay for the fees. Other fees such as phone, internet, and/or cable will be charged monthly separately by each individual company.
The common practice in Korea is for the departing teacher to leave and for the new teacher to enter the apartment. Most schools will do their very best not to inconvenient you upon your arrival, but in some cases, the new teacher or the old teacher may find themselves staying in a hotel or a temporarily vacant apartment. Dates might overlap or conflict and you might have to wait to actually move in. The apartments are cleaned, but you might want to buy some cleaning accessories to do some thorough cleaning for personal satisfaction.
DAMAGE DEPOSIT
When an employee arrives in their new apartment, they will be expected to pay a damage deposit for any damages that may occur while the teacher is living there. This damage deposit ranges, but usually it is one month’s rent divided into 3 monthly increments. The deposit is taken directly out of their salary. Upon completion of their contract, the employee will be refunded the deposit excluding any damage done to the apartment during their stay. Please notify your employer of any damages right away in order for you to prevent further damage to the apartment.
BANKING
To open a bank account, you will need your passport and at some locations your Alien Registration Card (ARC). They will usually tell you to deposit 10,000 KRW (about $7 - $8 USD/CAD). Once you deposit this, you can use the ATM at the bank to withdraw it once you’ve created an account. Banks are on every street and very competitive regarding the type of banking you do. Banking sites are usually only in Korean and it would be wise to just use the local ATM’s and to hit the English button to perform your daily needs. The only time you would actually have to go to the bank would be to send money home. You can actually send money home through the internet without going to the bank with a little help from a Korean coworker or friend.
HEALTH CARE
Basic Government health care is usually provided in Korea. In most cases, the cost of the medical insurance is split 50/50.
Depending on your school’s tax bracket, you may have a choice whether to apply for insurance or not. These days, it is not mandatory for medical insurance and you should find out by asking your employer. Many foreigners in Korea have the insurance but never use it during their stay in Korea. The typical cost for insurance depends on your salary in Korea. A trip to the doctor usually costs around 3,000-7,000 KRW with insurance and 15,000-30,000 KRW without. You do the math and see if this is something you would actually need during your stay.
PENSION
The National Pension Fund is not something mandatory in Korea and depends on your school’s tax bracket. Foreigners aged between 18 and 59 working and residing in Korea are subject to the compulsory coverage of the national pension scheme, the same as Korean nationals. If he/she is working in the workplace covered under the scheme, he/she shall mandatorily be a workplace-based insured person and in other cases, an individually insured person. Ask your school if they put into the pension fund, if this is something important to you. Usually, the employee pays about 5% of their salary into the pension and that is matched by the employers 5%. This is not something that every foreigner is entitled to and should be looked into. Canadians, upon leaving the country, are entitled to receive a lump sum refund and in all likelihood so are Americans. Check with your local consulate for more information.
DEDUCTIONS
All instructors working in Korea on an E-2 visa pay Korean taxes. You will be required to pay anywhere from 3.3 - 10%. Though you pay taxes here in Korea, you are not exempt from filing taxes in your home country, whether it is Canada or the U.S. There are specific policies regarding foreign-earned income. Further information is available on your embassy web site.
CELL PHONES/HOME PHONES
To get a cell phone or home phone contract in Korea, you will need an ARC card. Some used prepaid phones are available without an ARC card, but are hard to find. The best way is to use Skype upon arrival! You and your family members should sign up before your trip to Korea. You’ll find that computer to computer calls are free and will save you a lot of money on international long distance charges. Another way is to buy a calling card that has a local toll free access number that will allow you to call home from a landline, pay phone or cell phone.
Communicating with your friends and family members will be a little difficult at first upon your arrival, but ask around and you will find a method of getting reliable information regarding cell phones.
ELECTRONICS AND POWER VOLTAGES
220 volt outlets are standard in Korea. In the U.S./Canada 110 volt outlets are standard. Things like computers or mp3’s usually have a converter built in, so you would only need to use an adapter for the type of plug. For other electronics or appliances that you will be bringing that don’t have a converter built-in, we recommend buying a 220 to 110 voltage converter. You can ask for us to buy one for you and it will be mailed to your school address and waiting for you when you arrive.
INTERNET
Wireless internet can often be found by moving the computer around to different parts of the apartment if the teacher has a computer that is Wi-Fi compatible. Most neighborhoods have people using wireless internet, but usually password block other users from gaining access to their internet, but some are not password blocked and you may be able to piggyback their internet connection to your computer. The next best place to get free wireless internet is a coffee shop. Another safe haven for internet is your local PC Room (PC Bong)/Internet Cafe. They are mostly in every building around you and cost about a few dollars for an hour.
Transportation
Transportation consists of buses, subways, and taxis. The entire bus/subway system in your area is tailored to your needs of that area. What I mean is, different color buses provide different routes and distances - meaning you pay a lower fare if you are only going to the supermarket down the street. If you needed to go to Seoul, you would get on different bus with a different color and you would pay a little more. With this being said, you need to find out which color buses mean what in your area. It is approximately 700 Won to take a local bus and 1000-1800 Won to take other buses. You can pay with bills or coins. Avoid paying with bills larger than a 1,000 won. Another option is using your T-Money Transit Card. These can be refilled at many different convenience stores or at any ticketing booth in subway stations. The following link is a great website that can teach you about buses, subways, routes and fares.
Seoul Bus System ( http://bus.congnamul.com/SeoulRouteWebApp/view_english/map.jsp )
Seoul Subway System ( http://www.smrt.co.kr/Eng/index.jsp )
Subways are probably the best form of transportation when you’re in a bind for time. They are very punctual and very reliable. Fares are different dependant on destination and location. It would be wise to look at a subway map before trekking to your destination. You can buy tickets at any ticketing computer stall and telling the attendant the name of your destination. A much more convenient way to pay for travel is using a T-Money Transit Card which you can swipe at all subway stations as you enter and leave.
Taxis are very cheap and everywhere. You just have to learn how to speak Korean in order to get around. Just a local subway stop in Korean and a little pointing will get you to your destination.
SHOPPING
Shopping in Korea is readily accessible and you will find that shopping at the bigger chain stores will save you time and energy when looking for specific items. Your basic Korean stores are like Target/Walmart/K-mart/Sears/ back home.
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Ask your fellow coworkers and they should be able to point you in the direction of the store.
If you’re not in the mood to take a trek to bigger mart, you will find convenience stores that carry mostly everything that you need, but at a slightly higher price.
There are other places for shopping besides the bigger marts listed above and by all means check around your neighborhood.
EATING OUT
Look for readily accessible restaurants in your area. The major franchise fast food chains are in every neighborhood. To name a few: McDonald’s, Burger King, KFC, Dunkin Donuts, CPK, TGI Fridays, Outback Steakhouse, Bennigans, Vips, Sizzler, Dominoes, Papa John’s Pizza, Pizza Hut. If you’re in the mood for any of the aforementioned, ask around. The best thing to do is to try the Korean food and find out if it is tasty and palatable. If it is not, you stay away from it during your stay in Korea. Here are some recommendations for Korean food. (kimbab - California rolls, bibimbab - rice with different kinds of vegetables, donkasu - pork cutlet, galbi - marinated beef ribs, samkyubsal - pork belly, think of this as bacon but a little thicker, mandoo - fried/steamed dumplings, sullungtang - rice in a beef broth, samgaetang - whole chicken in chicken broth) These food items I have named are the favorites of my friends and colleagues here in Korea.
WHAT EVERYONE SHOULD PACK
If you have a favorite deodorant, you may want to pack enough for a year. Korea does not have a very large selection of deodorant.
Prescription drugs may not be of the same companies used in North America. You may want to take enough for the year.
Spices you like!
If you have one, and you can fit it, bring a computer. If you are considering buying a computer here, ask around and you’ll find one in your budget.
Sheets! Ask your school for the size of your bed in your apartment and buy them before going to Korea. Sheets are very expensive for some strange reason.
