Informational handbook

Late Arrival

Normal academic-year grantees are expected to be in country no later than the beginning of the fall semester on September 1. Late arrivals are strongly discouraged. While some flexibility is possible for researchers and students, lecturers must be certain to arrive in time to be prepared for the beginning of the fall semester on 1 Sept or the spring semester on 1 March. By regulation, all grants, including researchers, must begin by the following June and cannot be delayed to a subsequent academic (program) year.

III. Your First Few Weeks

In-Processing

After getting a good night's rest, one of the first things you must do is confirm your appointment to come to the KAEC office for in-processing. You should phone the office shortly after 9:00 a.m. on the morning of the first working day after your arrival in Korea (02-3275-4018). If you have complied with our request for a weekday arrival, that will be the morning of your first full day in Korea. Of course, it may be a day or two later for those not requesting arrival services. But everyone must contact us within a day or two of arrival regardless of the circumstances of the arrival.

On some day very soon after your arrival, then, we will make an appointment for you and your accompanying family members to be in our offices by around 10:00 a.m. We will provide directions for you if necessary, but directions to our offices in English and Korean and taxi directions in Korean are on our website. You should bring to the office your passport and your accompanying dependents should bring their passports as well. The passport(s) will be needed to obtain an I.D. card. We'll also need to check on your visa status.
One of the purposes of the in-processing is to get your documents and contact points in order which involves obtaining or applying for the following:
FULBRIGHT ID CARD - This identification card is made in our offices and a photocopy is sent to the Immigration Office to certify your Fulbright status and to signal to Immigration the start and finish dates of your grant. In most cases, your Fulbright ID card can be used as ordinary identification and it should be carried with you at all times.
CHANGE OF STATUS/MULTIPLE RE-ENTRY PERMIT APPLICATION You will need to apply for a change of status if you did not obtain an "A-3" visa prior to departing for Korea. You need to make sure that if your visa says “single entry,” you get a multiple re-entry permit. A multiple re-entry permit is equivalent to a multiple-entry visa; it will enable you to leave Korea temporarily and return without losing the "A-3" status. You will be given forms to complete. KAEC makes the application to the Immigration Office on your behalf.
BUSINESS CARDS - We can have business cards with the Fulbright logo printed for you at your expense. The current price is about W15,000 per 200 for the standard card. The cards cannot be printed until you have arrived and confirmed contact phone numbers at your host institution.

Orientation Process

With improved communications, email, and website, plus grantees who arrive in Korea on widely separated dates but are almost all located in Seoul, KAEC does not hold formal scheduled group orientation sessions or meetings on arrival. In fact, your orientation begins with your receipt of this Handbook, includes being in touch with our office and looking at the websites related to Fulbright and Korea before you come, changes focus to personal contact upon your arrival and visiting our offices, and in fact continues throughout the year. The primary objectives of the orientation process are to acquaint you with the activities of the Fulbright program in Korea, to confirm your understanding of the arrangements of your award and to assist you with sundry logistical matters especially anything immediately related to your initial adjustment to life in Korea.

There are various social occasions during the year which function as orientation and networking. For instance, bi-monthly Fulbright Forums provide not only a lecture on Korea and a social occasion but another part of the ongoing orientation process.
As this Handbook is a key part of the orientation process, we recommend that you bring it with you to Korea along with any other explanatory materials you have received from us. There probably will be many occasions when you will need to refer to this handbook throughout your stay in Korea. In particular, the information on "Award Terms and Conditions" require special attention. Be sure to ask for clarification on any points which are unclear to you at any time.
The information provided prior to your arrival in Korea and even the supplemental information you will receive during the various phases of in-country orientation will touch on only the most important matters as suggested by our experiences with past Fulbrighters. Inevitably, situations not covered in this handbook or in other materials will arise either in connection with your unique circumstances or from unanticipated developments. You are responsible for seeking advice and assistance from KAEC whenever a problem arises.

Jet Lag

Inevitably, your activities will be constrained by the effects of jet lag during your first few days in Korea. The severity of the jet lag varies markedly from one person to the next. Full adjustment to local time can take up to two weeks. Most people feel reasonably adjusted after a week or even a few days. Primary symptoms include waking up and being totally alert in the middle of the night and falling dead asleep by late afternoon. It happens to everyone and new arrivals should remember this when they plan activities and meetings, especially during the first week or so.

Rest is extremely important in getting over jet lag. You should consciously try to plan short rest periods at four or five hour intervals during the day. Getting out in sunlight apparently helps you adjust your internal clock. However, do not think just because you manage to stay awake for an entire period of daylight that you are synchronized. Such an approach only encourages exhaustion. Don't fool yourself into thinking that this problem can be cured by will power alone.