Well, the plans are coming along. I'm still in the thick of gathering the rest of the needed documents to courier over to Korea. In that package is going to be:
Two letters of recommendation
A letter of good health from my doctor
Two sealed transcripts
My formal application
My resume and a cover letter
A criminal background check that is notarized and apostilled
A sex offender check
A copy of my diploma that is notarized and apostilled (and this is a story within itself...)
Photocopies of the information page of my passport
I have gathered almost all of these, and am just waiting for the doctor letter (although I have already had the physical), the letters of recommendation (I have been assured that they are on their way from both people), the sex offender check, and the diploma...
The story with the diploma is that they are not scheduled to come in the mail until August. I called good ol' SMSU and had to figure out an alternate plan for this. I was told that for $20 I could get my diploma expidited. I arranged for this, but was told that it could take up to two weeks for it to get shipped from Jostens, the diploma people. That put my diploma as getting shipped out by June 27th. However, my courier package is supposed to be in Scott Kim's hands in Korea
by the 27th. To put some added pressure on this, I learned that the diploma couldn't be shipped directly to me- it has to be shipped to SMSU and then overnighted to my house, putting it in my hands
at least a few days after the 27th and in Scott Kim's hands far later than that.
Sooooooo, I called my recruiter and asked whether it would be better to send my package without the diploma, and then send the diploma as soon as I get it
or to wait until I get the diploma and then send everything. He told me just to hold onto everything until the diploma arrives and that he would put a flag on my file stating to the Korean people that everything
is on it's way, just delayed.
So, if everything works out as planned, the package will be on it's way the week after next. Once that package is couriered to South Korea, the school I will be working for will send a package back containing my official contract and a Notice of Appointment.
The next step will then be heading to Chicago to the South Korean Embassy. I will give them the contract signed by me and my employer, my Notice of Appointment, a sealed transcript, my passport and the fee for the visa.
I am unclear about whether or not there will be an interview at the embassy- from what I understand, people who are to be working in private schools go through an interview, and those to work in public schools do not. So, according to that, I will not have to go through an interview.
After that Chicago visit, I wait around for my passport to arrive back at home in the mail with my visa attached. If that all goes well, I am set to arrive in Korea on August 27th!
As far as the flight goes, I have learned that I have to make sure that I fly directly into Busan, South Korea, and that all of my connecting flights before that final landing are outside of South Korea- the reason being that my school will not reimburse me for domestic flights. Sooo, for example, a flight that I'm looking at is from Minneapolis to Seattle to Osaka to Busan.
From Busan, my school arranges for transportation to Ulsan, where I will be living!
