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The Process

There are some things you need to get ready in order to start your visa process and it all depends on where you are from and your access to a Korean Consulate. In my case, I live in the United States and the Korean Consulate assigned to my area is in Houston, Texas (which is an 8 hour drive for me).

*If you are in the United States, you can access this website to figure out which Korean Consulate is assigned to your home state. http://overseas.mofa.go.kr/us-houston-en/brd/m_5573/view.do?seq=723686

Due to how far away the consulate is to me, I decided to mail all the required items in order to get my visa. All consulate swill have a page on their websites which list the steps you have to take and the items you need in order to get a Korean Student Visa. The official name for an exchange student’s visa is the D-2-6 Visa. If you need any clarification you can call your local Korean Consulate and they will let you know what they require from you and they will answer any questions you have. 

The Houston Korean Consulate required me to send:

a valid passport

a complete visa application

the certificate of admission from your host university with original signature*

One photocopy of Business Registration from Korean university*

a money order for $45 (they don’t take cash from mailed applications)

one passport photo taken within the last 6 months

a prepaid USPS envelope so they can send your passport back to you. 

*These items will be provided by your host university once you are officially admitted.

*NOTE* Because Sungkyunkwan Univeristy is an officially recognized university in South Korea, the consulate told me I didn’t have to send additional materials like a recommendation letter from my home university or a recent bank statement. You need to call your consulate to make sure that your university is on the list so you wouldn’t need to provide items like those.

My Experience:

 I didn’t receive my acceptance package from SKKU until mid December but due to the holidays I didn’t send out my visa application until mid January. I called the Consulate right before I sent it to make sure i have all the application requirements met. They were really patient and nice with answering all the questions I had. I didn’t receive my passport back until about two weeks after I sent it, however I sent my passport through 2-day priority mail and it was to be sent back using the same service so it only took the consulate about 10 days to process and approve my visa. I was stressed throughout those two weeks since the Consulate doesn’t inform you when they send it out and I was scared that the mail service might lose my passport which could’ve caused me to miss my flight. 

Here’s how my visa looks like:

*TIP* I advise you to use tracking on both of your packages so you can see when they arrive at the consulate and when your passport is sent out! 

However, I now have my passport with the visa sticked on to it so know I just have to pack and get mentally ready for this four month trip! I’ll update you guys soon with maybe a packing tips post or tips on how to survive a 14 hour flight soon!

 Until next time~

MY EXPERIENCE

Getting off the plane after 14 hours felt so refreshing since I was losing my mind after the 6 hour mark. I wasn’t  able to get in a good position throughout the entire flight so I didn’t get any sleep. Since I can through an international flight you pretty much just follow the crowd through some hallways and escalators until you get to customs. There are three lines at Customs, one for foreigners, one for Non-Korean visa holders and another for Korean passport holders. This is where you’ll hand in the form they gave you on the plane to fill out. Once it’s your turn in the queue you will just show them the form and your passport. Then they will just take your picture and fingerprints. After that you will follow the signs for the baggage claim area and pick up your luggage. 

If you are a normal person like me and you are not traveling with anything special that needs to be declared, you can just walk on through to the Common area. 

After getting your luggage, you will be lead out of the airport into the common hall/area. If you choose to take an airport limousine, the airport subway line, or the KTX just follow the signs that will lead down stairs towards the area that contains all three. 

Tip: Incheon Airport is really good about sign placement and all of their signs are in English and Korean. So it’s practically impossible to get lost at the airport but if you do just look for one of their workers because most of them speak English as well!

Or you can always take a taxi but BEWARE!!! They tend to be very expensive since Seoul isn't that close to Incheon. I also know friends who have been charged more than they should have and some who have had bad experiences with taxi drivers since most don’t speak any language other than Korean. Unless have the money to spend and know Korean really well, I would advise you to not take this option

Airport Limousine: It’s not your traditional limousine, it’s a bus that has several stops all over Seoul that picks up and drops off people from the airport. It’s 10,000 won for a one way ticket. You can buy a ticket at the ticket window. It’s very convenient since they will load and unload your luggage for you at your stop. 

Airport  Subway Line: It’s a subway line that connects the airport to Seoul Station. You will just need a one way stop ticket, or a T-money card to go on it. You can buy a T-money card at the 7-11 at the airport (It’s near the ice rink). You can also buy it anywhere in Seoul or the airport that has a T-money sign on it’s window/ You can only buy the card itself at the store and then reload it at one of the T-money reload machines near the entrance of the subway line. The card is 3,000 won and the machines only accept physical won so be sure to have some change with you. The fare on the airport line is about 4,500 won. (I used this mode of transportation when I stayed at a hostel in Hongdae since the station exit was nearby). 

KTX (Korean Express Train): If you are not staying in Seoul, this mode of transportation will be the most convinent for you. This train connects Seoul to other major cities in Korea like Busan and Daegu. The sitting ticket is kinda costly (around 60,000 won) but in my opinion I rather take a 3 hour trip to Daegu than a 6 hour one.

I hope knowing all of this information puts your mind at ease~  If you have any lingering questions don’t hesitate to contact me!

-Also if you want to read about some more detailed information over Incheon Customs, this article is pretty accurate-

My process started with me having to contact and meet with a study advisor in order to start the nomination process. To be an exchange student at a university, means your home university has to have ties with the university you plan to attend and they also must nominate you to be an exchange student. I had to fill out an application that consisted of my contact information, recommendation letters from professors, passport information, and I had to agree to the typical conditions that come with studying abroad ( entry requirements, personal conduct agreements, etc.). Once that was submitted my home university’s study abroad department reviewed my application and notified me about a week later that I was to be nominated to SKKU and I should be expecting an email regarding their online application soon. 

SKKU opened their online application around mid October and I was to submit it by mid November. On the application I had to give my proof of insurance (usually provided by your home university), passport scan, official college transcript, proof of home univeristy enrollment, participation agreement form, and language certificate (Korean and/or English). You also had to fill out all your contact information, home university contact, and emergency contact. At SKKU you don't get to apply for on campus housing until the  beginning of February. Also, all course sign up is in February. 

You have to wait until mid December to figure out if you have been officially accepted. SKKU will then mail you some the paper work that is needed to get your student visa and email you a copy of their exchange student handbook for the semester you are attending.

That’s about it regarding most of the process of applying to study abroad at SKKU. I’ll be updating you guys regarding the rest of the process as it happens (course sign up, on campus housing, etc.). So if you have any other questions regarding the process this far I’d be happy to answer them!