Customized Living Orientation

Seoul Global Center, a help center for foreigners run by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, provides a Customized Living Orientation to international residents who have resided in Korea for less than a year.

This orientation provides basic living information, aiming to help people adjust to their lives in Seoul faster and easier. This program first started in 2008 for native English teachers of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education and has been extended to serve native teachers in private institutes, international students, international spouses, Specially Designated Activities (E-7) visa holders, Family Dependency (F-3) visa holders, and other groups.

The orientation includes information and programs to meet the needs and interests of various groups and uses the most effective presentation methods. The orientation is offered whenever a group of more than 10 international residents makes a request.

Contents for Customized Living Orientation

• Introduction of the Seoul Global Center

• Information on Daily living: Public transportation, Housing, Cell phones, Internet Service, Exchanging Driver’s license, Paying utility bills, Garbage disposal, Leisure, and more

• Q&A

• Other customized programs (e.g. mini seminar)

For orientation requests and more detail information, contact Jeongmae Bak at 02-2075-4138 or jhenmei@sba.seoul.kr

The number of students from overseas coming to study in Korea has leapt in recent years.

In 2002, there were just 7,300 taking classes here but seven years later that number has reached 75,000, according to the Korea Immigration Service’s statistics.

One of the great positives to come out of this phenomenon, in addition to people from overseas learning about Korea, local students and the general public have the benefit of experiencing other cultures.

If you are from overseas and you want to study here, you need a visa. To be precise, you need a D-2 (Study Abroad) visa if you are going to enroll in regular courses at a domestic academic research institution or college, or if you want to participate in other specific forms of study.

A D-4 (General Training) visa is given to people who are studying at a university, a national or private institution, or at an elementary, middle or high school.

If you are studying simultaneously at two institutions, you need to get your hands on a D-4-4 (Language Training) visa.

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Korea Immigration Service’s new visa for skilled foreign workers has been met with mixed reactions from expats here. Designed to improve the environment for highly-skilled global human resources living in Korea, its critics say requirements to obtain the new visa are too strict, while others say the point system is on par with those of most developed countries.
　
Fielding Hong, who is currently working in Seoul as a public school English teacher, is optimistic about his chances of procuring the new F-2-7 visa, though he admits that it may take some time.
　
“Even though I’m committed to staying in Korea, being on an E-2 visa makes it difficult to have the time to study. If I had an F-2-7 visa, I would definitely enroll in a university Korean language program and find work that would complement that schedule,” he said. “I know that obtaining this visa will take a lot of time and energy, but I‘m willing to invest in that process.” 

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The Seoul Global Center is continually working hard to provide information and convenience to the international community in Seoul. It is our pleasure to once again announce our annual Information Fair.

About 40 organizations will be present at the 2010 Information Fair, covering public, medical, financial, communications and travel, as well as many others. Last year, thanks to the help of our over 15,000 participants, our Information Fair was a great success and this year we hope to make it even more successful.

We hope to see you there!

▣ Event Information

►Date and Time: May 8th and 9th, 2010 (Sat-Sun), 12:00-19:00

►Location: The sidewalk starting from the Seoul Finance Center to Cheongyechon (About 265m)

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1.   How long normally take to be delivered to overseas and its cost?

• Postage is determined by weight and method under the regulation of the country which it is being sent to.
• Insurance (Basic fee is 1,800 won up to the amount of value 98,000 won and extra charges will be added upon increasing weight.
• You can choose if you want the package to be returned to Korea if it is not able to be delivered properly. Fee should be added.
• 82 countries can receive packages by boat. Please check with a local post office regarding the availability.
• Weight limitation : EMS:30KG, Air/Boat: 20KG

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The Seoul Global Center houses an Immigration branch at our office in City Hall, but since it’s not a full Immigration Office, it is not able to offer all Immigration services - below are the services available directly at the SGC.   The major services are extensions of certain visas and issuance of certificates.  Please read below for detailed information.   Although they may not be able to provide the specific service you are requesting on site, Immigration officials at the SGC can give always phone or in-person consultation about all inquiries.  For phone inquiries, call 02-2075-4121 or 4122.

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The Korea Herald posted this article about how you can improve policies for expats : http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/data/html_dir/2010/02/22/201002220153.asp

The Prime Minister’s Office receives suggestions on how to improve regulations that are discriminatory or troublesome for foreign residents or overseas Koreans.

Rules that cause inconvenience in immigration, personal identification, status change, economic activities or daily lives of non-Koreans, foreign spouses of Koreans or overseas Koreans could be examples. Ideas on regulations or systems deemed as discriminatory against foreign nationals are also welcome.

Please e-mail your proposals to sangsan@pmo.go.kr or fax them to (02) 2100-2323 by the end of March. Outstanding ideas will be rewarded with gift certificates.

The Prime Minister’s Office will also collect suggestions from foreign chambers of commerce in Korea as well as metropolitan and provincial governments, and formulate deregulation or revision plans in May after coordination with related government branches.

Living in Seoul Orientation

“Are you new to Seoul?”

“Are you curious about what there is to see and do in the city?”

“Do you know about all of the support services available for foreigners?”

On Friday February 26th at 10:30am Itaewon-Hannam Global Village Center will host a Living in Seoul Orientation Session. At this session you will be able to learn about all the services and cultural opportunities that are out there for foreigners living in this city.

There will be an informative presentation, a Q&A session, and finally refreshments and a chance to mingle with the other guests at the end. All those who attend will also receive a package of brochures, maps, and guides that will help make your life in Seoul a lot easier and more enjoyable. It is free of charge and anyone is welcome to attend. If you would like to attend please give us a call or send us an email.

Event Details: Fri. February 26th
10:30~10:45 Introduction to the Center
10:45~11:15 Living in Seoul Presentation
11:15~11:30 Q&A Session
11:30~12:00 Coffee and Snacks

The Itaewon Hannam Global Village Center is located near Itaewon Station (Line 6), exit 2 in the Hannam Building (left side).  For more info, visit their website http://global.seoul.go.kr/itaewon/ or call 02-796-2459~60.

New Security Measures on Liquids, Aerosols and Gels

To respond to the emerging threat of liquid explosives and following the recommendation of ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization), passengers are reminded that liquids, aerosols and gels onboard aircraft in their carry-on bags will be subject to hand baggage restrictions from 1 March 2007 and will be applicable to all international flights (including transfer and transit flights) departing from Republic of Korea.

To ease your journey, we recommend you to arrive at the airport at least three hours before your estimated time of departure. When you check-in, please ensure that most items are placed in your hold baggage and only items (Passport & Wallet) of value or that you need whilst on board are carried in your hand baggage.

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Corresponding to the current trends of globalization and the fever of English education in Korea, the number of native-speaker conversational language instructional visas has increased. There are currently approximately 20,000 people living and working as conversational language instructors on the E-2 visa. E-2 visas allow for employment at foreign language hagwon, or at public educational institutions from the elementary level. Stipulations for receiving the visa include nationality from one of seven countries (New Zealand, South Africa, the United States, Ireland, England, Canada and Australia) and that the applicant must be a native speaker of English and must have graduated university in that country.

Q: I came to Korea one year ago on an E-2 visa and would like to renew my contract. What are the steps I need to take?

A: If you would like to work at the same institution, all you have to do is go to your presiding immigration office and register for an extension. In this case, of course, it is necessary to bring the new labor contract. Exiting and re-entering the country is not necessary.

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