Korea (Thread 14)

[milkeeway]

^^ sis bumili pa ko mga trench coat, hindi na pala malamig dun? haha

^ bakit inalis yung cover letter sis? consul ba yung nag-alis o yung guard? kasi diba kaya nga tayo nagcover letter para mag-explain tapos aalisin lang.. hehe

[chinablue]

^consul daw sis. di ko nga alam bakit inalis. eh kasi diba requirement ang ITR for visa application. I even attached my OEC in lieu of the ITR pero tinanggal pareho. Kaya nagtataka ako. Pero according to my mother itinira yung mga bank documents ko, notarized affidavit of support, and copy of the my approved korean visa galing dito sa Qatar. Anyway sana maapprove talaga.

[vhanya]

We went Monday morning around 8am. Almost kami na huli from the 250 maximum applicants so madami pa rin nag-apply even after holy week and cherry blossoms season.

The consul from window 3 also removed all our ITRs, bank cert, bank statements except my dad?s who is funding the trip. She said she?ll consider our entire family as one application lang yata. Even my daughter?s affidavit of support tinanggal nya. We have used OECD (US, Japan, Schengen, UK) visas including my daughter?s yaya (Japan and US). Hopefully approved lahat coz this is really stressing me out. Our plane tickets and hotels are all booked!

Btw, why are they are they (consuls) rude? Anglayo from the US embassy na very respectful mga consuls. Nakakainis na halos itapon na sakin pabalik yung mga documents na hindi nila kailangan with matching sungit face. This is the third time we applied for a Korean visa pero this experience was sooo unpleasant. Parang di na ako uulit!

Also, I checked from the online website where you can see your application status. Wala pa rin ako ma search. We are scheduled to pick up our passports on Thursday na.

[ayami]

@ milkeeway wala nang chill factor haha nasa 18-20 degrees na rin at noontime. Pag may araw aalisin mo talaga layer ng jacket

[milkeeway]

^^ try mo uli sis tignan sa site nila, lalabas sa status mo APLLICATION RECEIVED..

^ so OA na ba sis kung nakatrench coat ka dun? hehe, kasi tinitignan ko yung mga blog tapos yung travel date, dinmaman nalalayo sa date nung amin pero mga nakajacket pa.. hehe

[vhanya]

^wala talaga sis until now e tom na pick up ng passports namin. I guess super busy sila to update?

[ms.primadonna]

@chinablue kung may used South Korean visa ka na no need for ITR na talaga.

@vhanya I think hindi po sila yung consul, kase nung nag apply ako dati ang sabi sakin nung nasa window 'consul can't decide'. Officer in charge lang ata sila.

[chinablue]

^sis primadonna, I still haven't used my korean visa. dito ako kumuha sa qatar last feb for may travel. tapos sa pinas ko naman pinapakuha ang mother ko. so inattach ko lang yung copy ng approved korean visa ko for proof na I and my mother are really traveling this may.

[_Jasmin_]

Hello! Just got back from our 7-day Seoul trip. For Cebupac flights, arrival is almost close to midnight. There is a convenience store (CU) at the arrival area where you can buy Tmoney. But you can also pay the late-night bus directly. Dahil kailangan ko pang i pick-up yung ni rent kong Wifi router, then need to exchange money to SKwon so I can reload my T-money, di namin naabutan yung 1:05 na bus to Seoul. We waited for the 2am bus and arrived Seoul at around 3am. Nag taxi kami papunta sa hotel in Namdaemun-Myeongdong area, around 5000 won (250Php) so pwede na rin.

Medyo malamig lang kapag gabi and umaga, then kapag medyo umaambon. Pero kapag noon time medyo mainit na. Most are wearing trench coats (yung medyo manipis and cotton type) and sweaters/jackets. Nagdala din ako ng padded jackets pero di ko nagamit. Sayang sa luggage space. Haha! Medyo mas mainit na siguro the coming days. Naabutan namin yung cherry blossoms pero di pa full bloom. This weekend yung mga cherry blossom festival and until next week yata. 

In going to our destination, we used Naver app. Very helpful. We took bus to some destinations kase minsan konting lakad na lang yung mga bus stop. Kaya lang dapat marunong ka din mag navigate. Minsan nakakalito din kase instructions. Overall, very reliable app.

[milkeeway]

^ sis madalas ba umambon dun?

[vhanya]

We got our visas na! Multiple entry for 5 years except yaya, single entry. Ok na rin at least no more stress.

Guys, ano diff ng Namsangol vs Korean Folk Village and which is better? Also, can a mini bus enter Bukchon Hanok Village? Mag senior citizen kasi kami kasama so minimal walking lang dapat.

[_Jasmin_]

^^Hindi madalas umambon. Nung andun kami parang twice, early evening pa yun and early morning.

[shabby]

Hi mga sis! We went to Korea last Feb 2017. Dami naming natirang KRW ni hubby. Ayaw naman niya na ipa-exchange ko na kasi babalik daw kami doon. Pero di pa kami makakabalik dahil buntis ako ngayon. Baka matagal pa kami makakabalik. Would anyone know kung hindi naman nagbabago yung paper notes nila? I mean sa atin kasi di ba nagpapalit and naeexpire. Thanks!

[katniss]

@vhanya kaya tinanggal yung financial docs nyo kasi yung father mo ang magfifinance ng trip so requirements nya lang yung titingnan ng consuls. anyway congrats on your 5-yr multiple entry visa!

[vhanya]

^yun din naisip ko sis. sayang lang pala sana di na ako nagpa-photocopy. Anyway at least sulit yung 5yrs multiple entry so sulit yung effort

[_Jasmin_]

Guys, ano diff ng Namsangol vs Korean Folk Village and which is better? Also, can a mini bus enter Bukchon Hanok Village? Mag senior citizen kasi kami kasama so minimal walking lang dapat.

Ive been to Namsangol Hanok Village during my first visit in 2011. Medyo malapit lang kase to sa Myeongdong, one station away lang. Walang entry fee and during our visit may kinakasal na real couple so we watched. The couple and their families are wearing hanboks . Maliit lang to, I think kayang maikot in an hour or so. We also watched a korean dance and taekwondo exhibition sa may stage area.  Di ko pa napuntahan Korean Folk Village, medyo malayo to based on my research, near Everland. And it has entry fee. Some historical kdrama was shot here like yung isa sa fave ko, Moon Embracing the Sun.   Parang mas maganda yata ito kase parang living museum/amusement park ang set up.

Yung Bukchon Hanok Village are real hanok houses with mixed usage, some are residential while some are used as restos/shops. May nakita akong buses sa main street pero papasok mismo ng village, lalakarin lang and medyo paakyat. During our visit medyo mainit pa so sandali lang kami naglakad dito tapos umalis na kami. 

[mysterioza_me]

Kamusta pila sa embassy? Blockbuster pa din ba?

[forumera]

may na approve na ba sa inyo mga sis na wala naman flight at hotel details pa?

[mysterioza_me]

^Sis hindi required na may flight and hotel booking before applying for visa. Mas recommended nila to buy a ticket and book for a hotel once approved na ang visa. Tentative travel date lang and kung saan mo plan magstay lalagay mo.

[chinablue]

Approved na yung status ng mother ko sa site ng korean embassy. I'm so happy! 😊