Gyeongju is hosting one of this year’s biggest concerts and FOREIGNERS GET IN FREE. Today (September 7th) is the last day for the free tickets. This has been bouncing all over the internet from 10 Magazine to the KTO site and being that Ulsan is just 45 minutes away, I thought that I would drop in here and add a post. The Concert starts at 6:30 and runs until 10:30.
The bands are well… everyone that the kids are talking about these days. Super Junior, FTisland, 2NE1, Son Dam-bi, 2pm, 2am,4minute after school, 9 muses, Beast, T-ara, Kara, and many More!
The concert will be held that the Gyeongju Citizens Stadium and I sure hope it will hold all those screaming teen and the wack-load of curious foreigners who came for the free tickets.
Check out their site for tickets and information
You have to apply on line and have your passport number ready as well as a place to print off the ticket. Then just take the ticket to the stadium and exchange it. Probably would be a good idea to bring your id and/or passport with you to the show because you need to prove who you are to get your ticket. You will have to exchange your certificate for a REAL TICKET, so come early. The ticket exchange will be open from 1 pm to 4:00 pm
10 magazine in Seoul has a vote to see what is the best drinking establishment in Korea.
http://10magazine.asia/7335/the-october-readers-10-whats-your-favorite-drinking-establishment-in-korea/
Take a moment to have your say.
The Korean Government has modified (go to “Notice” and “Conversation E-2″) its rules on obtaining an E-2 visa.
The biggest change is that a criminal background check is only required once, even if you leave Korea, provided that you are gone less than three months. However, a local background check will no longer be sufficient and visa applicants will need a national level background check. Prior to the rule change, applicants could supply a background check from a city police agency, but that would not necessarily cover crimes committed in another state or province. This rule takes effect on January 1, 2011. Those foreigners who have arrived prior July 15, 2010 but will need to renew prior to January will likely be placed in paperwork and red-tape hell. Don’t expect the old rules to apply and expect you’ll be doing things as if it were already 2011.
Regarding university diplomas and transcripts, applicants will no longer be required to re-supply the documents after they have been verified. Previously, applicants had to request sealed records from the university be sent to the Korean authorities for each and every visa application. Beginning September 1, 2010, applicants must submit documents to the Korean Consulate in their home country or to the Korean Council for University Education which will submit to Immigration. Those who applied before Sept. 1 but are still going through the paperwork hell will be summarily executed in order to reduce frustration for both parties. In other words, the new rules apply now – no work-arounds.
E-2 visas will expire 2 months after the initial contract ends. This is so you can weather the transition period after one contract ends and find a suitable new contract to keep you here in the Land of the Morning Calm. The supplied housing is not covered. You can stay after your contracts ends, but you must become homeless and live on the street. That may not be so bad.
E-2 applications who test positive for HIV/AIDS will not be deported. However, your medical status will likely be reported to your hiring school so they can keep you away from the the kids and make sure your chopsticks won’t don’t touch the same food dish theirs will. In order words, they’ll find a reason to fire you.
This should streamline things in the future, although for those caught in the middle (i.e. already here and needing new education docs and criminal back ground checks) will be put through the country’s own brand of administrative nightmare. Welcome to Korea.
Just in case your job runs aground and crashes against the reefs, there’s always Plan B. With a little acting, dirty clothes and a gnarly sleeping bag Daniel Terry earned about 43M won begging. Hardly an isolated case, other “beggars” in the same areas made similar salaries. Not so sure that would work in Korea, but if or when times get tough its worth a shot.
That’s what makes news in the Korean newspapers in an otherwise slow week.
Based on feedback from our readers, UlsanOnline.Com is hosting a TESOL course here in Ulsan on October 16-17. Editor Fin Madden has written in the past on the benefit of a TESOL Certification on your resume’, especially if you’re an EPIK teacher. Now, its even easier – you need not schedule a weekend in another city with travel and hotel costs to add to the tuition costs. We’re hosting a 
course right here in Ulsan at Ulsan University.
For those that are new to Korea or the TESOL name, here’s a little background:
The term TESOL stands for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. It is a certified program of ESL/EFL teacher training. A TESOL certificate can help you further your career prospects by:
- equipping you with an understanding of the principles, learning theories and practices that are associated with second language acquisition.
- making you more appealing to potential employers.
- giving you a competitive advantage over other job seekers.
- increasing your negotiating power when it comes to discussing your salary.
In case you haven’t been watching the news lately, the unemployment rate in most western countries is quite a bit less than stellar. There are lots of people looking for jobs here in Korea and some of them are looking not because they want to teach or want to experience Korea but simply because they can’t find a job anywhere else. What better way to ensure your employment viability by demonstrating both your commitment to teaching and superior qualifications with a TESOL certificate.
Still not sold on the idea? Learn more about TESOL, including course objectives, content, and even how this could apply to MA. Check out our partner website, Vedec, who will be conducting the course.
The registration page page is here.
KoreaCostCutters, the western food delivery service offered by UlsanOnline.com and Thistle Solutions has become twice as convenient. Now you have the option of selecting delivery of your products at two locations in Ulsan. You may select either Benchwarmers Bar in Shinae, which is most convenient for people on the north side or east side of town or you may select pickup at Weizen Brauhaus on the Western side of town in Mugeodong.
Also, KoreaCostCutters does NOT charge for shipping or handling. Although the shopping cart application has all of the hooks in place should shipping charges be later required, there are none planned for the forseeable future. So, shop away, knowing that the prices you see are the prices you pay.
Go Here. Go Directly to Here. Do Not Pass Go. Do Not Collect $200.
Seriously, if you’ve got B- blood and can spare some of it, there’s somebody who needs your help. Follow the links for details.
For the school system, at least, there’s a new sheriff in town. Kwak No-Hyun is the new superintendant in the Seoul Metropolitan area, which has some influence over the rest of the nation.
The Korea Times has an article with Kwak’s vision for education in korea and it doesn’t include corporal punishment. That’s one of the few things the educational system has announced in the recent past that makes tremendous sense. Kwak’s own feelings about it are clear:
“We don’t beat adults. We don’t even beat criminals. But we have this diehard, fixated notion that we should not spare the rod for children as otherwise they will be unruly. We must change this. They also have their rights. We must declare that corporal punishment should be banned at school. There are already some schools free of corporal punishment. My determination to do this is very strong.”
I’ve seen my share of kids who have been smacked in the schools, including my own step-son. He has been beaten in his high school for having dyed his hair brown, having his hair too long, and even coming back to school too late after going to the hair shop to get it cut (being at school from 8am to 10pm makes it difficult to get it donw other than lunch time.) My step-son, No DongHyun says his only regret in the new regulations on punishment is that they’ll come too late – he’ll graduate high school in the spring.
The article also mentions a few things about Kwak’s desire for students to escape the “vicious cyle” of competition for higher grades and the cram schools that cater to that national craze. I have less faith anything worthwhile will happen in that arena.
Regarding English education, Kwak will “setup a task force to overhaul current policies and draw up measures to provide more efficient English tuition,” which is political speak for “I have no idea how to fix this but I’ll feed it to some bureaucrats who will jack things up even worse.”
With the KTX Station set to open in November, the City of Ulsan is getting ready to promote Ulsan across the nation and across the world. Korea.net had a rather informative article on the City of Ulsan’s plans for the opening.
Ulsan City Hall seems to be going all out with the promotion of the city. From providing free city tours to people travelling here by rail to holding travel fairs in Beijing to attract foreign travelers. One of the more curious methods is this one:
To encourage tourists to stay longer in Ulsan, the City of Ulsan will give KRW 10,000 per tourist per day to travel agencies and chartered bus companies provided that they attract groups of 10 or more tourists (domestic or foreign) who spend more than one night at a local hotel.
I am happy to see the city start to promote itself. There are many people here that have stayed in Ulsan for a long time and (for the most part) have good things to say about this city. I am most impressed with the improvements that the city has made recently with the bicycle paths along the Taehwa and the green spaces that they have but across the city.
However, the promotion once again falls short to entice Western travelers and my concern that with the amount of effort that they are putting into this promotion they may only end up with tours of ajummas and ajeoshis. With that being said, what would you like to see promoted for Ulsan? How would promote Ulsan to the rest of the world?
It is my belief that there are many places and events in Korea that are promoted to an international level and receive a lot of attention from Westerners. The Mud Festival and The Seoul Lantern Festival are prime examples. So how do we promote Ulsan and it’s many scenic sights to the fickle western traveler?
Take a look at the full article here and let us know what you think in the comment section below.
Sometime over the last few days an external website went dark. I was relying on it to automagically add items from the classified section to the cute little windows on the right side of the front page. It worked great, it was easy. And now it’s broken. Fixing it won’t be terribly trivial and, at the moment, I just don’t give a F—.
So, if watching the front page for recent items for sale was something you did regularly and want that functionality returned, here’s what you need to do: Add a love note to our Suggestion Box and tell me how much you want me to fix it. And then tell me what you’ll do for me in return. If you are selling something and want others to see your ad quick, you might want to send me a love note in the Suggestion Box, too. Otherwise, simply cruising the classified section for new items works fine.
If you know HTML, Javascript, CSS and XML and maybe even PHP and have some time on your hands, and maybe you’d like something techie to do? Email me.
Comments (0) 