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I have around $5000 USD in the bank. Would I be able to make this work? I'm around Montgomery, AL, so I would probably have to fly out of Atlanta.
How long would be a worthwhile stay? I haven't checked it out with work, but its just a crazy idea I had. I have a passport as well, but is that all I need?
It will take time to plan the trip if I do end up going, but any input would be appreciated.
Edit: (UPDATE) - I'm trying to get in touch with a Korean tutor by using my school's international affairs dept. He said he has an AUM graduate in mind that is bilingual. Crossing my fingers! I guess I'm lucky that Montgomery is probably one of the better places in Alabama to find bilingual Koreans.
Finally found a Korean tutor! He was actually in one of my classes at school! We hung out last weekend to discuss everything, and it seems like it will work well! He is giving me three free lessons, and then I will pay him an hourly rate for anything after that. He said I should really try to immerse myself in the culture with things like movies and music, and it should be easier to become familiar with the language.
First mission: Learn Hangul.
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I was kind of curious about this as well. I was thinking of a spur-of-the-moment vacation to Korea and stay for about a month. I heard the cost of living is pretty low there but wasn't really sure. I had, coincidentally, been hoping to spend $5000 as well.
Unfortunately, its unreasonable for me at the moment to spend that kind of money. But, knowing would be helpful, so I'll keep my eyes on this thread.
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i'd expect you'd need a visa. 5000 would probably cover a fair amount of time, i wouldn't have thought you'd need to spend all of that.
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I've considered trying to save up some and take a trip to korea also, actually wanted to visit Japan too but hmm. its a big investment for a game that im trying to make a hobby, rather than a lifestyle. SC takes up too much time I rather spend on music
But I do feel that if you want to take your "chance" at being a professional gamer, NOW is the time to do it; while SC2 is still young and relatively easy to play at a high level. So if you have the money and desire, go for it.
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I mean, I'm a decent SC2 player. But I really want to go and experience a GSL and the culture in general.
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Tickets cost around $1200 round trip.
If your frugal you could easily spend a few months there. If your trying to have fun and be touristy take $1000 leave it in the bank, buy a ticket. Spend $2800 over the course of a month in the motherland and enjoy.
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The only risk with going a month is if my job would be there when I come back. I'm sure I could work something out. I will be only 4 classes away from an MBA anyways, so I don't think it would be that hard to find a job (if needs be). Hyundai has a huge plant about 30 min from my house, maybe they would appreciate me being able to speak some Korean and having visited there ^ ^
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Osaka27176 Posts
What do you want to do? Why do you want to go? How long do you want to stay? Why are you doing this before you graduate? With 5,000 you can go basically anywhere depending on your timeframe. Pretty lacking in details =/
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Calgary26003 Posts
I stayed in Korea for approximately 70 days. I also took 4-day trips to Japan and Hong Kong (1 day in Macau). My only trips outside of Seoul were a fairly inexpensive trip to Seoraksan with friends, a trip to Busan alone, and a trip to Jejudo with a friend.
I would estimate spending $1,000 inclusive going to and staying in Hong Kong / Macau. I would estimate spending $1,500 inclusive going to and staying in Japan.
I typically roomed with friends [40 nights] ($0), in cheap love motels [15 nights] ($30 / night weekdays, $60-$70 / night weekends), in hostels [5 nights] ($20-$25), in Penshuns [4 nights] ($50-$70) and in a hotel in Macau [1 night] ($150-$200). Those nights / costs are approximate but they might be able to help you budget.
During this time I was still paying rent, which amounted to $2,500. My round-trip flight was approximately $1,000, but I can't remember exactly. My entire expenses totaled approximately $10,000. You can see that is pretty good for a 70 day vacation; however, once you subtract the trips to Japan and Hong Kong and rent, you can see Korea is cheap. Really cheap.
At this time I was eating out every day (2 meals per day) but I never really ate anything fancy. A typical lunch was $5, typical dinner was $15. Beer is cheap. Transportation (taxi and subway) is extremely cheap. Staying with friends really lightened the budget.
To travel from Canada to Korea you don't need a Visa if you stay under 6 months. I believe USA is the same.
I hope that helps. Sorry for the typos, I was distracted while writing this.
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On January 19 2011 07:19 kerpal wrote:
i'd expect you'd need a visa. 5000 would probably cover a fair amount of time, i wouldn't have thought you'd need to spend all of that.
I would guess you dont need a visa as long as you go as a tourist and intend to return leave the contry within 3 months. Im proboably going to go to korea during some longer weekend or when I find some interesting sc2 venue I want to visit. A bit easier to travel from Japan tho.
On January 19 2011 08:10 Chill wrote:
To travel from Canada to Korea you don't need a Visa if you stay under 6 months. I believe USA is the same.
I hope that helps. Sorry for the typos, I was distracted while writing this.
Im not sure what the rules are from canada but usually the tourist visa is limited to 90days between the contries Ive been to.
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On January 19 2011 08:10 Chill wrote:
I stayed in Korea for approximately 70 days. I also took 4-day trips to Japan and Hong Kong (1 day in Macau). My only trips outside of Seoul were a fairly inexpensive trip to Seoraksan with friends, a trip to Busan alone, and a trip to Jejudo with a friend.
I would estimate spending $1,000 inclusive going to and staying in Hong Kong / Macau. I would estimate spending $1,500 inclusive going to and staying in Japan.
I typically roomed with friends [40 nights] ($0), in cheap love motels [15 nights] ($30 / night weekdays, $60-$70 / night weekends), in hostels [5 nights] ($20-$25), in Penshuns [4 nights] ($50-$70) and in a hotel in Macau [1 night] ($150-$200). Those nights / costs are approximate but they might be able to help you budget.
During this time I was still paying rent, which amounted to $2,500. My round-trip flight was approximately $1,000, but I can't remember exactly. My entire expenses totaled approximately $10,000. You can see that is pretty good for a 70 day vacation; however, once you subtract the trips to Japan and Hong Kong and rent, you can see Korea is cheap. Really cheap.
At this time I was eating out every day (2 meals per day) but I never really ate anything fancy. A typical lunch was $5, typical dinner was $15. Beer is cheap. Transportation (taxi and subway) is extremely cheap. Staying with friends really lightened the budget.
To travel from Canada to Korea you don't need a Visa if you stay under 6 months. I believe USA is the same.
I hope that helps. Sorry for the typos, I was distracted while writing this.
Wow, thanks Chill. I had no idea a trip to Korea could be so cheap. Now I'm thinking about going too.
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On January 19 2011 08:10 Chill wrote:
I stayed in Korea for approximately 70 days. I also took 4-day trips to Japan and Hong Kong (1 day in Macau). My only trips outside of Seoul were a fairly inexpensive trip to Seoraksan with friends, a trip to Busan alone, and a trip to Jejudo with a friend.
I would estimate spending $1,000 inclusive going to and staying in Hong Kong / Macau. I would estimate spending $1,500 inclusive going to and staying in Japan.
I typically roomed with friends [40 nights] ($0), in cheap love motels [15 nights] ($30 / night weekdays, $60-$70 / night weekends), in hostels [5 nights] ($20-$25), in Penshuns [4 nights] ($50-$70) and in a hotel in Macau [1 night] ($150-$200). Those nights / costs are approximate but they might be able to help you budget.
During this time I was still paying rent, which amounted to $2,500. My round-trip flight was approximately $1,000, but I can't remember exactly. My entire expenses totaled approximately $10,000. You can see that is pretty good for a 70 day vacation; however, once you subtract the trips to Japan and Hong Kong and rent, you can see Korea is cheap. Really cheap.
At this time I was eating out every day (2 meals per day) but I never really ate anything fancy. A typical lunch was $5, typical dinner was $15. Beer is cheap. Transportation (taxi and subway) is extremely cheap. Staying with friends really lightened the budget.
To travel from Canada to Korea you don't need a Visa if you stay under 6 months. I believe USA is the same.
I hope that helps. Sorry for the typos, I was distracted while writing this.
It does Chill, thank you. Manifesto, the reason I am short on details is because I will be doing this in the summer probably, which is still 4-5 months away. I figure this would give me plenty of time to plan. I dont wanna wait till I graduate, because I might REALLY become locked into a job. I figure its now or never.
Also, if I polish my skills some more, I may consider trying to qualify for the GSL. I know its a long shot, but just trying would be fun.
I will definitely give you guys more details as this thing develops. Also, if anyone on TL plans to go this summer, please let me know (we could share hotel/meet up/whatever). Thanks!
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Calgary26003 Posts
On January 19 2011 08:14 Robinsa wrote:Show nested quote +On January 19 2011 07:19 kerpal wrote:
i'd expect you'd need a visa. 5000 would probably cover a fair amount of time, i wouldn't have thought you'd need to spend all of that. I would guess you dont need a visa as long as you go as a tourist and intend to return leave the contry within 3 months. Im proboably going to go to korea during some longer weekend or when I find some interesting sc2 venue I want to visit. A bit easier to travel from Japan tho. Show nested quote +On January 19 2011 08:10 Chill wrote:
To travel from Canada to Korea you don't need a Visa if you stay under 6 months. I believe USA is the same.
I hope that helps. Sorry for the typos, I was distracted while writing this. Im not sure what the rules are from canada but usually the tourist visa is limited to 90days between the contries Ive been to.
Yea that actually sounds right.
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Calgary26003 Posts
If you plan on going for an extended time, I really suggest hiring a Korean tutor and learning basic Korean. Learning Hangul was invaluable on the trip. The subway maps are in Korean, so being able to read those is nice. A lot of stuff has English words but written in Hangul, so being able to sound those out can help you a lot.
When I went to Japan I had zero Japanese and felt extremely isolated. I could basically only talk to Haji and his friends. After only 4 days I felt really lonely because I'd spend 12 hours a day not talking to anyone. I'd imagine it would be the same in Korea without Korean.
Being able to start with Korean and then immediately switching over to basic English is an easy way to get some points when trying to have a conversation. Being able to introduce yourself or order food in Korean helped comfort the staff and made them more willing to help you instead of steamrolling with English.
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On January 19 2011 08:36 Chill wrote:
If you plan on going for an extended time, I really suggest hiring a Korean tutor and learning basic Korean. Learning Hangul was invaluable on the trip. The subway maps are in Korean, so being able to read those is nice. A lot of stuff has English words but written in Hangul, so being able to sound those out can help you a lot.
When I went to Japan I had zero Japanese and felt extremely isolated. I could basically only talk to Haji and his friends. After only 4 days I felt really lonely because I'd spend 12 hours a day not talking to anyone. I'd imagine it would be the same in Korea without Korean.
Being able to start with Korean and then immediately switching over to basic English is an easy way to get some points when trying to have a conversation. Being able to introduce yourself or order food in Korean helped comfort the staff and made them more willing to help you instead of steamrolling with English.
Thanks Chill. Valuable advice. I won't take it for granted.
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$1 = 1000원 (won)
Current exchange rate is something like
$1 = 1160원 so you'll be making money coming here now haha
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$1,500 - Will get you a round-trip ticket from where you are (obviously plus or minus for peaks / downtime)
$20-40 / night - At a hostel
Other options also exist like homestays, craigstlist, etc. pm me if you're serious in the future I might have a room for cheap too
$15 / day - Can get you meals ($5 per meal)
$1 / trip - Trips on the subway are uber cheap
$3 / beer - Big 500cc beers are three bucks.
$1 / bottle - Soju bottles are a buck each and two will get you bombed
$2.50 / pack - If you smoke, ALL cigarettes are $2.50, ALL OF EM
$10~30 / night - Cover at some of the higher end clubs, other places are no cover
$80 / table - If you need to be baller at said club
$5 / few stations distance - In a cab, they're quite cheap here
OH, learn hangul. It's less letters than the english alphabet and rediculously easy if you don't already know it. There is a korean saying that goes something like "Even a dog can learn hangul in one night" or something. That'll help a ton.
pm me if you head over i'm sure i can help
- Keith
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Thanks Keith. I'll PM you as it gets closer to time. Still working out the details. I wanna get some of my teammates to come with me, but they are worried about the cost of the plane ticket =/.
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On January 19 2011 07:56 Manifesto7 wrote:
What do you want to do? Why do you want to go? How long do you want to stay? Why are you doing this before you graduate? With 5,000 you can go basically anywhere depending on your timeframe. Pretty lacking in details =/
OK, gonna sit down and answer your questions in depth since I have the time now.
What do you want to do?
I want to visit Korea to see what the culture is like, and of course anything Starcraft related. I just want to sit down and actually talk/eat with these people. I read about it and see videos of it all the time, and I just want to experience it for myself.
Why do you want to go?
Ever since I was 13 or so I have wanted to go to Asia in general. Then my love for Starcraft obviously gravitated me towards Korea. I've never really travelled either (Bahamas doesn't really count). I think I am mature enough to handle it now, while I wasn't say 2 years ago or so.
How long do you want to stay?
At least 1-2 weeks. A month would be perfect. It really depends on my work situation back home.
Why are you doing this before you graduate?
Because its the last time I feel that I will have true freedom. Once I have my MBA, I have to start studying for the CPA exam/finding an even better job. I just feel the time for esports is NOW, and I want a piece of it.
Hope that clears it up for you.
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Yes, it's totally possible, but as a matter of quality, I'd advise you to know as much Korean as humanly possible before coming. Your experience will be multiplied a thousand times without having to invest that much more money.
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On January 20 2011 00:57 oBlade wrote:
Yes, it's totally possible, but as a matter of quality, I'd advise you to know as much Korean as humanly possible before coming. Your experience will be multiplied a thousand times without having to invest that much more money.
I've already started conversational Korean like two days ago. I already know a good bit of common phrases (like can you speak english?). Its funny, the audio thing I have says that in Korean, you are basically saying "speak English can? (I think)" if you actually translated it.
I am going to take Chill's advice and learn Hangul as best as I can. I might get a tutor or like trade tutoring (Korean language for accounting). There are many Koreans at my school (Auburn University Montgomery), since the Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama is in Montgomery. I could at least try my language skills with them.
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Calgary26003 Posts
On January 20 2011 01:12 Scruffy wrote:Show nested quote +On January 20 2011 00:57 oBlade wrote:
Yes, it's totally possible, but as a matter of quality, I'd advise you to know as much Korean as humanly possible before coming. Your experience will be multiplied a thousand times without having to invest that much more money. I've already started conversational Korean like two days ago. I already know a good bit of common phrases (like can you speak english?). Its funny, the audio thing I have says that in Korean, you are basically saying "speak English can? (I think)" if you actually translated it. I am going to take Chill's advice and learn Hangul as best as I can. I might get a tutor or like trade tutoring (Korean language for accounting). There are many Koreans at my school (Auburn University Montgomery), since the Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama is in Montgomery. I could at least try my language skills with them.
Language exchange won't help you. Hire someone with experience teaching Korean, not just a student who knows Korean. Trust me.
Edit: Let me clarify. If you just want to learn Hangul and pronounciation, you can probably do language exchange and be fine. If you want to learn some grammar and expressions that basically let you talk, language exchange won't cut it. I've probably logged 100 hours of language exchange, and it's useless compared to the 25 hours of tutoring I've gotten. It's like 10% vs 90% of what I've learned.
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On January 20 2011 02:37 Chill wrote:Show nested quote +On January 20 2011 01:12 Scruffy wrote:On January 20 2011 00:57 oBlade wrote:
Yes, it's totally possible, but as a matter of quality, I'd advise you to know as much Korean as humanly possible before coming. Your experience will be multiplied a thousand times without having to invest that much more money. I've already started conversational Korean like two days ago. I already know a good bit of common phrases (like can you speak english?). Its funny, the audio thing I have says that in Korean, you are basically saying "speak English can? (I think)" if you actually translated it. I am going to take Chill's advice and learn Hangul as best as I can. I might get a tutor or like trade tutoring (Korean language for accounting). There are many Koreans at my school (Auburn University Montgomery), since the Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama is in Montgomery. I could at least try my language skills with them. Language exchange won't help you. Hire someone with experience teaching Korean, not just a student who knows Korean. Trust me. Edit: Let me clarify. If you just want to learn Hangul and pronounciation, you can probably do language exchange and be fine. If you want to learn some grammar and expressions that basically let you talk, language exchange won't cut it. I've probably logged 100 hours of language exchange, and it's useless compared to the 25 hours of tutoring I've gotten. It's like 10% vs 90% of what I've learned.
Ah ok, that makes sense. Next mission: Find a tutor that doesnt charge too much 
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Yes. Do make sure to learn Hangul -- it's super easy and many of my friends myself included have learned it in one night.
Also 5k should be more than sufficient as living costs in Korea are still very much reasonable and on the cheaper side in East Asia.
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haha yeah~it directly translates as
"영어 말할수있어요?"
"English speaking can?" aha
and one up on the learning korean idea, hangul is arguably the most efficient written language in the world which translates to being one of the easiest written languages to learn.
god, i'm learning japanese these days... i finally committed 46 letters to memory, only to be faced with a whole nuther 46 letters in their other alphabet wtf
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On January 20 2011 19:33 prodikl wrote:
haha yeah~it directly translates as
"영어 말할수있어요?"
"English speaking can?" aha
and one up on the learning korean idea, hangul is arguably the most efficient written language in the world which translates to being one of the easiest written languages to learn.
god, i'm learning japanese these days... i finally committed 46 letters to memory, only to be faced with a whole nuther 46 letters in their other alphabet wtf
lolol and everyone struggles more with katakana than hiragana.. but everyone learns hiragana first
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On January 20 2011 19:33 prodikl wrote:
haha yeah~it directly translates as
"영어 말할수있어요?"
"English speaking can?" aha
and one up on the learning korean idea, hangul is arguably the most efficient written language in the world which translates to being one of the easiest written languages to learn.
god, i'm learning japanese these days... i finally committed 46 letters to memory, only to be faced with a whole nuther 46 letters in their other alphabet wtf
You haven't even touched kanji yet. Try 2000-3000 more characters.
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I finally found a tutor. He is in my "Managing People" class in grad school. Woot.
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I have no idea how much more this would cost (I'm leaning on the cheaper side) but If you're going to Korean, I suggest visiting Jeju-do. The beaches are freaking amazing, and the restaurants are wonderful. If you love seafood, that's also a plus.
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personally, if i had 5k, i would try to organise so that i can actually live and work in another country (2+ months). i would somehow secure a job (impossible? teach english?) before going, and get a local to help me get cheap room somewhere.
for example, if you wanted to come to england, you could get a room for £300/month, no security deposit, flight for £1k? , get a job as labourer/porter/waiter, then have 3k to keep you afloat until your fist paycheck. stay there until you're satisfied, maybe saved up enough to move onto some other country :D (goodluck on paying for air fares out of england tho)
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On January 21 2011 12:40 Aberu wrote:Show nested quote +On January 20 2011 19:33 prodikl wrote:
haha yeah~it directly translates as
"영어 말할수있어요?"
"English speaking can?" aha
and one up on the learning korean idea, hangul is arguably the most efficient written language in the world which translates to being one of the easiest written languages to learn.
god, i'm learning japanese these days... i finally committed 46 letters to memory, only to be faced with a whole nuther 46 letters in their other alphabet wtf You haven't even touched kanji yet. Try 2000-3000 more characters.
haha, damn i know. i tried this last year. felt a bit overwhelmed after the first 46 and since i had no motivation other than "because i feel like it" i just stopped. then i started bulgarian since i know a bulgarian, now im onto spanish... damn me and my "try everything, finish nothing" ways!
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I'm fairly sure, (don't quote me on this), that you won't need a visa if you aren't going there looking for work, but as a tourist/sightsee-er for under three months. Aside from that, the rest of the advice in here is good. Learn some hangul and some basic korean phrases, have a game plan, etc.
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http://www.micheloud.com/FXM/la/la/korean.htm tells you a bit on the language. (I had to lol when i saw one of the resource books at the end. ["Making out in Korean"])
But really, reading and writing are fairly easy. Fluently speaking, and understanding spoken Korean takes forever because it really is limited by the vocabulary you know (as with any language), but you may be pleasantly surprised by how many "modern" words are borrowed from English, so you will know if you sound it out.
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I might postpone a wee bit to give myself more time to learn Korean, plan the trip, etc. All the advice is really good though guys, thanks.
I am assuming if I went over there to teach English I would have to know sufficient Korean to communicate with the students.
*Also updated the OP with some more info on my tutor.
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Yeah, you'll learn that korean is subject object verb.
Aka Sally apple ate.
Or nuke ghost launched 
or wisdom yoda spoke X D
If you want a language learning buddy pm me and hit me up on skype. i'm no good either, but we could work together ^^
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EPT
