Weather’s turned very cool here in Korea

As I mentioned earlier about the weather being much better here in Seoul, it’s definitely cooled down from the sweltering summer heat. It’s actually cooled down enough where you have to start wearing extra layers.  And as I remember from the past, the fall will be relatively short with Winter upon us.  So, I went to get some extra clothes today at Dongdaemun.  I’ll be picking up a bit more once I get paid here in a few days.  🙂

Step 1 in getting your FBI Criminal Background Check with an Apostille

If you live in Korea and need to get your FBI Background Check with the Apostille, you can get your fingerprints done here at a local Police Station.  If you’re south of the Han River and in Gangnam-gu here in Seoul, here’s the directions to the Gangnam Police Station’s CSI Division which is where you get your fingerprints done for free: 

Moving on Up (in Gangnam)

As I wrote earlier, I was relatively satisfied with my little Goshiwon here in the Yeoksam neighborhood of Gangnam.  Moving to the big city here without depending on anyone could of cost an arm and a leg if I decided to book a month in any hotel in this area.  I guess I could of rented or stayed elsewhere in the city, but it would of taken a good 40 mins to an hour each way from more affordable parts of the city.  I also knew I would of had time constraints really needing me to be close to this neighborhood.  So, the goshiwon served it’s purpose.  I could of lived there for more months, but I decided to take a plunge into the Korean real estate market.  

Johnny Rockets in Seoul Fizzles

Johnny Rockets in Gangnam

Krants*, a new site that’s basically copying Yelp from back home and applying it here gives it 4 1/4 stars out of 5, but I give it a royal 1 out of 5.  Johnny Rockets in Gangnam might have “style”, but it definitely doesn’t have portions that matches it’s prices!

I took a visit there last night after walking around for 40 minutes trying to find a good “burger joint” in Gangnam.  I skipped over Burger King and was about to settle for Kimchi Jigae or another local cuisine choice, but saw this while walking the backstreets of Gangnam: 

Weather’s been great here in Seoul

It might be that it’s close to fall, but it’s also the rainy season and we’re in between supposedly two typhoons.  Yet, I felt like we’re having some pretty great weather recently.  Sure, it’s been a bit rainy lately due to the Typhoons, but going for a jog earlier tonight, it was really mild in terms of the temperatures and I’m not sweating bullets like I have in the past. 

HP Service & Support (A/S) Center in Gangnam, Seoul

As I was mentioning earlier in the post about going crazy without a proper Internet connection here in Korea and potentially having Windows problems with my American version of Windows 7, I went to the HP Service Center in Gangnam to see if they could help.  However, finding a close “A/S” as Koreans like to call it (which stands for “After Service” Center) took a little more time than I was expecting.

Computer Support (A/S) Centers in Seoul

Great Hamburger Joints in Seoul and other parts of Korea

If you grew up on burgers and fries like me, you probably had a hard time living in Korea a number of years ago.

But no longer do you have to suffer from just McD’s and Burger King!  Korea has landed in the 21st century.  This Top Asian destination has stepped it up when it comes to grilling up some “all beef paddies.”  Here are a few options to seek out if you land in Seoul:

Castle Fine Goshiwon in Gangnam Seoul is Just Fine

For my first month back in Korea, I decided to “go it on my own.”  In my previous two stays in Korea, I depended on my companies to secure housing for me.  However, most forms of traditional housing in Korea typically requires large sums of money.  For example, the area of Seoul I’m living in right now could command as much as several hundred thousand dollars to rent an apartment.  The larger the deposit, the less you pay in monthly fees.  If you deposit a large enough sum, you don’t even have to pay monthly rent.

**Note: the map of eMart in Yeoksam is down below

Living in a Goshiwon isn’t that Bad

Nevertheless, most forms of housing in Korea require a significant deposit, but I wanted to try one of the smallest forms of housing that didn’t require such and also wasn’t “shared living”:  Goshiwons (고시원 in Hangeul and sometimes also referred to as Goshitels aka 고시텔).  My “Goshiwon Adventure” started with “Castle Fine” in Yeoksam (a neighborhood in Gangnam).  

2012 Guide to Getting a Cell Phone in South Korea

If you’re like me (before August 14, 2012), I read everything that I could find on “how to get a phone in Korea” before coming back to Seoul. Back when I was in Busan between 2006-2010, I realized like all foreigners that I only had the following options to get a “hand phone” right away:

• Pay the 500,000 won or more down (usually closer to 800,000-1,000,000+ won for most smart phones these days) on top of the monthly fees to get service
• Get a used phone to avoid the huge up front fees
• Or get a local citizen to sponsor me (which I was fortunate to have happen at the time because Koreans are literally the “friendliest people in the world”)

Basically, it makes a lot of sense that Korean Telecom companies (KT Telecom [Olleh], SK Telecom [T-world], or LG Telecom [U+]) to make it difficult for people who are not planning to stay in Korea for the long term, but instead to only give out phones on plans they mostly offer their citizens. Foreigners many times can’t fulfill the 2-3 year commitments that they require to pay off the 800,000-1,000,000+ million they collect over the 2-3 years of an agreement. They know they’ll get that entire amount back from a native Korean though. So, all you need is a Korean citizenship and you’re good to go.

Well, obviously, you most likely aren’t a Korean citizen if you’re reading this post.

Fortunately, you’re in luck! You now can get the latest in phone technology here in Korea as an expat and get the great monthly deals that Korean citizens get. How?

Korea Continues To Amaze Me On How Fast It Grows

You would think 2 years was only JUST a short time in history, but for Korea, it might be worth 5X’s the amount of time in other countries.  

After arriving at Incheon International in early August, the only thing that bothered me was my specific Immigration line had the slowest agent out of the foreigner accepting crew. As a result, I ended up being served as one of the last few who flew in on my plane.  Other than that, it was very smooth. After walking over to another line & being served right away, I got to baggage claim where most of the bags had already been taken. So, lucky me, my bags rolled right up one after the next and it took literally less than 30 seconds after I got there to grab my bags and go!

Up next: get a phone!