Part of a series on ESL in Korea
Chapter One- The Job
Chapter Two- Before Coming to Korea
Overview Are you employable? Compensation and benefits How much can I save? Private lessons When do schools hire? Job hunt advice How to check out the school before deciding Schedules Employment process Contracts Salary Accommodation Airfare Proof of onward travel Vacation and National Holidays Severance bonus Medical Insurance Taxation Know your expatriate taxation Tax issues for Canadian expats Pension National Pension Offices Visa Sponsorship Alien Registration Card Immigration Visas Visa application form Multiple entry visa Visa expiration Permission to work a 2nd job Letter of Release Visa run Fukuoka visa run Osaka visa run Surviving and succeeding as a teacher in Korea Teacher training KOTESOL Teaching resources Classroom games Legal matters English-speaking lawyers throughout Korea Labor Board Labor Standards Act

Korean Immigration has a policy that requires for passengers entering Korea on a tourist visa, to have proof of onward travel. Basically, they want to know when and how you are leaving, so they know that you are coming here as a tourist and not as someone coming here to work illegally. As with many of Immigration's rigid policies for foreigners, this has been set up to curb the illegal employment of the few hundred thousand Chinese and South-East Asian blue collar and factory workers in the country, moreso than to give a hard time for the 50,000+ western businessmen, diplomats, english teachers, and the GIs and GS' working under the SOFA agreement.

As with many Korean laws and policies, how this policy is executed may not be with as firm as a hand as the one used by the goverment official who originally drafted it. Therefore, you will hear stories from other foreigners in Korea who entered the country as a tourist on a one-way ticket, with no problems. It is somewhat of a soft policy and is hit/miss and when it happens, it's usually at the airline check-in. We strongly urge all readers to be prepared to be compliant with this policy, however, if you have no intention to buy onward travel, then be prepared to bring a good excuse and hope it works, in the event that you don't get a rookie clerk at the flight check-in. If they refuse to let you board and you need a cheap ticket, email a company like Kangsan Travel, and purchase an open-ended, one-way ferry ticket to Japan for 60,000Won, and have them email or fax you the receipt and use it for proof of onward travel. Personally, it'd be wise to do this beforehand, so you don't have to risk the hassle of missing and rescheduling a flight over a refused boarding.

Note: This article is directed towards to those who are flying to Korea on a tourist visa. If you have already been issued a Korean visa prior to departure, proof of onward travel is not needed and you are able to enter the country on a one-way ticket, if you wanted.

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