Subject: Visa for South Korea

From: Ken Hornstein <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 30 Dec 2003 11:34:54 -0500

From my reading of the Korean Embassy web page, it seems that US residents
will require a visa to attend the Seoul IETF.  I'm wondering if anyone
has gotten a visa to enter South Korea before, and if so, can they provide
any tips on the visa process?  (The only requirement that looks like it
will be a pain is the letter from your employer).

--Ken

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From: Stephen Kent <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 30 Dec 2003 11:59:02 -0500

>will be a pain is the letter from your employer).

I attended a technical meeting in Seoul in the summer of 2003, and 
did not require a visa. We should get a reading on this from our 
hosts.

Steve

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From: Ken Hornstein <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 30 Dec 2003 12:07:41 -0500

>did not require a visa. We should get a reading on this from our 

It's certainly possible that I'm wrong.  I'm only going by the link provided
from the Seoul meeting web pages:

http://www.koreaembassy.org/visiting/eng_visas.cfm

which says:

When traveling for more than 30 days, or for any other purpose than
tourism, visiting, or transit, a visa must be obtained prior to entry.

I'm not sure what they mean by "visiting"; my thinking was that they were
talking about visiting family, and didn't apply to a meeting like the IETF.

--Ken

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From: "Ole J. Jacobsen" <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 30 Dec 2003 09:27:07 -0800 (PST)

See also:

http://www.mofat.go.kr/en/visa/e_visa.mof

... for a more comprehensive list of countries under visa exemption etc.

Some of us are blessed with non-US passports, Ken :-)

Ole

Ole J. Jacobsen
Editor and Publisher,  The Internet Protocol Journal
Tel: +1 408-527-8972   GSM: +1 415-370-4628
E-mail: [email-masked]  URL: http://www.cisco.com/ipj

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From: Michael StJohns <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 30 Dec 2003 12:38:16 -0500

*bleah*  http://travel.state.gov/skorea.html seems to agree with 
you.  "However, visas are required for all business visits."

I think Steve is right that we need to get a read from our hosts.

Mike

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From: Ken Hornstein <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 30 Dec 2003 13:14:36 -0500

>I think Steve is right that we need to get a read from our hosts.

Maybe I'm just more paranoid than most (boy, I never thought I'd say
that among _this_ crowd :-) ), but to me a statement from our hosts
isn't sufficient.  What I'm really looking for is some form of official
government communication on the subject (unless of course the hosts are
the ones who are manning the passport control desks at the airport).

--Ken

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From: Ken Hornstein <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 30 Dec 2003 13:33:22 -0500

>Some of us are blessed with non-US passports, Ken :-)

Heh, I guess the termology in my first note was imprecise; I should have
said "US passport holders" instead of "US residents".  My apologies.

But my reading of that web page implies that the USA is _not_ one of the
countries you can enter Korea from without a visa when travelling on
business (but it looks like a lot of countries in Europe are on the
list).

--Ken

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From: John Stracke <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 30 Dec 2003 13:32:39 -0500

Ken Hornstein wrote:

>What I'm really looking for is some form of official
So call the nearest Korean consulate/embassy.  Answering this kind of 
question is part of their job.

-- 
/==============================================================\
|John Stracke      [email-masked]                       |
|Principal Engineer|http://www.centive.com                     |
|Centive           |My opinions are my own.                    |
|==============================================================|
|"Where's your sense of adventure?" "In front of a roaring fire|
|with a cup of cocoa."                                         |
\==============================================================/

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From: Ken Hornstein <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 30 Dec 2003 14:03:36 -0500

>question is part of their job.

I actually already had put a call in to them; the relevant person was
out of the office, but I left a message.  We'll see what they say.

--Ken

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From: Mike Jezierski - BOFH <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 30 Dec 2003 14:14:54 -0600

>out of the office, but I left a message.  We'll see what they say.

This is from travel.state.gov

KOREA, REPUBLIC OF (South Korea) - *Passport and onward/return ticket 
required. A visa is not required for a tourist stay of up to 30 days. 
For longer stays and other types of travel, obtain a visa in advance, 
$45 fee. AIDS test required for persons working as entertainers and 
staying longer than 90 days; U.S. tests results accepted. For further 
information, check with the Consular Section of the Embassy of the 
Republic of Korea, 2320 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20008 
(202/939-5663 or 60) or nearest Consulate General: CA (213/385-9300 
and 415/921-2251/3), GA (404/522-1611/3), Guam (671/472-6488), HI 
(808/595-6109), IL (312/822-9485), MA (617/348-3660), NY 
(212/752-1700), TX (713/961-0186) or WA (206/441-1011/4). Internet: 
www.koreaembassyusa.org