SEOUL IN LOVE: Preparations, Tips and Costings of My Travel to South Korea
Korean Invasion has been spreading all over the world. Korean Pop or KPop, Korean Drama or KDrama, their culture, their fashion, their food, their skin cares including makeup, and their lifestyle - all these things are generally patronized by different nations around the globe. Everyone's dancing to their beat and we cannot simply deny that their aegyo or cuteness really captures our hearts.
Lee Jong Suk - I liked him since I Hear Your Voice days.
Yup, that's right! Who doesn't know Lee Min Ho by the way? The ultimate Hallyu star from Boys Over Flowers, Personal Taste, The Heirs, City Hunter and Gangnam Blues!
Here's Twice and BTS for Kpop fans like me!
South Korea is a dream land for me. I am an ultimate KPop fan. It started off with Full House when I was on my 4th grade and was pursued after I had known Khuntoria.
Since then, I always wanted to see the beautiful land of the morning calm.
I started planning my trip last March 2017. A friend told me that she's going to South Korea. She asked me to come and I automatically said yes even though I was hesitant whether I can really afford the trip or not.
It was our first time to go out of the country so what we did was we hired a travel agency to help us plan our dream tour. We are thankful enough that we have met TravelM8 Express Co (https://www.travelm8express.com/). They provided us a good offer for our Seoul Trip. It costed us Php. 26,990 or about $539 for the tour.
The $539.00 includes the following for 4Days, 3 Nights Trip:
(1) The round trip airfare from Manila to Incheon, South Korea;
(2) Terminal fees;
(3) Hotel accommodation with daily breakfast at Mido Hotel;
(4) City tour
(5) Lunch and dinner during city tour
Everything went smooth, as planned. We were lucky to have very accommodating tour guides for meeting all our expectations in our trip.
So a lot of people ask me very common questions and now I have to really answer.
- Is VISA required to visit Korea?
Yes, VISA is required. TravelM8 processed our Visa. I only paid them about $20.00 to do the processing for me. Whaat I only did was prepare the necessary documents for the Visa.
- What are the necessary documents for Korean VISA Application?
One (1) Passport size colored picture (34mm x 45mm)
Original Passport (6 months valid)
Photocopy of Passport Bio-page
Original Certificate of Employment, if employed
Photocopy of Business Registration and Business Permit, if self-employed
Original Personal Bank Certificate issued by bank (NOT Bank Statement, NOT Passbook)
Photocopy of ITR (Income Tax Return) or Form 2316
[optional] Invitation Letter & Copy of inviter’s Passport, if invited by Korean resident.
[optional] Invitation Letter & Copy of Korean Company Business Permit, if invited by Korean company.
Since I am a government employee, I asked our National Office to secure me a copy of my Certificate of Employment. As stated above, ITR is required.
I was hired only last February 2017 so the head office told me that I still don't have an ITR. What I did was, I wrote a personal letter addressed to the Embassy of Korea stating all my intentions to visit Korea and why I cannot produce a copy of my ITR.
As for the personal bank statement, I only had Php. 60,000 or $1200. I gradually deposit money on my passbook account. Prior my VISA Application, I was able to come up with the total amount. (Some says, you only need Php 50,000 for this.)
Two weeks after I submitted my requirements, I was informed by our agent that our single entry visa application was approved. The very best way to secure yourself an approved visa is to diligently comply with the requirements. It is also important to have a decent and good looking visa photo which you will be attaching to the application form. I had mine captured by a professional photographer. It gives the embassy officer an impression that you are on the elite group and you deserve a grant to visit South Korea.
Other unexpected expenses:
Visa Application Fee - I only paid $20 for my Visa Application.
Additional Tour - I opted to add a tour to Nami Island, Elysis Ski Resort and Le Petit France. I was thinking that since i am already in Korea, I better visit all possible places. I paid $100 for the additional tour. It was worth every penny. The places I visited were too beautiful!
Meals prior flight - I spent around $30-40 at the airport. Everything was expensive - from coffee down to fast food meals. Better prepare extra money just in case your tummy growls.
Will be blogging my entire Seoul Journey. Stay tuned. For further tips, drop some comments below!
Nice post