2018 Update - I'm Still Here

As of 2018 I am still in Ilsan. I realize I have not updated this blog in a very long time so I wanted to come on here and let you know I'm still around. I just renewed my contract for another year so I will be here for a bit longer. I don't have any plans after that and may end up staying even longer.

I really want to try to update this blog a bit more this year. It will probably not be often but I figure anything I can do will be better than last year lol. I might try to do some cafe and restaurant reviews or at least some photos of places I go to. If you are visiting Ilsan then it's always nice to know some good places to go to.

Sunset - Lake Park (2017)

In My Neighborhood - La Festa Beauty Shops

So today I thought I would give you a sneak peak at what kind of Beauty (Skincare and Cosmetic) shops we have in Ilsan. 

One of the main shopping areas in Ilsan is an outdoor mall type area called 'La Festa'. And it's here that you can find all of the major Korean chain store type beauty shops. You can find these stores all over Korea as they are very popular and many of them have more than one branch in most areas. 

These shops are all within a stretch of two blocks and many of them are just right next to each other.

There are also a couple more just a little bit along the street from these ones but I didn't get photos of them, They are called Watsons and Olive Young and are more Pharmacy/Drugstore type shops with lots of different brands and products. Here in Korea however they don't carry the medicine that you get in many of these type stores in Western countries. They have specific stores that sell medicine and those don't really sell anything else, just health related products.

Goyang Immigration Office

It is that time of year again when I had to go and renew my visa. 

It's the first time I have had to do it here in Ilsan however I had been to the immigration office when I first moved here. Whenever you move you have to register your new address within about two weeks of moving. The immigration office has moved since then so I though I would do this post and show the new location and how to get there. I did notice online that there is not a lot of information about the Goyang Immigration Office, I am not sure if I was searching the wrong name or what but luckily the Facebook community had some information on the change of address. It was a bit confusing as the office has not moved far, it is basically just opposite a few blocks of where it used to be.

The Goyang Immigration Office is nowhere near as busy as the Suwon one, I find that you don't really need to make an appointment and the waiting time was about 5 to 10 minutes (not hours like in Suwon), so that was nice.

When you get to the office you can take a form and fill it out (you can also download these from the Immigration website to make things quicker if you like), make sure you get your revenue stamps* and then get a ticket number (for the queue) from the machine just inside the main doors. It's a big touch screen computer (you can't miss it) and you want the middle option (residence) if you are renewing your visa or for basically any such visa processes.

Getting There:
The Goyang Immigration office is located on the orange line (number 6) at Hwajeong Station.

At Hwajeong Station come out of Exit 4, cross the road opposite you (so you are outside Yankee Candle and then turn left and walk up the street a little bit until you come to an alley on your right.

View as you come out of Exit 4 (Hwajeong Station)

Go through this little side street

Go through this side street and turn towards your left when you come out - you will now be able to see the building you need. It's the big grey new building on the corner.

When you come out of the side street (the grey building is your destination)

 

Cross the road - there is a crossing right as you come out of the alley. Walk to your left up and to the grey building, you will go past the parking entrance (pictured above) but the foot entrance is up further round the corner.

So keep walking to the corner and then round it to your right. Walk on a bit until you come to the entrance.

Main Entrance of Goyang Immigration Office (Level 5)

The Immigration office is on the 5th floor, go in the main doors and cross the lobby toward the reception desk and the elevators are off to the left of the reception desk.

Come out of the elevator and this will be on your left.

On the fifth floor when you come out of the elevators turn to your left and you will see the sign on the wall in the picture above, walk to that and you will be in another corridor and you need to go to your left again. From there you can see the office, it is on the right and has a big blue sign above the doors so you can't miss it.

What to Take:
There is also a few changes to what you need to take with you. It's quite a rigmarole if you don't know what you need. Lucky for me my school is a rather large company and has been through it all before so they gave me all the documents when I re-signed my contract. If you have all your documents then the process is really quite easy and only takes a few minutes.

Once they have confirmed all your documents they stamp the back of your ARC (Alien Residence Card) with the new date of your visa. They do it right there while you wait, it only takes a very short time and you can be on your way.

This is a list of all the things I needed, I know that some branches take more and some take less but this is what my school advised me of:

-Copy of contract (don't give them your original as you don't get this stuff back)
-Copy of passport
-Copy of ARC (Alien Residence Card)
-Copy of the school's Business Certificate
-Copy of the school's registration
-Copy of your housing contract (should have the same address as on your ARC card)
-a list of the teacher's at your school - the number of Korean Teachers, Native Teachers, classrooms and students at the school
-a timetable of the teachers at your school
-revenue stamp*

*Revenue Stamps - these are the payment for your visa and need to be obtained before you get to the desk to hand in your documents. They look like a postage stamp and usually you will be reimbursed the amount for these by your school so make sure you get a receipt). 

There will be a desk somewhere nearby the main area that sell these stamps. At the Goyang Immigration Office it is a door off to the right (of the main office and waiting area) that you go through that leads into a another room, the desk you need is the first one as you head into to the room almost directly in front of you a little off to the left. 

These desks only take cash so make sure you take some money with you, some branches might have ATM machines but I would not bet on it. Also note that the price has gone up, for me it was 30,000 won the last two times I have renewed my visa but this time it was 60,000 won. I have heard that the price depends on your country so it is something you should check before you go so that you have enough cash to cover it.

Further Information:
If you are not sure about what you need (or where to go if you live in a different area) then you can call the hotline - 1345 and follow the directions for English (or they do have options in other languages too) and you can ask any questions. They are very helpful.

Also the website for Korean Immigration can be found here. You can download application forms from here.

Coming Soon - Goyang Rock Festival 2013

Some of you might be interested in the upcoming Rock Festival in Goyang City - Ilsan.  This will run over three days starting on Friday 30th August and going through to Sunday 1st of September.  You can purchase tickets for all or various days and it will be showcasing a lot of Korean talent.  The line up includes bands such as Kingston Rudicska, SpeakOut, AXIZ, Gate Flowers and Crying Nut.

You can find more information for line up, venue etc. here.

Ilsan, South Korea

I realized after looking back at some old posts from when I started this blog that I did an information post on Suwon which was where I lived and served as the basis for the previous name (and the current address) of this blog.  If you have seen recent posts this year then you will know that I have since moved to Ilsan so I thought I would tell you a little about Ilsan.

Ilsan (일산) is a district rather than a city, the city that Ilsan is located in is called Goyang City and it is located Northwest of Seoul. It is very close to Seoul and connected by bus, train and subway so getting to and from is almost effortless depending on where you are heading and as I've said before public transport is pretty cheap too.

Ilsan itself is actually split into to areas too, there is Ilsandong-gu (Eastern district) and Ilsanseo-gu (Western district). It is a area that is growing all the time and that has a number of attractions including, stadiums, event and art centers, shopping areas, malls and entertainment. 

One of it's most well know attractions is Lake Park.  Lake Park is a large park that features a huge artificial lake, the park includes various gardens, walking and biking tracks and a musical fountain   I actually live right next door to the Lake Park and it's a nice place for walking and taking photos, I've been practicing my photography over there this week.

There are a number of other parks all around Ilsan, there are lots of bike and walking trails and these parks are popular family spots especially on the weekends.

There are also a number of department stores like Lotte and Hyundai and two main shopping areas called La Festa and Western Dom - these latter ones are like outside malls and include hundreds shops and restaurants both big and small. Ilsan also has a Costco, which if you are not American is a large supermarket/department type of store that sells lots of home wares and groceries mostly wholesale. Here in Korea there are a few locations and they are popular with expats as you can get western food items there that you can't get anywhere else.

There is also a new shopping area and amusement park that opened up this year, it's called 'One Mount' and it has a shopping mall, a winter park and a water park. The shopping mall hosts some western chains like H&M which means if you live in Ilsan you don't have to go into Seoul to go to these stores anymore. The water park has good reviews, I've heard so far that it's pretty fun but can be very crowded, the amenities are nice and it's a good place to entertain the kids as it has about nine slides and 18 pools both inside and outside. The winter park is inside and is like a Santa's village type park that includes an ice road, ice lake and a snow slide. 

So that is just some basic info on Ilsan, if you are visiting or coming to live for a while I hope it helps to give you an idea of what to expect.  If you live in Ilsan or have visited, please feel free to comment and let me know what your favorite things to see and do are.  I would love to hear from you.

Namdaemun - Camera Shopping

Last weekend I decided to make a quick trip down to Namdaemun Market in Seoul and do some shopping. I've been thinking about purchasing a DSLR camera for a while now and have been doing lots of research online to see what camera I wanted and what price I should pay. 

While I was at home in New Zealand in March and April I got a chance to try out my parents new Canon Eos 1100 and I had some fun learning how to use it.  I have not really been interested in photography until then, I don't really even use my point-and-shoot very much when I travel. I always think about it after the fact - 'oh I should have taken a photo of that' is pretty much my motto.  After doing some research on it I decided that photography would be a good hobby for me, I need something to do, I always like to learn new skills and you can do it anywhere, so it fits the bill.

After doing lots of research online I decided to go with a Nikon rather than a Canon because I liked the options better.  I narrowed it down to two cameras the D5100 which was a solid beginners camera with good reviews but it was a bit older and they had since released the D5200 which also had good reviews and some extra features.  I decided that I did not want to go over NZ$1000.00 and that I wanted to get at least two lens and hopefully a bag and any other extras that were available.  With all this in mind I headed to Namdaemun Market on Sunday afternoon.

Namdaemun Market
Namdaemun Market is a traditional market located in Seoul, it is named for the gate which it is located next to and is one of the oldest and largest markets in Korea.  The market is huge and is a combination of both street merchants and shops.  It is built in an area not accessible to cars as it is such an old institution that predates them, so the main market is foot traffic only - merchants use wagons and scooters to transport their goods in and out.

The market can be accessed easily by subway, the closest station is Hoehyeon Station, Line 4 when you come of exits such as 2 or 5 you will be right on the edge of the market. Otherwise you can also make your way there from Soul Metropolitan Station but it's about a 10 minute walk.

Namdaemun (Also Sungnyemun)

Ilsan to Namdaemun
I took the bus as I find that unless traffic is bad buses are usually quicker.  I took a red bus no. 1000 from Ilsan-dong gu Office (일산동구청(중)) bus stop and got off at Samsung Plaza (삼성프라자) bus stop - this is one stop before Seoul Station - if you do go to far you can still walk from Seoul Station it's just a bit longer. The Samsung Plaza stop drops you off diagonally opposite 'Gate 1' of the market. You just need to get off the bus and walk up towards the big intersection  - can't be missed as you will also be walking towards Namdaemun Gate. Cross the street twice so you are diagonally across to your left, you will be able to see the 'Gate 1' sign on your right and if you are looking for the traditional market you can enter here.  If you go to your left, away from the 'Gate 1' sign you will walk down a street with lots of camera shops and you will be heading for 'Gate 2' - this is where I did my camera shopping after finding some other blogs that talked about shopping here.

Looking towards Gate 1 - once you get across the street

On the way back you don't need to cross the street to get to the opposite bus stop like you usually do. The red 1000 bus does a circuit so you need to get on the same bus that you got off - it will go on to Seoul Station and then make a loop and head back to Ilsan.

Camera Shopping
So I had a look in a couple of stores for the two cameras that I was looking at. The D5200 ended up being more than I wanted to spend so I found a store that I had read about on another blog that had the D5100 new.  I think I did Ok in price but I did not haggle as I'm not really sure how to do that, I think I should have offered a lower price as I do think now in hindsight I could have gone down a bit.

I got the Nikon D5100 with kit lens (18-55) and a bag, 4 gig SD card, UV filter for lens and a cleaning kit.  I also got another lens (55-200), this one was used but it was the only one he had and he did show me that it worked before I paid. All and all I got what I wanted and I was within my budget so that's what matters. The name of the store was 'YesDica' (just a few stores down from Gate 2 of the market) and I've included a picture of the store below. 



YesDica - Where I bought my Camera

The owner was very nice and helpful, he spoke English, although I'm not sure he understood everything; a few times he just responded 'Yes Okay', but good enough to answer basic questions and get everything sorted out. He showed me the serial number on the camera and that it matched the box and the warranty and assured me if there were any problems I could come back and he gave me his card.

In conclusion hopefully in the future you might see some more photos on this blog - I have also set up a flickr account  - so far only some photos that I took in New Zealand when I was practicing with the camera I borrowed from my parents but I will add to it as I get going and learn how to use my new camera.

Welcome to Ilsan - New Home/New Blog Name

Well I am back in Korea after a lovely long holiday back in New Zealand and I have officially moved from Suwon to Ilsan.  This means that I have to update my blog name from 'kiwigirl in Suwon' to 'kiwigirl in Ilsan', I am not going to update the address as I think that would be too confusing.

I moved a few weeks ago now and have just been settling into my new apartment and getting used to a new school.  While I am still with the same company, each branch has it's own way of doing things so there is always a learning curve. 

So far Ilsan is Ok, it seems more suburban than Suwon however and there are loads of bikes around on the footpaths. The city seems to be trying to encourage their use by making them available for hire all round the city. It's just annoying because they are on the sidewalk so you risk getting run over every day.  I would not mind so much if they were on the roads.

I'm trying to keep an open mind about Ilsan but so far I miss Suwon, I'm sure things will get better once I learn my way around and meet some people.

I've been a bit slack for a long while on the blogging front.  I will try and post a bit more over the coming weeks as I get out and explore Ilsan.