Irish Potato Restaurant: A Good In Between Meals Snack ^__^

Irish Potato is a Korean chain restaurant that offers french fries with sauce on top. You can choose from many different sauces like Honey Mustard, Onion Dressing...at least 12 different sauces. Choose your sauce and size. They also offer tea, coffee, and beer. The fries were delicious and now you have the option of getting sweet potato french fries! Prices go from 3,ooo - 5,ooo won.

For their website: www.irishpotato.co.kr (Korean)

빈스빈스 Beans Bins Waffle Cafe Myeongdong Location

This is probably one of the best chains to get your waffles at. The waffles were just right -not soggy or too sweet. The first one is a Belgium Waffle with sliced grapes on top instead of strawberries. It is served with blueberry and strawberry jam on the side.... delicious!

The other waffle is the Apple Cinnamon Waffle. It is more of a softer waffle and a little sweeter.

Café Delicious Coffee Cat in Samcheon-dong

A really cute cafe in Samcheon-dong.  

Inside, it was cozy and just as cute as the outside. 
The place was really small with only 3 tables on the first floor. 
Drinks and desserts here are pricey. A hot Americano is about 5,000 won.

 

Free Wifi in Seoul

Free wifi here usually means you have free access to the hotspot, some of the more popular ones are Olleh, U+zone, and T-wifi. To login in to these hotspots you either need to have purchased a code, as is the case with Olleh, or you need to have a valid korean cell phone number and alien registration number to access the free wifi. A tourist has limited options. 

Places with truly free wifi:

Seoul City Center- if you find yourself walking through Seoul’s more central areas then chances are you can connect to their city wifi. But the signal is often weak and not as stable as others. Some subway stations also have this service. 

***iptime and anygate usually don't require pw.

Cafes or Restaurants:

Dunkin Donuts-

Nokbeon

Eungam

Jong-ro 3-ga

in Yeonsinnae Station

Bulgwang
Sinchon

Angel in Us- most have their own wifi passwords on the receipts

Bulgwang Station (next to Dunkin Donuts)
Jong-ro
Sinchon

***Best bet for us has always been Angel - in - Us cafe. They always have their own free wifi and are open 24 hrs, best location to stay in all night with a laptop or for studying.

Crispy Pie at Yeonsinnae

Paris Baguette 

Eungam  

Dokbawi 

Seoul National University Station

Myeongdong across from the hidden Mr. Pizza by Friday's

Starbucks -most of them usually have their own wifi

Yeonsinnae

Holly’s Coffee

Sungnyemun by Namdaemun Market

Krispy Kreme 

Jong-ro

Myeongdong, 1F

Mcdonald’s 

Yeonsinnae

Zoo Coffee, Myeongdong

Kimbap Cheonguk at Yeonsinnae 

Gongcha Bubble Tea  in Myeongdong

Dunkin Donuts Challenge (self-proclaimed)

I'm just going to post small entries every time we hit up a Dunkin Donuts.

05/13/13

Simple Pleasures:

Blueberry Eclair
Bubble Green Tea Latte
Iced Cappuccino
Orignal Cake Donut

~^__^~

Serendipity Cafe by Dokbawi Station, Bulgwang, Seoul

Serendipity Coffee is a small cafe and a great place to just hang out enjoy a cup of coffee. It is right across Dokbawi station on the brown line 6, you can't miss it.

A Day in the Life of a Kindergarten ESL teacher in Seoul

I think we are going to do these posts regularly just to record our days and stuff and give people an insight into our lives as teachers.

Enjoy!

KIMBAP HEAVEN : Cheap Korean Food

Cheapest Food in Seoul: Kimbap Heaven (김밥 천국)

Meals start at 1,000 won (the simplest kimbap roll) and don't exceed 6,000 won. 

Jacky has tried a bunch of things and they have all been good. Here she ordered the Tonkassu and I got   kimchi kimbap. 

The food is filling and comes with sides and a soup (most of the time). 

Opening a Bank Account in Korea as A Foreigner (American Citizen)

Today is the day we try to open a bank account here in Seoul, our target bank is CitiBank.

We are gonna  check out the Bulgwang Branch and see if they can help us out. If not then the search will continue.

I heard that U.S with a valid passport and a social security number can open an account with no problems and it actually easier to send money from Korea back to the states. 

So wish us luck!

I will update this post later today with our findings~!

UPDATE 05/11/13

We waited to be helped by someone who spoke English. The lady who helped us was very friendly and spoke English very well. She handed us papers that we would've need to fill out to open an account.  However, we were confused when we saw that one of the forms was a W-9 Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification Form. We asked her why it was necessary and she said that the IRS might charge interest to our account, since we're American Citizens and taxpayers.

Since we were confused we decided to not open up a Korean account with Citibank in Korea. Instead, we're thinking of opening an American Citibank account online. On their website, it says that they can send a check card to wherever you're at.

If all goes well, and we each receive our check cards by mail, we plan on depositing our monies at the Citibank ATMs in the Korea.

If anyone knows about this or understand the system better than we do, please tell us about it!

Thanks~

Update 05/07/13

So my friend and I just came back from the Bulgwang-dong branch CitiBank. We weren't able to open an account but the people at this location were kind enough to help us out.

We got our number, waited and then spoke to the teller. Unfortunately, we don't speak very good Korean and they dont't speak enough English (which is understandable). They contacted the headquarters here in Seoul and I spoke to the man who asked if we had our passport, foreigner registration card, and social security number. We had all of this but the lady said it was "difficult" to open an account for an American. I actually thought it was the opposite but I believed her because I can imagine how hard it must be when you can't communicate.

Any who, we settled on the fact that we are going to have to make our way to the Jong-no Branch.

Here is a map of the "GLOBAL BRANCHES" in Seoul, where you can find bilingual assistance.

I will update again when we go to Jong-no...Wish us luck~!

Good Eats: 신기소 , Sinkiso Japanese Noodle Restaurant

We weren't looking for anything in particular that day but we were lucky enough to have run into this Japanese chain restaurant!

Meals start at around 5,000 won and are a decent size, the service was also very good.

We really liked the presentation of the food, this definitely made it more appealing ^__^

All in all, if you run into a Sinkiso I would give it a try~

We got the Udong and the Tonkatsu dishes.

Ashley's Buffet in Seoul

Good selection but pricey on weekends.

Old corn but other than that great.
Several options for vegetarians, I didnt have a problem enjoying my meal.

Your options are (at the Yeonsinnae location):

Make your own bibimbap
Pastas
Pizza
Chicken
Salad
Dessert bar
Soups
Fries
Fruit
Ice cream
Wine bar
Beverage station includes coffee maker

Lunch on weekdays 12,900
Weekend and dinner is 22,900

Making Hoddeok. Instant Hoddeok Mix. Sweet Korean Pancake!

Everest Nepalese/Indian Restaurant in Dongdaemun, Seoul

Very good food, spicy and authentic.

Good prices and decent portions. Decor is nice as well, very refreshing and homey.

We got 2 curries, an order of rice, an order of naan, and a side dish for about $21 or 22,000 won.

Check it out!

"Cafe Open" in Yeonsinnae, Bulgwang

We stopped by before work and Jacky got herself a black tea latte and the kind barista Sungmi gave us Macarons as a Christmas present. How cute is the pink and light purple coloring ^_^

Hope the everyone is doing well this holiday season!

Here are some additional snippets of the jewelry that Ms. Lim makes. Its on display here at the cafe but we aren't sure of prices, but we would love to buy some。

Ediya Coffee - Seoul, Korea

Hi everyone! Sometime last week we went into an Ediya Coffee shop for the first time. We were very pleased with the interior of the place but especially happy with the prices of their drinks! Most of the drinks offered are between 2,300 and 5,000 KRW.

Chai Tea Latte (left) 2,700 KRW, White Chocolate Mocha 3,200 KRW

Best part about this place was that they gave us each a little points card. You receive a stamp for every drink you order. Once you've ordered twelve drinks, you can get any drink worth up to 3,000 KRW for free! SWEET

CLOSED: Oikos Restaurant in Bulgwang-do, Seoul

Christmas time is here!!! Ashley and I, we are FINALLY back in Korea! On this lovely but very cold Saturday we decided to hit up a really cute restaurant- Oikos: Pizza and Pasta

This place is very near Dokbawi station on brown line 6. Once you exit, (only 1 exit) turn left and continue walking down that main road for about 10 minutes and it will be on your left side. It is sort of hidden.

This place is so precious...the pictures don't do it justice. It is kind of a small place but big enough to sit about 22-25 people.

Mini Tour Of Central Seoul, Or Hottest Day of Our Lives EVER

These photos are from our 5th? day in Seoul. We went on a mini holiday (sounds so much nicer than vacation) for 11 days (Aug 2 - 12)! All kinds of funny/embarrassing experiences were had, a lot of fun times, and bonding moments for Ashley with her mom and younger sister. 

On this day, we decided to go on one of the half-day tours offered in a brochure we found.

And we couldn't have chosen a better day...one of our tour guides said this was probably the hottest week in the year. They fed us yummy foods so it was all worth it.

While in Insadong, we ran into this building and like fools, we thought it was the WoollimEnt building. We are obviously foolish. This is what the heat does to us.

Teaching English in Korea: The Application as We Know It

There have only been a few things in life that I have incessantly tried to pursue, becoming an English teacher in South Korea has joined that list. I am going to be honest and say that I usually and I when I mean usually I mean 99% of the time do not follow dreams that I believe are outside of my reach. That sounds horrible but when you have as little drive as I do and a whopping case of laziness the result is typically not very much.

But starting in July, I (and Jacky) have started the process. What is the process you may ask? Here it is in a nutshell.

1. Paperwork! Get started on this as soon as possible because as any one will tell you this will take the longest to get done. That means an apostilled University Diploma (must first be notarized my a public notary and then sent to the department of state from which that document originated), apostilled National FBI Background Check (takes a minimum of 3 weeks to process and then a minimum of 1 week to get apostilled in Washington D.C) , university transcripts, a valid passport. 

2. Contact a recruiter. There are a million out there. Check websites like Dave's ESL Cafe to find postings, most of which are created by recruiters. Once you contact them be strong about where you want to go because I find location to be the hardest place to secure. NOTE: Stay in contact with more than one recruiter, this way you can look at more options. 

3. Interviews. These are typically with the school director or in some cases another foreign teacher. I have been having the most difficulty with this part of the job hunt. For the most part these are done either as a video Skype call or an actual phone call. Expect for these calls to be done well into the night. The lastest call I received was at 1 AM. If you are naturally enthusiastic and bubbly then you probably aced the interview if you are nervous, more calm sounding, or just not as "happy" sounding then some acting is gonna be necessary. This is something I haven't been able to master. This, coupled with a lack of experience hasn't landed me a job. I suspect there is another factor but I will leave that for another post. 

Interviews are also where you need to ask the important questions, anything that isn't clear to you or that you are curious about such as the location of the school, the number of foreign teachers, whether or not you can get in contact with those teachers, how old the children will be, the conditions of the housing, what teaching style the school uses and so on. 

4. Getting the job, reading the contract. I have no experience with this but you need to read every line of the contract to make sure there is no glaring loop hole where you can get caught in a situation that is less than desirable. Try looking at online forums where you can post your contract and members of the forum which are usually experienced will look over the contract for you. After that is done and you have clarified every inch of the document you sign it and return it to the school. 

5. Visa Application and Arriving in Korea...The documents that you have prepared such as your diploma and background check will now come into play. The recruiter will probably guide you through this process and direct you as to where the documents need to be sent. From what the recruiters have told me this can take 1 1/2 months. Once this is done then the school will confirm your arrival date and will have the flight information ready for you. From this point forward you are set!

-Ashley