Korea, Day 2

All tuckered out.

I got my first taste of jangma (monsoon) today. It's no laughing matter, this monsoon stuff- it rained for hours today, which I realized that I'm not used to. Everywhere I've lived or visited has had brief showers, not really constantly pouring rain.

Luckily, my residence has (giant) umbrellas, so I had one for the day.

This morning (before the rain), I went over to my new workplace to check it out and meet the people that I've been e-mailing for months on end. The differences in the way that Americans and Koreans do business, deal with visual effects, is astounding and dismaying.

After my morning at the company, I met my cousin, who came over from Seoul. We had lunch (Chinese-Korean, one of my favorites), came back to look stuff up online at my house, then set off in the pouring rain to try and get me a bank account and a cell phone.

The bank account (KB Bank) took a while (I think about an hour and a half?) because we ended up having to see two different people, fill out about five forms, and wait.

In the U.S., we're all about lines. We stand in lines all over the place, even at banks. In Korea, you take a ticket (printed out from an ATM-like machine) depending on what type of transaction you need, then wait in areas with lots of seating and reading material. A worker walked about with little Yakults and teensy straws for everyone that was waiting. I've loved Yakults since I was a wee child, and it was a nice gesture.

After exchanging the rest of my American dollars, depositing most of it into my brand new account, opened with the help of my passport and American driver's license, and getting a debit card, I was exhausted and the bank was long closed.

We traipsed a few blocks away to the big SK Telecom store (not one of the small outposts that are all over the place) to inquire about renting a smartphone. I had a realization over lunch and conversation with my pragmatic cousin that I would probably be really frustrated with a dumbphone.

SK Telecom was a bust, because the only rented phones I could acquire were dumbphones. My cousin said he knew of a way to rent a smartphone online, so he said he'd look into it.

We ran off to Lotte Department Store, where my cousin got on the subway (it's the most amazing thing ever- the subway stop is in the basement of the department store, where there's a food court and (super expensive) grocery store) and I spent a lot of money on very little food. (My mother's going to fall off her chair if she sees this, but I paid more than 18,000 won for grapes and tomatoes. The good news is, the grapes and tomatoes are beautiful.)

Just the fact that my only mode of transportation has been walking has been tiring and somewhat stressful, because I need to always be at least slightly aware of where I am and how I can get home. I'm still having the problem that I mentioned earlier about being turned around- west is east and east is west, and I have no idea why- so that's definitely contributing to my stress of walking everywhere.

What I've realized in my bank and cell phone adventures today is that I am totally not Korean. I speak Korean passably- people at the office were shocked (which I think is probably not a good thing, that they didn't think I could speak Korean at all)- but I couldn't have figured out the forms at the bank by myself. And my cousin was asking questions to a girl at the cell phone store, while I wondered what they were talking about.

All you non-Korean-speaking foreigners in Korea, I commend you. I am amazed by you all, because I'm confused and I speak the language.

Good news, the office is about a seven minute walk from home. Bad news, the walk takes me through a park for only about thirty seconds, then I have to walk through a giant shopping area with a billion stores. I have a feeling that I'll be spending my paychecks as soon as I get them. -__-

I only have a weekend left until I have to actually start working. Sadness. I would say that I'll try to make the best of it ... but I really doubt that I'll want to do anything at all if it keeps on raining (other than get some food at some point).

Tomorrow is the day that I'm going to try to walk down the block to Homeplus, which people say is like E-Mart, which is like a nicer, cleaner, bigger Target with groceries. Or maybe a smaller, cleaner Costco. The rain. It needs to stop for a few hours so I can go!

Watching crazy Korean TV and falling asleep. I'm going to try to take more pictures, but the weather, the fact that my cell phone doesn't work here, and the constant fog makes it impossible.


I'm still not feeling jetlagged, and hoping it stays that way.

More updates tomorrow. I'll try my super expensive grapes and tomatoes- they better be amazing.

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Korea, Day 1

It's been a very long day. Whew.

Landed at Incheon International Airport (one of the best airports I've ever been to) at 5:20 a.m. local time.

Then came the ordeal of figuring out which limousine bus I had to take to get to Ilsan, which is where my workplace and residence are. I talked to a sleepy lady at the bus ticket counter and paid a mere 8,000 won for a ticket.

The bus came promptly on time at 6:25 and we were off to Ilsan through a hazy, cloudy sunrise.

I got off the bus a couple stops late, but it ended up not being that big of a deal- it was maybe a block and a half farther than necessary.

The problem with the whole transportation thing today was the fact that I have two large-ish suitcases and one small one. The large suitcases both weighed more than 50 pounds (but less than 32 kilograms- I don't know how many pounds that is), I had my carry-on suitcase, plus a purse. That's a lot of baggage when you're standing at a bus stop in the middle of the street in Korea.

There was a taxi stand about half a block up from me, so with purse and carry-on in stow, I ran over, crossing four lanes of traffic (that was just one way). I asked the two old dudes if they could take me to the building next to the Lotte Department Store, but when they heard that I had more luggage, they refused. So instead, I asked them to watch my carry-on while I went to go retrieve my other bags, which I had left stranded near the bus stop.

Back across the street I went, returning with my two heavy suitcases. One of the men took pity on me when I said I was from America and I had lots of stuff because I moved here for a job, so he took me (and my endless luggage) down a few blocks (I didn't realize how close it was!) and dropped me off in front of the office of my residence.

The weather that early in the morning was surprisingly warm (probably around 70 degrees (Fahrenheit)) and very humid. Not fun, but not as hot as I had expected. The guy that gave me my key (a card, not a real key) and showed me to my room told me to expect rain starting tomorrow, which I'm not looking forward to.

I unpacked, showered, called my parents, sent some e-mails, unpacked some more, and then set off to go explore the neighborhood.

Lotte Department Store wasn't that fun (they're having a big sale right now), but Western Dom and LaFesta were fun to explore a bit. I think I may have gotten a bit of a tan from walking around- I probably shouldn't have gone outside until the sun was a little lower in the sky, but I stupidly set off around 11:00 and got back home around 3:00.

I covered a pretty big distance today, but I'm having a weird problem orienting myself- I keep thinking that west is east and vice versa. I have no idea what's wrong with me, but hopefully, I get my bearings soon. I didn't get lost or anything, so not a big deal.

There is a LOT to do in this area, which is frightening- I may not cook the entire time that I'm in Korea, at this rate! (In my defense, I don't have any kitchen-y things at all, so I couldn't cook even if I wanted to.)

I'm a little achy from running around all day in flip-flops, on top of the scant five hours of sleep I got in the plane, but since I'm staying up late (late-ish ... if I make it to 10:00, I'll be proud of myself), I'm hoping the jetlag doesn't kick my butt tomorrow.

I have plans to go into the office tomorrow morning- there's a Canadian-Korean that lives near me and is going to stop by in the morning to take me to the office so I know the way- just to fill out paperwork and figure out some of the technical things that I need to deal with this week while I'm not working. Then my cousin comes tomorrow to help me figure out my cell phone situation and perhaps set up a bank account.

Busy, busy!


I'm having a little bit of something akin to culture shock. But it's not the people around me, it's just me being weird- it's difficult for me to speak solely in Korean and try to think in Korean all the time, because I'm used to being American. I know I'm tired, too, so maybe things will get better once I've gotten some sleep.


The best and worst thing about my place is that the first floor has lots of shops. I've already been to the two different convenience stores (to buy bottles of water, then to buy a Coke). Those shops will definitely become habit. I had dinner from a Japanese place on the first floor (pork cutlet and a shrimp tempura) and was pleasantly surprised at how good their kimchi was. I was not so pleased with the liberal Jackson Pollack-ing of mayonnaise all over the place.


Weirdly, most of the people that I've interacted with today haven't thought that I was Korean. They hesitate to speak to me in Korean, and try other languages. Bizarre.


The best part of the flight over was that I got upgraded to "Prestige," which I think is Korean Air's equivalent of business class. It was fantastic, and I commend all people that work for Korean Air. Especially the women- their uniforms, their make-up, their hair- those girls work for their money. Watched "Sucker Punch" (no reason it should have been that bad) at the beginning of the flight and then "No Strings Attached" at the end of the flight (Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman were an odd combination in a very predictable movie), listened to some music in between, and had a lot of tiny crystal glasses of water.


We'll see what tomorrow has in store. I'm all tuckered out from my activities today and am totally ready to pass out. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.......

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F-4 Visa

Southern California weather is a bit crazy lately- hot during the day and pretty dang cold at night. It's exhausting me a little bit, but I know that I'm going to miss this weather once I'm in the watery wonderland that is Korea during the summer monsoon season.

The whole Korea thing has been in the works for quite a long time. I've mentioned previously, even years ago, that I wanted to go to Korea. The opportunity arose through an ex-co-worker who rang me up out of the blue and asked if I was interested in a job opportunity in Korea.

Once I received the introduction, there were a lot of e-mails that went back and forth, a few phone calls at odd hours, and finally, a contract and a plane ticket. The job is for a visual effects company, where I will be for three months. I don't think that the actual job will be difficult, but I do know that I will be stressed out for a little while. For as much as I call myself Korean-American, I'm American in my lifestyle. I don't know how to live in a different country because I left Korea when I was barely three years old. I am aware that I will suffer some sort of culture shock once I'm in Korea; the only question that remains is how much shock I'll feel and how I'll get through it.

For the moment, I'm trying to figure out what to pack (as I will be there over summer and into autumn), if six pairs of shoes is overkill (probably, but I love shoes), and if I can learn to live 6,000 miles away from my family.

The worst part of this entire thing has been, by far, the process of getting a visa. At first, we had planned for me to apply for a C-4 visa, which is a 90-day visa granted to people that have been hired by a company based in Korea.

After some reflection and some research, we all decided that the F-4 visa would be best. The F-series of visas are so-called "family" visas, which are granted to Korean nationals and their relations (if you marry a Korean, you'd get an F-series visa).

Since I was born in Korea, I qualify for an F-4 visa. The visa is valid for two years, during which time I can come and go from Korea as I please. The F-4 visa also grants me permission to make money (legally) in Korea, which is necessary and convenient.

The problem was actually getting the dang visa.

I believe that the Korean Consulate in Los Angeles is the biggest Korean consulate in the United States (if not the biggest in the world), yet it's chaotic, disorganized, and frustrating.

All the paperwork and forms provided by the consulate are in Korean only, and while I speak Korean well, my ability to figure out technical jargon is very limited. As such, I asked my mother to figure out what I needed to take with me to get my visa. And here we arrive at the problem: what they tell you over the phone and on their website is vastly different from the reality of what you need in order to receive a visa.

After several trips to the consulate, frustration due to them closing at 4:00 (who closes at 4:00?!), and some cursing when their stupid copy machine broke, I finally obtained my visa.

First of all, what I needed to get my visa:

- American passport
- Last Korean passport (I was 15 at the time it was issued)
- American naturalization certificate
- Proof of lineage from the Korean government
- Passport photo

I'm hazy on the proof of lineage thing, but I do know how I obtained those two stinking pieces of paper:

First of all, I cannot get those print-outs, with the official seal, from anywhere outside of Korea. So I needed to fill out a form giving my aunt something akin to power of attorney. This form states what information I need, all of my aunt's information, and all of my information.

This form cannot be faxed to Korea, because the government will only accept the original form, with all the consulate's stamps and seals on it. I sent the form to Korea ($30) and asked my aunt to fax back the two forms that she goes to get, as well as sending the originals.

The faxes came through a few days later. Two separate forms- one stating my origins, one stating my family tree. (Koreans have a family register, where all babies are supposed to be listed within a short time of their birth.)

With those two forms (the consulate in America accepts faxes), I went back to the consulate. Armed with the forms, my old Korean passport, my current American passport, and my naturalization certifcate (and copies of each- I made five copies of each just in case, but I think three is sufficient), I first received some piece of paper that I need to apply for a visa. That's right, there's a pre-process before you can even APPLY for a visa. And it costs $2, which was annoying.

I took that form to the next window, where I actually applied for a visa. The consulate worker told me what parts I needed to fill out, I filled them out. She glued my picture to the application, stamped various things onto the piece of paper, took $45 from me, and then told me to come fetch my passport the next afternoon.

Finally, just before the consulate closed the next day, on my fifth trip, I had my passport with my visa inside.

Quite annoying. And the people that work at the consulate are not helpful. They answer direct questions, but there is no attitude of trying to help out and make the process go faster- I think they like when people just stand around and suffer while they're filling out their umpteenth form.

I do have an F-4 visa now, thank goodness. I really like that I don't have to do this again for two years.

However (and this also irritates me), I need to get an alien registration card once I'm in Korea. The government websites don't really have much information on what's needed to get the stupid card, and I can't start the application for the card here- I have to be in Korea.

I'm sure I'll whine about the alien registration card process once I go through it (or maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised? Please, please, please let me be pleasantly surprised!), but for now, my mother's been doing research to try and save me some grief once I get to Korea.

I fly out of LAX at 12:40 on Tuesday, which means that my sister is taking me to the airport on Monday night. I'll spend the Fourth of July with my family, run around trying to figure out if I packed everything I need, and then (hopefully) get on the plane, exhausted, and sleep.

I just hope it's not raining cats and dogs in Korea when I arrive. I lose a whole day en route, so I leave just past midnight on Tuesday and get there early in the morning on Wednesday. Then I have to figure out which limousine bus to take from the airport to get to my residence ... but that's another story that will have to be told post-experience.

It's a bit surreal to me that I'm actually moving to Korea for a few months. It's something I've thought about, but could never quite work out, so I think I'm still in a sort of daze about it. I also don't think that I've really quite grasped that I'm leaving the country in two days, because I still feel like I just got back to LA.

The bunnies are scampering about, the dryer (I will miss you, dryer, when I'm in the land of hanging out clothes to dry) is grumbling, the family is watching TV, and it seems like this is what my life should be. I'm going to try to enjoy and rest over the next couple days before my adventure begins. So far, so good!

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