Frequently asked questions
I am from the US, what documents should I send to the school in Korea, and should I send original documents or copies?
If you are from the US, In order to process your visa in Korea you will need to send:
- An original notarized and Apostille-approved criminal background check and a notarized and Apostille-approved copy of your diploma. You must send the original apostilles.
- A passport photo (3.5cm X 4.5cm) (Please bring 4 more photos to Korea)
- A copy of your passport front page
- Your resume
- Health statement (Self medical check-list provided by your kinetic recruiter).
How long will it take to get a visa and come to Korea?
Typically from the moment you submit an application for your background check to the day you land in Korea can take approximately 2-3 months if you are making sure you submit everything to the correct place in the right amount of time.
What will my accommodation be like?
Typically accommodation provided for foreign teachers by their schools will be studio, or 1 bedroom apartments.
Generally these will be in a building that is 3 floors high and have about 15 apartments in the building. You do have the option of renting your own apartment and the school will provide a ‘stipend’ (an amount to put towards the rent) , however the quality of the apartment provided will usually be sufficient and have a small kitchen, a shower room and toilet, a laundry room with a machine and a fair amount of closet space.
Can I use a SIM card in Korea and how do I obtain one?
If your phone is unlocked and can accept a sim card from a different provider then you can put a sim card into your phone. You can obtain a pay as you go card online from a company such as Trazy – www.trazy.com
How easy is it to travel around South Korea?
South Korea has an extensive network of intercity highways and within most cities there is some form of public transportation.
You can take a bus from all cities into Seoul or Busan and be there within a few hours.
In larger cities such as Seoul, Daegu, Busan etc there are metro train lines connecting each part of the city.
Add this extensive and efficient transportation system to the fact that South Korea is a little smaller than New York state and you can go almost anywhere in the country just for the day and come back at night if you wanted to (we recommend going for the weekend though so you can enjoy your destination to the max).
Getting a pension (short term accommodation) in south Korea is just like airBnB, but they also have hotel style pensions too.