(And everything you need to know about applying for one.)

Gone were the days when we only think of countries other than Southeast Asia as dream destinations. Cheap airfares are now within online bookable reach — with Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan amongst the nearby Asian countries we can visit freely. Before booking flights, you might take into consideration that such countries still require us to obtain a valid visa prior to visiting. If you’re a frequent traveler and has a good financial standing, securing one would be very easy.

Some would probably ask why I am making this a big deal, but I swear I’ve been through so much just to get that stamp! After all the hurdle of completing the documents for my visa application, I was able to grace the first quarter of my 2017 with a trip to South Korea! More so, I was able to get a 3-Year Multiple-Entry South Korean Tourist Visa on my first application!

I’ll make this blog post as detailed as possible to help my fellow travelers attain that dream South Korean vacation. But before anything else, let me share a bit of my back story.

One of the main reasons why I was holding back my decision to let go of my second job was because of this South Korea trip. Petty, I know! Actually, this became one of my major problems because as per South Korean Embassy: NO WORK, NO VISA! When my friends and I decided to book our flight last June 2016, I had no solid plans yet on leaving my employer. But by the time I was due to apply for a visa, I was no longer an employee!

I’ve listed below my concerns and how I was able to address them one by one:

1. I am unemployed. From reading blogs I learned that you won’t even be given a chance to submit your requirements because they’re very strict about the No Work, No Visa policy. BUT, this varies according to what category you’re applying for. This was when I decided to apply as Self-Employed. Unbeknownst to most, Ek and I just started a trading business late last year. Timely it was when we decided to apply for the necessary business permits this January. We’ve also decided to register the business under my name. It took us two months of tediously going in and out of government offices to be passed on from one district office to another because of erroneous paperwork, incomplete government forms, etc. Boy, was it very exhausting! So when we were able to complete all the requirements for our little business, we both felt so relieved! Aside from the fact that I was able to secure my licenses as a law-abiding Filipino taxpayer, I was also able to apply on time for my visa application. :)
2. My passport recently expired. You need to have a valid passport that won’t expire in 6 months before you apply for a visa; this is also true when traveling to other countries. To make it worse, when I scheduled my online appointment for passport renewal with DFA, I found out I was not able to confirm my schedule via e-mail!!! Agh, so I waited another month and a half for a new schedule. Thankfully, I was able to renew my passport on time!
3. I wasn’t really sure if I wanted to go to Korea. My finances were tight. I was unemployed. My business is new and there were no steady streams of income coming in. Everything changed when I started watching this Korean drama Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo! The “I was secretly hoping I get denied to spare myself from financial trouble” turned into “Damnit, I must get that visa, go to South Korea and visit Bok’s Chicken” real quick! No regrets!

Visa Requirements

Please visit the Embassy’s website for the complete set of requirements for each category. I will list the most common ones below:

It’s lovely to be running across museum halls with you instead of running for any other errand. I was impressed when you showed me this one Fernando Amorsolo painting and tried to appraise it like a major art enthusiast. I snickered and tried to sneer at you but realized you were serious! And when I was about to be convinced that you have the love for arts, you lured me into taking your photo with a sensual painting by Juvenal Sansó (1950). I’m in luck, I guess, that I have a little bit of everything all rolled into one.

National Museum of the Philippines 2017

Life Lately: Transitioning 2016 to 2017

Whenever the year comes to close and Chinese New Year comes around the corner, I make a habit of reading my horoscope for the coming year. Not that I intend to live my life according to whatever the stars predicted, it’s just that every year I noticed to nod at horoscopes I got the year prior. Were they mere coincidences? Hope so… because this year brings me no luck — as told by the universe — again. The fallacy I usually draw out whenever I wanted to object the “(un)lucky stars” would be: All the sheep people my age will have the exact same fate? Because that would be weird and highly unlikely.

Somehow, I always pull through. 2016 was quite a year but look at me now, rockin’ 2017 with high hopes and dreams! Main highlight of 2016 would be letting go of my first and second jobs. I’ve always talked about this here as well as on my Twitter and Instagram so I guess it must be annoying by now! But I’m still filled with questions! Was it the best thing to do? Probably. Did it make me happy? Definitely. Will I regret it? Hopefully not. I’m too old to be riding with everyone else’s life choices. My life, my choice. I chase bliss; I choose happiness. I listened to where my heart leads me, because.. need I say more?

Moving on, I have trips coming up this 2017 that I’m ecstatic to blog about even if it mostly takes me months behind to do so! I’ve mentioned previously that I won’t be transferring to another blogging site. However, Tumblr is really giving me a hard time, and as much as I love blogging here, I’m now exploring other options. I have no concrete plans yet on migrating to other platform, at least not anytime soon. (Hey, if you’re reading this and managed to go out and about changing blog spaces, I’m more than grateful if you drop me a message as I have a lot of questions! Will be very thankful for your help ❤️)

I hope and pray you’re all having a wonderful Q1!

xo, Ish

Lost in PH: Cebu 2016
November 18-21, 2016

Mactan Cebu International Airport • Marcelo Fernan Bridge • Crown Regency Hotel and Towers • Fuente Penthouse Tower 3 • Osmeña Blvd • Cebu’s Original Lechon Belly • Casino Filipino • South Bus Terminal • Bato via Baril • Badian • Chicharong Car-Car • Joe Pro Canyoneering • Kawasan Falls • Matutinao • Larsian Ihaw-Ihaw • Magellan’s Cross • Basilica del Santo Niño • Tabo-An Market • Ayala Center Cebu • Hukad • Ninoy Aquino International Airport