Finishing Your Contract.

When you leave Korea, there are a few things you need to do so hopefully this list will help you close up your time here.

Pension: You will receive all your money back from your pension fund. The money was withdrawn monthly and most likely your school matched and contributed to your pension. I have lived in Korea for two years, so my pension is roughly 4.0 million won. To receive your pension money back, visit a pension office near you. I live in Uijeongbu, so I will give directions from here. Just visit the office with your plane ticket home (it should be one way), your alien registration card, and passport. Make sure to have the bank account information you want the money deposited into. It takes exactly one month to receive this money into your account, and from what I'm told September is the best time for an international wire.
Directions: Go to Uijeongbu station, exit 2. Follow the sidewalk outside of the building as it curves around and then head west. Continue straight parallel to the road until you reach a crossroad. Cross the street and then turn left and cross the street again. The pension office is in the Samsung building about a minute walk from here on your left. I found the directions on the website a little confusing, so hopefully this helps!

Taxes: If you were one of the unlucky ones who didn't know to apply for an exemption when you first started working here, you need to get a residency certificate from your country. To get the residency certificate, visit this website for a Form 6166. You need to pay for the application, but it verifies you paid taxes in your native country. To speed up the process (it takes at least a month to process) I scanned my completed form and had my friend mail it in for me, and then my parents scanned the certificate and e-mailed it to me. From that point, my co-teacher went with my application and certificate to the tax office in Uijeongbu. I recommend getting the help of your co-teacher for this, because there is a lot of paperwork. Keep in mind that the tax year ends in March so please try to apply earlier than I did. I should receive my money back after I've left in two months.

Severance/Bonus pay: This is one month salary without any taxes or fees taken from it. It's the full month salary, so however much you get 1.8-2.8milish. You should receive this before you leave or on the last day of your contract. You will get this as a bonus if you resign your contract.

Apartment deposit: When you first came to Korea you were shorted 300,000W a month from your paycheck for this deposit, for a total of 900,000W. Your co-teacher will come to your house to make sure all appliances in your contract are in working condition. If you break a fan...*ahem* please be ready to replace it out of your own pocket or the deposit money. This is probably the second easiest part of everything you need to do.

Plane Ticket Refund: You should get this pretty quickly after your leave. I recommend talking your school into paying it, it's a lot simpler.

Closing your contracts:
Cellphone - I have an LG plan, and I was told that I must come into a retailer to have my account closed. What a bummer.

Internet: I have SK Broadband so I had my co-teacher and call to ask if they will close my account the day I leave, they said yes making life a lot easier.

Credit Card: Having a credit card in Korea was very useful, though at times it made it easier to spend money. I called my credit card company and closed it immediately.

Bank Account: I am leaving my bank account open due to the high interest rate.

I believe that's all you need to know as you end your time here in Korea. Please feel free to ask any questions. Travel safely!

Dr. Sung's Clinic for Women

Nice little view outside

Today, I visited the gynecologist in Hannam to pick up my health documentation from Dr. Sung's clinic. I highly recommend visiting the clinic. She only employs females, and the checkup is very quick. I went for the first time last week. My only complaint is that it really is quite expensive. Of course it's cheaper than the USA. You have a few different 'packages' to choose from. The more money you pay, the more STI's they check for. The basic package was 60,000W. I got a blood check for 5,000W, and a pelvic ultrasound for another 60,000W. I didn't wait very long, Dr. Sung poked and proded me for a few minutes and I was finished.

Directions: Go to Hannam Station, from the station walk directly out and turn right. Just keep going straight for about 10 minutes, across the BIG intersection. Once you cross the street, you will see a building. On the side of the building you will see a sign for Dr. Sung's clinic. Once you get inside the building, take the elevator to the 3rd floor. It's on the right. Don't bother taking a taxi here, it's a complete waste of money. Also, you should see some signs for Oksu station. Don't bother going there, it's far away!

This is the front desk

Deviated Septum Surgery

As you can see, my nose is straight :D.

Last year, I made a decision to get surgery in Korea. There were both perks and downsides to having surgery in Korea, though much more perks than downsides! I have always had breathing problems, ever since I was little. My nose is tiny, I have allergies too. I knew I had a deviated septum, because that's what my father had. I also knew it was going to be expensive, so I decided to try my hand here, in Korea. I briefly mentioned getting a doctor's opinion to my co-teacher who then whisked me away to a hospital near the school. I had originally wanted to get the surgery done in the future, a couple of months, but I soon found myself scheduling an appointment for a few days after I returned from my vacation to China. The doctor who could speak English, had x-rays of my nose, hmmed and hawed. After about an hour of explanation, he told me I had a deviated septum and was almost completely unable to breathe out of my left nostril. He told me the procedure involved cutting the cartiledge at the bottom and top of my nose and that it would straighten out. The procedure and hospital stay would cost me 500,000W. That's only a little less than $500 compared to the average cost of the surgery in the USA of around $4,000. I couldn't believe it. It was a no brainer, I had to get the surgery in Korea. The doctor informed me that he had never operated on a foreigner's nose. That my nose was small and angular compared to a Korean nose. He also said it most likely wouldn't be an issue, despite that.

I showed up for my surgery, stayed overnight in a hospital bed. Meals were Korean, I was not supplied with utencils so someone kindly enough lent me some. There was a convenience store available to me in the basement, but other than that I was on my own. The next morning was my surgery. I went under pretty quick. I remember trying to speak a little Korean and ask some questions, but I passed out. When I was returned to my bed, I was very nauseated for a few hours. I was in some pain, but it wasn't overwhelming. I had big cottonballs stuffed up my tiny nose to help with the leaking blood. I looked terrible, but that's surgery for you. I wanted ice cream and one of the other visitors kindly went downstairs and purchased a cone for me. The next day the cotton was removed from my nose and I was released from the hospital. It didn't take too long for my nose to finish healing, so overall I say job well done. My nose does not look any different from how it used to, and I can breathe. The best part is that my wallet was perfectly fine.

In conclusion, bring utencils, your wallet, and maybe a friend to help you out a little.

Dental Care

I've been in Korea for two years, and not once had I visited the dentist. I have this unjustified fear of the dentist, ever since getting my first filling in 2009. I have seen many metal mouths and as much as I rave about how wonderful the health care system is, I was afraid. Finally, I bit the bullet and visited the dentist. In Korea, everything is very close by. There are at least two hospitals within a block of me, a hair salon, eye ware store, convenience store, market, vet, fast food, numerous restaurants, and a few schools. I literally only have to walk across the street to reach the 'pyeongwong' 병원 hospital. The dentist was a few floors up, so I opted to take the stairs. I walked into the dentist office before asking for a cleaning. They actually call getting a check up and a cleaning 'slating'. It ran me only 60,000W, about $57. I waited to be seen for less than two minutes, and the cleaning itself was painless, no fillings necessary. Don't be afraid of the dentist, the health of your teeth is important. Keep it cute, Korea. :]