http://chinachao.blog.com/ Please skim to the bottom half for details.

I have been searching for a suitable job in China for a while. I will go with Justin to China to teach English at a school for Chinese natives. They provide a monthly salary deemed better than the States because of the cost of living along with free accommodation. I hope for one heck of an overseas experience. With the time I spent on research, emails, applications, phone INTERVIEWS, FAQs, etc. I highly recommend starting your ESL teaching experience with at least 4 months prior to your projected start date. Most Chinese schools start in September/August and contracts run 6 or 10 months long but most are negotiable if you tell them what dates you are available.

So while I was online researching acceptable positions for China, I discovered this 4 week summer camp in Korea. Date is from July 27th to August 22nd. 6 days a week, 6 hrs a day, 1 hr lunch, 2 hrs teachers meeting, free accommodation, utilities provided, 3 million WON ($2,370 USD). I found it at Daves ESL Cafe, a must website for ESL teachers. Their website is http://www.eslcafe.com

I quickly thought to myself, HEY, teaching in China usually starts September 1st! DING DING DING!!! I contacted the Director of the camp, asked him questions, read over the contract, interviewed, applied for my C4 visa and bought my plane ticket. It was $1,172.50 USD through Orbitz on Delta airlines. Of course, one-way is now $796 through Asiana Airlines since Im going straight to China from Korea (I need to arrive one week early to China, says contract). Im out almost $400 from Delta because well, you know why. Airport regulation. Apparently, THEY NEED my money more than I do because they are NOT giving it back to me.

TIP: Make sure you know your flight details before you purchase your ticket. If you change your mind because your dog FeeFee dies and you have to change your flight plans, BE PREPARED TO PAY (I called the airline and got transferred around a lot). Seriously. Its ONLY $280+ to change IF they can even find an available flight through THEIR SAME airline.

Once again I emphasize that I was able to find this summer camp job to Korea BECAUSE I conducted my research early and in a timely manner. I found this job online on June 14th, contacted the Director through email on June 15th and by June 23rd I was getting all my questions answered, interviewed, contract pending, etc. I bought my plane ticket and applied for my C4 Visa on June 26th. I got my Visa back on July 2nd. Heres the process and details.

http://koreainsider.com/C4%20Visa.html

A C4 Visa in Korea is for temporary employment and most commonly used for English teachers working in summer or winter camp position in Korea. However, this visa is also for artists, athletes, models, hi-tech experts and other performers that will be working less than 90 days in Korea. (also, for whatever reason if you are NOT working in Korea, you can arrive as a tourist without a Visa for up to 90 days. This is NOT so in China and will cost you $130 for the Visa)

MAIN question to ask: Is your school or wherever the summer camp is held, is it a PRIVATE or PUBLIC organization?

Public. GOOD. Private, kind of bad because this requires an IN-PERSON interview at your nearest Korean Consulate. NOT GOOD if you live over 600 miles away from the one assigned for your district which is located in another STATE.

Otherwise, heres a personal email I got after I emailed the Korean Consulate located in Atlanta, GA which is in charge of my state, Florida.

The following are the only documents you will need to provide in order to receive a short-term employment visa (C-4):

o Employment Contract

o Letter of employment recommendation issued by the head of the relevant central government agency, an official letter from the relevant government agency or documents proving the necessity of employment

o Visa Application (see attachment)

o Valid Passport- you must mail your actual passport

o One passport color photo

o $45 (cash or money orders only made payable to Korean Consulate)

o Postage paid self-addressed EXPRESS MAIL envelope for return of your documents & visa

o If you are teaching at an English camp, you will also need to provide the following documents:

1. Notarized copy of your Diploma OR One Official Transcript

2. County Level Criminal Background Check- can be done at your local police office

3. If you are teaching with a private organization, it is required that you come in to theconsulate for an in-person interview. Please see the schedule below.

Please refer to the website www.koreanconsulate.org and email the correct personnel.

Some things I found out/LEARNED:

1) CVS gives your $2 off your passport photo if you Google Cheap Passport Photo. It takes less than 10min for them to take and develop your picture. Final cost: $6.

2) You can get your B.A. degree notarized for free at your local bank (your school will charge you about $10 to have an Official Transcript SENT to you. Who knows HOW LONG that will be). Also, depending on the type of account you have with your bank, you can have the money order written for free. Otherwise, it was $5 for Citibank.

3) Your local county Sheriffs office can be found on Google and called. Tell them you need a County level background check. Its usually $1.15 for the print out. Takes less than 10min when I went at 5:15pm but they closed at 5:30pm! LoL The $1.15 was to have the employee sign it off aka the VERIFIED copy!

4) You can send your documents to the Consulate in ANY form of postage but you MUST do $17.50 Express Mail for the return envelope. Make sure you put the RETURN address (this is a self-addressed stamped envelope) to YOU! Every thing cost me $23- tracking, confirmation, First Class mail, Express mail return envelope, etc. It left Florida at 2pm Friday and arrived in Georgia on Monday morning. I got my Passport back on Thursday. If you do the in-person interview by 2pm, you can get your Visa back by 5pm the same day.

Okay I really hope that helps everyone! =D

Love ya,

CC