On My Way To Korea

It was an absolutely BEAUTIFUL day on Saturday here in Seoul, which was a big relief from the crappy weather we’ve had for a while.  I was lucky enough that the SNU foto club had its first outing planned for that day.  We went to the Seoul Racehorse Park, the Seoul Zoo at Seoul Grand Park, and went out for dinner afterwards.

I’m going to put up this guide, most likely not for those currently at SNU, but for those in the future.  While it’s aimed at SNU students there is no doubt some of it can also be applicable to others.  Now that I’ve been in Korea for over a month and attended school for over a week I thought I’d jot down what exactly I’ve done up until now to prepare me for the semester (in general order of occurrence):

Pre-departure

First I got my certificate of acceptance in the mail and applied for my visa.  For the D-2 (study) visa I just needed to send an application to my closest Korea consulate/embassy (just find the website for the closest place and it should have the form) with my passport, certificate of acceptance, and another pre-paid express package so they could send my passport with the visa back to me.  The fee was about $45 if I remember correctly.

I bought my plane ticket right after getting notice that I was accepted.  I went through my previous school’s travel agency which is way good at getting alumni and students good deals.  At the BYU travel agency I got a one way ticket on Delta and Korean Air for $499.  From what I’ve heard its extremely hard to find anything under that.

I lived out of my suitcase for the last month both out of necessity and partially to make sure I didn’t forget anything.  After I got to Korea I was already used to living out of my suitcase which made it fairly easy and I didn’t have any moments where I remembered that I forgot something (though maybe its just that I didn’t remember …).

Just a quick note … if you haven’t learned the Korean writing system take the one day it takes to learn it.  Seriously, its probably the easiest writing system I’ve ever seen.  It’s said that a smart person can learn it in a morning and a dumb person can learn it in a day.

Post-arrival

1. Bought a phone card to use if needed which really helped out.  You have to constantly add money depending on how long you call so its easiest to just use a card payment system.  Then again, you could just get a T-Money card (below) and use that.  I didn’t know the payphones accepted T-Money cards.
2. Took the express bus 6003 which ends at the SNU main gate . Cost: 8,000원.  Cheapest available option, I had a good talk with the guy next to me.  It took like 2 hours though ><  Taxis to SNU are 50~80,000원 so you pick.
3. Got a T-Money card.  They’re available at any subway station or at many convenience marts (I got mine at Family Mart, which seems to be the most wide-spread convenience store).  It cost 2,500원 (5,000원 if you want an accessory card for your phone but I didn’t have one) plus 10,000원 to charge it up.  It’ll save you a lot of money especially if you use the bus and subway often.  Also you don’t have to worry about paying the right amount each time.  I never had to fiddle around with paying with cash except for that first express bus.  Oh yeah, you can also use it at many public pay phones, taxis, vending machines, convenience stores, etc.  It’s a pretty magical card.
4. Got my ARC (Alien Registration Card) (instructions here).  This step can’t be emphasized enough and should be done ASAP.  All the next steps were done after getting the ARC.  You may have to wait until school starts, it looks like the immigration office’s policy recently changed and now requires a certificate of enrollment.
5. My ARC took a little more than a week so I decided to have some fun while I waited for it.  I explored the area, did some sightseeing, found close international ATMs, etc.
6. Registered for classes.  The website was only in Korean, so either use the guide provided by SNU or have a Korean friend help you out (unless you know Hangeul).  Also, the first registration period was only 2 days about a month before school started and then a day or two before school started so make sure you sign up at the right time (remember that the system works on Korean time).
7. Sign up to get your SNU ID which is used to manage everything school-related online (other than registration) and for logging into the wireless network.
8. Download and install the Wirless Access software (Go to MySNU -> 게시판 -> 정보화 ->Notice for SNU Wireless line blah blah and download it) so you can actually use the wireless network.  Yes, you have to download (from the internet) a program to use the internet otherwise you better hope you’re in one of the buildings which have unsecured networks (on which you probably won’t want to type passwords…) or sign up for a free NESPOT account for on-campus which is available (again on the internet).  After you install the Wireless Access app just double click the icon on the desktop and type in your SNU ID and password.
9. Report the ARC number to the school.  You just have to do it and you can’t connect your bank account and your student ID until you do this.
10. Get bank account with NH Bank (농협 은행).   Your student card also becomes your debit/bank card and saves you some hassle (only NH has the option to turn your student card into a combo bank card).  Although there is an option to have it work as a transportation card, its a no-go for foreigners.  My guess is because they only allow students to have a post-pay option and don’t want us running out of the country before paying the bill.  Put in some money so that you’re ready to go when you get your phone.  You’ll get a bank book which you can just put in the ATM machine and deposit money.  There’s another bank on campus you can join which has more ATMs off campus (as opposed to NH which has more on campus) so you just have to decide what’s more important.  You might want to wire money from your overseas account so you have easy access to it.  You just need the swift code for NH (NACFKRSE) or whatever bank you joined and your bank account info.  In addition to opening an account you’ll want to fill out the form to connect your student card to your bank account so you can use it at ATMs or stores and a form to do online banking.
11. Buy phone (with DMB for free Korean TV on the go, very useful for those long subway and bus rides or while walking).  Make sure you know if you’ll do pre-pay (Card Phone) or get regular service since most phones work with one or the other (though some work with both).  If you’ll be here short-term (one semester) pre-pay is probably best otherwise you might want to consider a regular plan.  In the end it also matters how much you use the phone, incoming calls are always free and texting is always pretty cheap.  You technically need an ARC, but I hear you can get a pre-paid phone with just your passport in Itaewon.  I paid 45,000원 (differs by model and how old) for my phone with DMB.  I found mine though Dave’s ESL Cafe.  Seoul Craig’s List is also another good place to check out.
12. Get to know the campus.  There’s usually a lot of resources available, but you probably don’t want to search for something you need when you need it most.  The library’s a good place to know, so you’ll want to drop by there.  With your certificate of enrollment and ARC you can get a barcode which’ll let you into the library and reserve materials or reserve computer time.  You can also buy a print card which you’ll need if you want to copy anything.  You have to pay 5,000원 up front but it all goes into your print account.  Copies are 40원 which is a lot cheaper that it is back in the states.

I haven’t lived in my own personal apartment, so I don’t have any advice or anything regarding apartments.  I have to move out in the summer so maybe I’ll learn a little more about it then =)

Well, that just about sums it up.  I may edit this as I remember things or if anyone adds to what I have through comments or whatnot.

Source: Physorg

Researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) seem to have created a new type of electric bus called the Online Electric Vehicle (OLEV).  Instead of the trolleys you normally see in places like Vancouver or San Francisco, its powered by charging wirelessly through the ground using magnetic charging strips and is able to cut costs of electric vehicles to an estimated third of the cost of the current system.  The test bus only needs 400 m out of the 2.2 km to have the strips installed in the ground and its claimed that only 20% of the Seoul bus routes would need strips installed at places buses spend more time.  The technology is not all new though.  The article says it was originally developed at the University of California-Berkley but ended without any tangible results.

There are plans in the works to test out a bus route in Seoul and to transport delegates who will attend the G20 summit using the new system.  I’m not going to hold my breathe, but I’m always glad to see technology moving in the right direction (hopefully).

Check out the article for yourself over here at PHYSORG.

As always, Epik High releases awesome stuff

Well, I’m not dead yet.  After changing my schedule a few times I’ve finally approached a point where I feel comfortable.  I originally thought I would be fine taking a North Korean Studies class in Korean, but after looking at the material I decided against that.  It really sucks cause I was looking forward to it, but 800+ pages of reading in Korean books just isn’t going to go well.  One 400 page book maybe, but 120+ pages per week of reading is absolutely insane (for someone at my level).  I decided to just take an Advanced Korean class for my one course in Korean this semester and then try in Fall again to take a real class in Korean.

I’m going to post a summary of everything I’ve done since I’ve arrived in Korea as a kind of guide for anyone else (particularly SNU students) who is curious about what someone needs to do after arriving in Korea.  Once I post that feel free to comment and suggest anything else to include.