Changing Schools- The Paperwork

As I was talking with schools I was interested in working with last year, one company gave me notice that I would need to have two documents: one for immigration, and one for the company. The one for immigration is the Letter of Release, and is required to change your visa over to a new employer. The one for the school is the Certificate of Employment, and basically just proves to the school that you aren't lying about previous work experience. I guess enough fibbing throughout the country in various fields prompted that such a form be produced by workers. It's standard for Koreans and foreigners in the country to provide it when asked. 

Now, the school I signed the contract with did not request the Certificate of Employment, but I will obtain it anyway in case I need it in the future. (They did provide me with the Proof of Employment paper needed to change my visa to the new school, though.) The forms are so similar, too, that I might as well do them both at the same time!

Let's talk about the paperwork, shall we? The appearance of these forms is not standard. The information it contains, however, is. For the most part. I searched online and found that there is a skeleton of necessary information. I will write them below. I recommend writing it in both Korean and English. As you are in Korea, the Korean is most important.

For the Letter of Release (이적 동의서):
(This can be used when breaking your contract, too, while allowing you to seek work elsewhere.)

Name (성명)
Nationality (국적)
Passport Number (여관번호)
Addresss (주소) -your address
Telephone Number (연락처) -your telephone number
** I also included my foreign registration number from my ARC and my date of birth.

At the bottom, you will need a statement similar to this:


"I hereby grant the transfer consent of the above named person as of <ENDING DATE> who has been working at <PLACE> since <STARTING DATE> as a Native English Teacher."

"위 사람은 <PLACE>에서 20__년 _월 _일(the starting date)부터 원어민 영어 보조교사로 근무하고 있는 자로 20__년 _일 _일(the ending date) 이후 이적을 동의합니다."

Then, you will need the date the form was signed, followed by the name of your workplace and its address and contact information.

At the bottom, you will need the name of your principal or manager, along with their signature and seal.
Don't forget the seal!!!

Here's a sample I made in case you are a visual person like me:

For the Certificate of Employment (재직증명서):
Name (성명)
Foreign Registration Number (외국인등록번호) -ARC number
Address (주소) -your address
Position (직위) -probably Native English Teacher (원어민 영어 보조교사)
Period of Employment (재직기간) -year / month / day - year / month / day
Use (용도)- Employment (고용)
**Again, I also included my date of birth.

Similar to above, you will need a statement giving something like this:

"This is to certify that the above mentioned person has worked for this school."
I currently have not put this into Korean, but I will update this when I have.

And then after, state the date the form was signed, followed by the name of your workplace and its address and contact information (copy and paste, baby).

Finally, again, you will need the name of your principal or manager with their signature and seal.
The seal is important. It means the document is real.

Visual aid:

And that's it! I've read that some schools ask for 400 won, as this is a form of legal work. So if you do get asked, it has happened before and that is why. Also, it's less than 40 cents. So just do it.


I did find a pretty interesting website while looking for what I needed in these forms. It's called EFL-Law. Maybe you've heard of it? It gives you advice on situations that may pop up, what you should and shouldn't see in your contract, info on visa runs, and much more. Check it out if you feel so inclined! :) I used this website as a reference for the Letter of Release form, so it's definitely handy. ...If you can navigate it.


If you have any more questions, please let me know! I can also send the sample forms via email or whatnot, if needed.

Take care xoxox

A Year Later

..almost!

This past Tuesday our school held it's graduation ceremony. It was really neat to see the parents of my students (some look JUST like mom or dad, some a good combination of both), as well as their dreams! As each student had their named called by their homeroom teacher, their picture, dream job, hobbies, and such were displayed on the screen behind them.

I'm going to miss them. I really will. They better come visit! Haha

But in March we will have new sixth graders. New third graders, too! The new third graders are going to be adorable~ I can't wait!!

The end of the year means one more thing for me: the extension of my sojourn for my VISA/ARC. I only set it up to last for one year when I first requested my ARC (Alien Registration Card)... But the process is super easy! I got to the Incheon Immigration Office early and no one was there so I was able to be helped right away.

If you need help with your VISA, or any other such questions, I recommend www.hikorea.go.kr because it has an English option and is very useful! You can actually log on to this site (to make a profile you need your ARC first) and make a reservation just in case they are busy. It guarantees you a time. It also states everything that you must bring to renew.

Let me quickly list it here:
A signed copy of the new contract (signed by you and the school)
Your school's certificate (the school will provide this)
Your passport
Your ARC
An application (can be printed from the site or filled out at the office)
30,000won
 - AND, if you made a reservation, print a copy of the reservation page

 * The 30,000won will be used to purchase stamps, which can be found in the lounge down the hall. It is best to have the stamps ready and your application filled out because then all you have to do is hand everything to them, have them check that everything is there, stamp new dates on the back of your ARC, and then you are done. You are free to leave.

It is one of the simplest processes I have ever come upon.

Getting there is simple, too. However, the 1601 is not something I would recommend for the return trip. I waited for 20 minutes at the stop as TWO 1601 buses sat 50 yards away and the board constantly showed the bus being eight minutes away. Nonsense. I ended up going back the same way I came.

Because I had just missed the 1601 on my way to the immigration office, I took the subway to Incheon City Hall and then took bus 33. Exits 7 and 8 are closed until summer of next year, so you can take exit 6 and walk to the bus stop for the 33 (near exit 8) or catch the 45 (exit 2, I believe). From there it's about 30 minutes.


ALSO... I sent money home today :D! I hate student loans! :D
I also learned today that you should still have your passport on hand even if it's not your first time sending money home. Even more important, it seems, is that you have the receipt from the first/previous time with you, too. Each time you send money home, they give you a receipt. KEEP IT. Thankfully, I had the old bankbook with me, and I found the transaction record.

It was quite a trip. I didn't speak the appropriate Korean for this, and they didn't speak enough English to communicate with me completely so we worked through a telephone language service and broken Konglish. But everyone was smiling and laughing (myself included) by the time I left, so it wasn't too bad!


Ooh, that reminds me. I just took my first exam at Sogang University. I didn't arrive to the exam room until two minutes till the exam started through some hilarious turn of events (and solid smoothie results), so I was a little flustered. I've learned (again! wow.) that I am a bit anal retentive and I need to be in the exam room to chill out several minutes before the exam will take place. The written portion was easy, but I'm not sure how I did on the interview. Man, I am really awesome at botching interviews.

"When is your birthday?"
 - " 21/20"


Fuuuu~ We'll see! I should get the results via email sometime next week. Here's to hoping that the woman giving the interview somehow knows I don't usually believe there are 21 months. And that I am actually capable of stringing together basic sentences. In Korean, of course ;)

So, yes. Now I am resting. Resting and preparing myself for the next year of adventures I will take.

On Monday, the new teachers will come and we will all go to dinner. We will say good-bye to those leaving, and hello to those coming. I'm sad to see them go... This next year will be quite different, I think!


**Saturday is the FIRST ever Buchies (Bucheon Awards), and I will surely post on that as it is one of the last get-togethers with some awesome people who are leaving ever so soon... D:


I hope that you have all been well and will continue to stay that way.
Thank you for reading my blog and sharing in this adventure with me!
<3

Fate and a Bank Account

Hello all!

I know I promised that it wouldn't be so long in between updates, but here we are! I have a lot to say, too! So put those reading glasses on ;)

One thing I wanted to say before getting into my current happenings, is to comment on the play of Fate in my life. I have never felt more sure of something than I am of my moving to Korea. I wrote about it on an earlier post, so new readers may not know, but I was originally an EPIK applicant who managed to fail the interview. I read all over about how hard it was to fail the interviews, but I'm a girl that did it. Ha, I can't blame my interviewer for it though- I forgot how to describe even myself. And don't even get me started on what happened when he asked me about what I knew about Korea. I don't think I formed a full sentence once. Ahh, it's really sad... I was so nervous! But. These days I have come to realize that I was abnormally nervous so that I could fail the interview. I wasn't supposed to be there, but here. The people I've met, how I've met them, even the perfect timing of the buses, subway, and buses again on my way to apply for my ARC, have all been absurdly wonderful by chance. I absolutely (still) adore my co-workers and my students, too! We (other teachers and I, not students) get together outside of school, and have plans to keep doing so. I feel so blessed to be so welcomed.

Funny fact- when getting passport photos taken in South Korea, they will airbrush and remove all flaws within 5 minutes. I went to a small place just off the subway in Incheon where I had to apply for my ARC. He was super fast, and my face has never looked so good- which is awesome, because that's the picture they put on my ARC.

(There are several of documents you need for your ARC. Two of them are filled out there while waiting, one of them is provided by your school, and the others are your passport with valid Visa, medical exam results, and two passport photos.)

My co-teacher is on an extended field trip with the 6th graders and their homeroom teachers, so I have been teaching with the 4th/5th grade English teacher. She is close with my co-teacher, so we've talked quite a bit before this. She is another lovely person! I'm really glad that I get to meet the other grades. Ahaha, they're so cute! And their love of hangman is admirable. I want to take the amount of passion they put toward hangman into every aspect of my life...

So that's what I'm doing for the rest of this week. I left school early today to open a bank account. With my co-teacher gone, I had to do it alone! It was kind of nervous-making, but the teller I worked with was nice. Really, you just pull a number like any building with a row of help desks, and wait for a teller/secretary to display your number (the hospital I went to was the same). Then, he asked me if I wanted a Check Card and had me sign a few different papers and my bankbook. It was super painless! But I still feel proud of myself. I have heard that KEB is the most foreigner-friendly bank, but I decided to go with Woori because of the perks on their Expat Check Card, which I can get once I have an account with them. They are also a major bank and so I can find them anywhere I need. As far as documents go, you only need your ARC (Alien Registration Card) to open a bank account. When you go to apply for a credit card, you need your ARC, passport, proof of work/salary, and a valid Visa.

Now I can get paid!!! Wahoo!


I do realize that not posting may cause some worry, and for that I apologize. From now on I will try to write at least once a week, even if it's about the NEW FUZZY BLACK SWEATER I BOUGHT YESTERDAY. It's wonderful, but vintage enough to warrant a 'do they still sell that?' from my co-worker.


Take care, everyone, everywhere.
All is well :)