Well, today, which is Wednesday I had an appointment at 10:30 at the NBC Tower in Chicago at the Korean Consulate.
Allllll the way up on the 27th floor. The view was pretty great actually, although I didn’t have a camera with me and my phone camera wouldn’t do the view justice.
The preparation
Well, I headed off to Chicago after work on Tuesday. I had all of my documents and everything in tow and my visa issuance number should already be in the Korean system. I stayed at my brother’s apartment so I could wake up and take the L in the morning into the city. I decided to go business casual and headed off into the city with my final destination being the 27th floor in the NBC building.
The wait
I arrived via the elevator to the 27th floor and instantly saw the place I was supposed to be….the place was where the LONG fucking line was! There was probably 25 people waiting in line before me. The people standing in line were carrying their passports, papers and a Fed Ex envelope (for passports to be sent back) just like I had. Some were dressed in suits/pant suits, shorts with a super gay flannel shirt, a dress that was really sexy and also business casual as myself. The ratio of guys to girls was probably 10:1…which is always a good thing! Talked to a few of them and came to the conclusion most people were going to live in or around Seoul. No one was living in southern portion as myself….at least I am a little more unique.
The interview
My name…along with the girl who was in line before me were called. The nice Korean woman led us down the hall to another room and led us to a table with a Korean man in a suit sitting at the table. We sit. He asks us our names. He asks us what we know about Korea. The girl has a long and drawn out answer (might as well been a speech) going on and on about Korea. I said they need English teachers, they like for their children to learn English at a young age and correctly and that Koreans were nice people. The man in the suit asks how we found our positions. We both give short answers. The man in the suit asks us what we studied in school. We both give short answers. The man in the suit then says, “thank you…that is all….goodbye.” Thus the interview comes to an end.
The funny thing is that I waited in line for 45 minute all for a 3 minute interview. Seems like a waste, but oh well.
So if there are any soon to be or trying to become ESL teachers applying for their South Korean visas….goodness! Do not worry about it at all!!! This was the consulate in Chicago, so other consulates might be different. Hopefully my passport with my visa stamp will come in the mail by Monday. Then, I can just sit back and wait for October 8th to roll around.
They require it because koreans are extreme racists and have a large inferiority complex. Some Canadians posted pictures of Korean women at a wet t-shirt contest and the country got in an uproar.
You don’t have to do an interview for any country I know of if you are N. American. This is an outrage.
Is there anyway to get out of the interview?
You can do a skype interview if you live really far away from one of the consulates…that is the only way I know of getting out of the interview.
I am in the process of getting my visa and for some reason no one can seem to give me an estimate time of how long it will take. According to my school, my visa has been accepted, but they number has not been distributed yet. Once I get the number, how long is the wait to get an interview? Or can I call and get an interview the very next day? Or do they assign a time for me? At the Chicago embassy, how long do they tell you that you have to wait to get your visa in the mail? Thanks!!
Once you get the number you can call the Korean Consulate in Chicago and I think they do interviews Tuesday and Thursday. The will probably tell you to get there at 10:30 am….get there earlier because they have like 50 people all scheduled at 10:30, so I had to wait for about 45 min. I went on a Thursday and had my Visa delivered 9 days later on a Saturday, but wasn’t there to pick it up so didn’t get it until the following Monday. You should have it within 10 days for sure. Yup, so just call the consulate soon as you have your issuance number. You don’t need to dress up or get worried about the interview…it is nothing. Oh ya, and make sure to bring ALL of the necessary documents, which is listed on the website…good luck! What part of South Korea you going?
Yeah, the interview for the visa is pretty simple
I don’t even know why they bother interviewing people…have never heard of them turning down anyone! Anyway, enjoy the noribong when you get here.
Ya, it was a joke and a waste of time. Oh, I will definitely enjoy the noribongs!!! Haha