Insiders Guide to a Successful Korea to Fukuoka E2 or C4 Visa Run

As the E2 and C4 visa rules in South Korea have become increasingly comple. More ESL teachers are finding it necessary to make the E2 (C4) visa run to Fukuoka. I have seen the outcome of this E2 (C4) visa run to be both successful and unsuccessful. Here are the top 4 travel tips you need to make sure you don't come back to Korea empty-handed.

Travel tip #1: Book your entire E2 (C4) visa trip quickly and easily through Kangsan Travel (telephone number provided at the end of this article) by using their convenient and English website: kangsantravel.com.Once on their website you can click the quick link that says "Kobee" on the welcome page. Or simply click on "Best Pack" and look on the left side menu for the "Kobee" link, for information on pricing. You can fill out the form available in "Contact Us," but for fastest service, I would suggest contacting them directly using the phone numbers provided at the bottom of all their website pages. Kangsan Travel has English speaking travel agents ready to assist you. I spoke with Nicole from the Busan office and she was great.

Simply have your passport number at hand and tell Kansan travel you would like to book the package for the E2 (C4) visa run to Fukuoka. You will need to do a bank transfer of funds to pay for the reservation. The reservation for your E2 (C4) visa run to Fukuoka includes your roundtrip hydrofoil ferry ticket and one night at a hotel, which is located in Tenjin the center of Fukuoka (plenty of places to eat food that is not Korean and party with beer that is not Cass and Hite).

Travel tip #2: Make a checklist of all the documents that are required for your E2 (C4) visa process. Documents needed may include but are not limited to: passport (with at least 1 blank page as the E2 (C4) visa sticker takes up an entire page), diploma, apostilled criminal background check, official sealed transcript from your university, CCV number. Do your research online to make sure you have the most recent information on documents needed for your E2 (C4) visa as this will change regularly. Good websites on E2 (C4) visa information are the forums on Dave's ESL and EFL Law Korea. DO NOT leave home without double checking that you have the needed documents and your Kangsan Travel reservation number.

Travel tip #3: Once you arrive in Fukuoka make sure you reach the Korean consulate in time to start your E2 (C4) visa process. The Korean consulate in Fukuoka accepts passports for the E2 (C4) visa from 10am to 12pm and from 1:30pm to 3:30pm. The Korean consulate is located around the corner from the well known landmark the Yahoo! Fukuoka Dome. So if you don't know which bus to take, ask the bus or taxi driver for the Yahoo! Fukuoka Dome. And once again BRING YOUR DOCUMENTS. You will need to leave your passport at the consulate and they will give you a receipt. KEEP THE RECEIPT, as you will need it to re-enter the Korean consulate area hassle free and pick up your E2 (C4) visa the next day.

Travel tip #4: As there are many places to party in Fukuoka be sure to take a business card from the hotel with you so you can get back there when drunk. Also before you go out, schedule your wake-up call so you don't miss the ferry home. If you are in Fukuoka on a Thursday night I would recommend going to Happy Cock (it's a night club) for drinking and dancing.

Kangsan Travel telephone # in Busan: 051-747-003

If you have found this AC article on E2 (C4) visa runs informative, please view my other interesting AC articles on ESL and South Korea by clicking on my name "Tesl Goddess" at the top of this page.