Paying Bills in Korea by using an ATM

There have been quite a few videos and blog posts about paying your bills in Korea. However it is worth nothing that depending on the bank and your location, the experience can be quite different.

The bank I go to is NH (Nong Hyup Bank) It is a very common bank in Korea. There is another popular bank called KB (Kook Min Bank) that is also found in nearly every location.

It should also be noted that many bills can either be paid online or automatically deducted every month from your bank account. However if you are unsure on how to set up either process, or like me, live very close to the bank, these are also easy options. Using just your bank card and you bill.

The first video is how to pay your bills through a special ATM used at KB Banks. The video is short but super helpful.

The second option is for those who do not use KB bank or live in an area where this ATM is not available, there is still hope!


http://strange-lands.com/2010/08/pay-bill-korea.html

This site details how to pay your bills through a NH machine or any ATM that does not have you insert your OCR portion of the bill. Just enter the account number, select the transfer option and pay our bills that way.

I hear there are even more options to pay your bills too. If I find any more or if you hear of any please let me know!

Chapter 6: In the City

The weekend trip to Seoul was a trip that I had long thought of during the week. While sitting at my desk watching the clock slowly tick away as I planned my lessons for the week or when I stood in the classroom lecturing classes of students who most likely had a stronger desire to be anywhere but the classroom more than me. It was an event that was weeks in the making. It would be the first time I would be meeting with the people I met during orientation in quite a while. We were going to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in style. We were going to laugh, travel and drink together in the largest city in Korea. Seoul could do nothing to hold us back. Good times were ahead.

Friday finally came and together my Friday traveling ritual of leaving the school as soon as the bell rang, finding a taxi and getting to my town’s train station as fast as possible began. 15 minutes later I was on a train out of my little town and on my way to bigger city of Daegu.

The plan was to meet in Daegu a large city that had trains that went all the way to Seoul. We would end up traveling a little longer than taking the speedy KTX but would end up spending less money in the end. I didn’t mind along as I was in good company, the train ride would most likely pass quickly.

We passed the time by talking about our teaching experiences, sleeping, staring out the window and walking around the dining car to stretch our legs. The dining car was where I found myself spending most of the time during the trip. Plenty of room to walk around and even a bar to sit down and have a beer. It was a places that was strangely peaceful and relaxing, more so than the cramped passenger seats. I sat down at the bar stool and stared out the window watching the city lights and other trains pass us by. As another train passed next to us and I caught a glimpse of the other passengers going about their business. A felt a smile creep across my face. Seeing so many random people, zipping along on a speeding train towards Seoul reminded me just how big Korea really was, and at any moment, the sheer number of people going thousands of directions doing thousands of things.

I felt comfort by this. For I knew that whenever I reached this point, this realization in a new places that I had truly become comfortable with my new surroundings. It’s the realization, the moment of clarity in which you understand how big the world is, how you are just a speck on its otherwise grand scale that you know how your experiences and expectations mean little if anything to the world. Your life, your experiences and how you experience them are all your own expectations. Like the poem Invictus said: “I am the master of my fate, the captain of my soul.”

Our trip was about to come to an end. Soon we would be in Seoul and resting for the night, ready to face the day tomorrow.

I was incredibly lucky to have this opportunity to see a new part of the world and to see it with great people.  My life and experiences may mean nothing to others, but to me, they meant the world. They were opportunities that I did not want to go to waste. They were mine.

So I wasted no time. I traveled and I explored.

A Week in Review: Life so Far

This week in review will be in an older, yet still effective format. The good old fashioned printed word.

The previous week had been even more first for me. While it seems like I have been living in Korea for a long time, in reality I had only been here less than a month. Time seems to be one continual paradox here. The days go by fast, the weekends even faster, but the weeks seem to last longer than they should. Looking back, one week can seem like an entire month. Perhaps it’s the time zone change or the fact that my days are much busier than they used to be. Either way, time seems to travel differently in Korea, something that I still feel like I have not gotten completely used to.

One of the most enjoyable experiences for me has been getting to know my teachers inside and outside the classroom. They have all been very helpful and very kind as I learn how to function and properly teach around the classroom. Most go out of their way to be friendly, some have even been as kind as to treat out for dinner and to invite me along for workout routines. It was certainly a kind gesture, and an appreciated one as well. I was still not entirely used to my hometown and with most of my friends living at least two hours away from me, it was nice to have some additional company, even if the language barrier provided a challenge at first.

Living on my own as not been as disastrous and as traumatic as I had once envisioned. Despite some initial hiccups, it’s been a smooth and easy going experience. It’s actually funny that the location of most importance for some people is the location that I seem to spend the least amount of time in. Most of the day I am gone and on the weekend I am usually traveling around Korea, staying and temporary lodgings far away from my tiny town. I like it that way. Always staying busy and always traveling.

The most difficult part has been slowly getting adjusted to the daily schedule of teaching. It has been said that Korea is a last minute society to its core and nothing seems to demonstrate this more than my schedule changes.

My schedule has changed a total of eight times during the two weeks I have been teaching. Classes would become cancelled, switch without notice, change periods and move to another day all at a moment’s notice. Trying to keep track of all the initial changes has been very challenging and at times overwhelming.

The classes are also all at different levels of comprehension and understanding as well. While one grade may easily be able to read a paragraph and write a paragraph some students hardly have the comprehension to speak a simple sentence. Trying to find the right mix of engaging activities and keep them relevant for the students is always a great challenge that usually ends up with mixed results.

With all that being said, despite the initial hangups and daily schedule changes, Korea and the job have been great. There’s a certain satisfaction you get when the students pay attention to your lectures, become engaged by your activities and thank you for teaching them something new. There’s an incredible sense of freedom that is felt when your weekends are spent exploring on your own and meeting up with friends in locations all over the country. There’s exhilaration when riding a speeding train across the countryside, eagerly awaiting your next destination.

In only a short period of time, Korea has been a daily source of adventure and learning. I feel lucky to live in a country that can offer this to me, the call of adventure, for only a few hours of my time.

Chapter 5: Last Stop in a Little Town

I was jolted awake by the sudden lurch and stop of the bus. As I opened my eyes and looked out my window I could see that the bus had come to a stop and was parked next to the other busses traveling in the region. We had come to a rest stop.

I stepped off the bus to see a mass of other teachers standing in groups. Soon the leader of bus made an announcement that we had two hours of resting and lunch before heading back on the bus and finally going our separate ways. A majority of the group walked towards a small restaurant. It was close to noon. It was lunch time.

I entered the restaurant, a building not much larger than a dorm room that somehow was able to accommodate the nearly 80 teachers wanting a quick bite to eat. I found Moise already ready to sit down and eat. He was right; we did find each other again.

We ate our lunch mostly in silence. I had little to say at this point. When there was little to say or comment on I was known to go silent and not say a word. A trait most commonly mistaken for apathy or anger but instead was neither. It was appreciation. It was absorbing the moment and burning it into my brain. It was moments like these, the quiet little moment that I appreciated most and was something that I never wanted to loose that memory of.

After finishing my meal, I headed outside along with Moise. With a little over an hour to spare, walking around the little town was the best option and time killer.

The town was quaint and kitschy with souvenir shops, small convenience stores and cheap looking motels making up most of the landscape. In the backgrounds loomed massive mountains stretching into the cloud lined sky. It was beautiful, a small but perfect looking little town taken from a time long ago, the quiet nature and sounds of nature a departure from the hustle and noise of the city. This was a place that progress and time had forgotten, with  people seeming content with it.

During our short walk around, we ran into Hannah and another person we met during orientation, Jessica. As we continued to walk around the town we poked fun at the residents, went exploring in the nooks and crannies and talked about how small it was. I wondered if my town would look like this, small and isolated from the modern world. I wasn’t sure if I liked that idea. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to live so far removed from everyone else.

The hour passed and we were instructed to get back on the bus. The ride to meet out co teachers would only be a few minutes away.

We left the small town behind and only five minutes later, reached the parking lot where our co teacher waited for us. Once the bus stopped it was a rush and mass of people as we all gathered around trying to find our teachers and our bags.

My teacher found me quickly, the hastily drawn sign containing my name in black magic marker letting me know who I needed to be with and where I needed to go.

Not wanting to keep him waiting, I found Moise and Hannah in the crowd to give them a quick goodbye.

“Stay safe, see you around one day,” said Moise as he gave me a hug.

“See you around, talk to you on Facebook. Don’t be a stranger,” I said.

I gave Hannah a hug and told her I would see her soon.

“We’ll see each other again, in Jeju or somewhere nice,” she said with a smile on her face.

I walked towards my co teacher and took one look back as everyone scrambled to gather their belongings and find their partner. I was finally ready to head out on my own. This was the moment over a year in the making.

Dragging my bags behind me I headed back towards my co teacher. 

Chapter 4: Sending Off

The morning the EPIK teachers were supposed to leave was not the large heartfelt send off that I envisioned the night before. The time that we were supposed to check out of the dormitory was in the early hours of the morning. After going to bed later the night before, 6 Am came much sooner than I expected. Time has a funny effect on you need more of it, and the four hours of sleep seemed insignificant in combating my fatigue.

I made my way to the cafeteria, the cafeteria where for the last week would be one of the few places we could all be together at the same time. Most of the people I had gotten to know were already there, dressed in their best dress clothes and unusually quiet. Today would be the day we were finally separating, going on our own to unfamiliar locations in an unfamiliar country. Our only contact and form of assistance would come from our co-teacher’s. Some of who were teaching for the first time and just as inexperienced as us. Like anywhere in the world, first impressions were the important impressions, and with us having to rely on our co-workers to help us out, making the best impression was our goal.

While meal time was usually spent with discussion and laughter everyone was unusually quiet today. The mood was far from somber but the active discussions were far less frequent than normal. Everyone knew what was happening, where we going and how we would be separated. We wanted to soak in the moment, to enjoy what time we had left.

After breakfast we began to pack the last of our things, to prepare for the trip that lied ahead of us. The lobby was packed with luggage and people gathering in designated areas that would lead them to busses that would take us all over Korea. Some people excitedly chatted with one another about their new cities and new lives. Some just stood alone, waiting for the announcement to board their bus.

I walked outside with Moise and Hannah. We were all talking about how we would see each other again and how we could never truly be separated. A large group of our friends was already leaving to head to Incheon, a city that would be at the very least four hours away from us. As we walked to the parking lot to wave goodbye at the departing bus we saw our friends smile and wave back at us. It lasted less than a moment but it was a powerful and fitting way to bid farewell. Happy, excited and eager to see one another again.

“I feel like we’re sending them off to war,” I joked as the bus disappeared off in the distance.

Moise laughed. “Goodbye. See you later. We’ll remember you even in death.”

“Gosh guys, we’ve only been here a week and it feels like we’ve been here much longer,” said Hannah.

“I feel like I’ve known you guys forever. It’s hard for me to explain why. I don’t even think I have a real reason,” I said.

Soon it was time for our bus to depart. The region where I was assigned was large enough to need several busses to take us to our individual destinations. I left Moise and Hannah, hoping that our bus would take a rest stop or break before heading to our co teachers and getting one last chance to say goodbye.

“See you in a few hours,” I told Moise as I boarded my bus. Not sure if it was the truth or not.

The bus left with a lurch and as I sat alone on the bus staring out at the passing landscape, I thought back to all of the experiences I have had so far, the people I have met and the strange thought that only two weeks before I was still in my home, in my own bed thinking about the adventure that was surely going to await me once setting down in Korea.

The bus traveled on. I closed my eyes. For a moment I was in another place of restful bliss.

A moment of peace before the real adventure was to begin.

Chapter 3: The Goodbye Song

“You're so sentimental.” a friend told me as I snapped another picture of the classroom. It was night time outside as the windows no longer reflected that warm glow from the sun they seemed to radiate throughout the day and instead showed the slight orange glow of street lights contrasted by the bright white light of our classroom. It was nearly 9PM and despite the late hour, our class was in good spirits. Lot's of teachers happy and smiling. This was the last day before our presentation and the last day before leaving the training grounds where we made our first friends and connections in Korea.  Everyone was a delicate mix of anticipation and anxiousness. The real test would begin soon.

People chose to celebrate their last days in different ways. Some chose the route of alcohol, choosing to create new memories or forget them through the nectar of fermented alcohol. Others chose to simply pack and prepare for the busy day that lie ahead of them. We chose a different path, we chose the path of norebang.

The appeal of singing Korean and American pop and top 40 songs in a small room may sound like an idea lost in translation but like any good recipe, the right ingredients were the key for making something amazing.

All of the inhibitions, the fears and doubts melt away when with good company. Even the shyest wallflower becomes a vocal powerhouse. The tone deaf become pitch perfect. Casual acquaintances become close friends. Norebang was the ultimate ice breaker. The key to bringing people closer together, making them feel comfortable and ensuring a good time is had by all.

To make the event even more memorable and ridiculous, it was suggested that we would all wear our pajamas and nightwear to the event. The pajama parties from out youth were back, an appropriate theme to match the ridiculousness and sheer innocence of the situation.

The norebang location was located on the training center's campus. There was no need for us to travel or take a cab into the city. As I stood waiting in the lobby for my other friends to arrive I kept seeing groups of people leaving, dressed for one last night on the town. Their gaze and stares said more than any other words could. Something looked very strange to them, where they could begin to rationalize the situation in their mind would only lead to more questions. I could not care less though, I wanted this night to be memorable and unique. If that was to be accomplished in only my PJ's then so be it.

I made my way to the center which served as an entertainment hub for people on the campus. The sterile and marble finished building looked more like an office or archival building rather than a place for fun and song. I cautiously made my way to the back room. Logic telling me that buildings like this usually did not host places like norebangs nor places for entertainment. Was I in the right building? What if I took a wrong turn? How would I explain myself in my PJ's? The fear and doubt began to slowly eat away at my mind as I continued to make my way to the back. It was too late to turn back.

As I walked down the dark hallway, I came a cross a room which appeared to have a large couch along the walls. Slowly I entered the room and and flipped the light switch. The room was a certified norebang room complete with tambourines, microphones, sound equipment and even full songbook. The only thing missing was the drunken patrons and smells of beer.

By the time I began to make my way back to the dorm some of my friends had begun to make their way to the dorm. They had all come as requested: PJ clad, a few drinks and snacks in hand and a will to keep singing. It was a room full of guys at first. me, Moise, Alex and Michael. Singing at the top of our lungs not carring who heard. Soon Ziggy and and Melissa joined us and the inhibitions and awkwardness of singing 7 year old pop songs in our PJ’s was lost on us. We could have been in our underwear, as long as we were having fun, it did not matter.

Despite the entire group being present, we decided to start singing anyway. Even though the song selection was limited with the most recent song being circa 2004, we still had fun anyway. Just like the first time, the inhibitions were gone. We were laughing and singing along. We were happy, drunk on the high that the good times and good people provided.

After an hour a man came to our door and politely told us to leave, as the center was closing down fr the night. Slightly disappointed that our fun had ended so soon and without the full group we headed back to our dorms, unsure of what to do next, afraid that our last night together for some time would end up unremarkable.

When we made our way into the lobby we ran into the rest of the group composed of Hannah and Josie and told them the unfortunate news about our hour of norebang and the closing of the center.  For a fleeting second, a look of disappointment flashed across their faces. That look soon disappeared as Hannah's expression soon changed into an excited revelation as she suggested that we play a game instead.

“It’s a really fun game guys,” she said in her bubbly and cheerful voice. “You’ll all like it.”

Never to doubt anyone who offered a good time with a smile on their face, I made my way to the third floor lounge where with our drinks and snacks, still clad in our sleepwear, we began to play the game.

The game was called Monopoly Deal, a card based and fast paced version of the traditional Monopoly card game. For what seemed like hours, the concept and basic rules of the game seemed to go over our heads. The game slowly unfold itself and the fun began to set in after a few rounds. Hannah told us that it would all makes sense the more we played and once the realization set in, the fun and competitive edge really set in.

Soon we were all intently focused on winning the game, we were friends who were never put into a competitive situation before but now it was all over. We were there to win.

Thinking of strategies in our minds and trying to out maneuver the other opponent, hours passed away. Curious onlookers would stop and watch, their amusement a combination of last day jitters, alcohol and the wonderment of how a group of people could be so engrossed by a set of cards. As we made our way through the game and new ideas and strategies were formed Hannah would remark with the phrase: “That’s a strategy!” A short cheerful phrase that was the lighthearted divider in this otherwise serious game.

The end came before what I thought was an assured victory, swept out from beneath my feet, Hannah came from nowhere and ended the game as fast as it began. The perfect picture for such a fast paced game. Victory came sudden, thrust upon you at a moments notice. To say I was amusingly mad was an understatement. To say that the others found my anger massively entertaining was another.

I went to bed that night, tired and having to wake up early. However, there was little room for regret or worry in my mind. Like the game, we were people from all over the world, thrust onto one another with only our jobs as a uniting factor. It was nights like these that I had not experienced in a long time, interaction that I was convinced only stayed in youth but became less frequent in age. It was the feeling of belonging and feeling like a tight knight group.

My fears of separation had disappeared. I now knew that through training, PJ’s, Monopoly and norebang were would be knowing each other for the long run.

We would always have Korea.

We would always have each other.

That's a strategy!

Meet the Characters

These are the characters of our story, The story of one year in Korea. They are all part of their own Hero's Journey. Names include links to their blogs so you can follow their own journey.


The Characters:

Hannah Yim

Ziggy Chicano

Melissa Porter

Moise Georges

Alex Hazledine

Michael Velasco  

Josephine Dutton

Chapter 2: Training and Friends

Before we were to be ready for the world of teaching in Korea, and before we were to become the teachers that we left our home countries for we would have a week and two days worth of training. The training center was where the new crop of EPIK teachers would be calling their home for the next week. The situation was not unlike my first time attending college and the social ritual of meeting people for the first time and the relationships that would develop because of it.

I arrived with little knowledge of Korea and even less knowledge of how a Korean school system was supposed to run. It was a series of events that transpired over the first few hours of getting off the plane that set in the tone of just how fast, how random and how last minute Korea could be. I was later told that Korea was a country of last minute planning and events. A country the moved quickly and had no time to spare for those who would slow them down.

The college atmosphere was further amplified and strengthened in nearly everything that we did. We stayed in dormitories after classes were over. We attended classes and lectures dealing with different classroom and student management techniques. We ate lunch in a cafeteria with meals prepared for us by the kitchen staff. The atmosphere despite being thousands of miles away from anything that resembled  American or in the case of the other teachers (South African, British, Irish culture) was very familiar. I wasn't sure of this was intentional to make us feel at ease and gradually ease us into a Korean lifestyle or not but I do know that the familiar environment made us all closer, it allowed to find our people, the people that we knew would gravitate towards us and find familiar ground. I was lucky enough to quickly find a group of people that I could identify with, laugh with and enjoy their company. It would prove to not only be a beneficial way to pass time and form friendships, but also a a preliminary means of building the only network of people rely on. We didn't know it yet, but the hardest challenges were awaiting us. The first week being on our own would proves to be a test both will and emotion. In times of crisis and in times of need they would be our source of information and our source of comfort. Miles away from home, they would be our family, a band of brothers and sisters to weather us through the rough times ahead and share our joy in all of the victories and triumphs that we made.

We did not know at the time because like college, we were in a bubble, a safe microcosm to keep us feeling safe and warm miles away from home. Towards the end of the orientation I knew that this bubble could not last, that our friends would soon separate and go our own separate ways. I knew it. We all knew it. We did not care.

Instead we wisely chose to take the time we had left to enjoy company. We norebanged until out throats turned raw. We played card games until the early hours of the morning. We cracked jokes in class. We ate together during meals. We were a group that was about to leave, but the friendships and relationships that we built would last after the last lesson.

It is too early to tell if the friendships will last, if the scattering of our class (Class 4) will provide strain or not. I do know that the times we spent were real and genuine.

And in this day and age, genuine friendship and kindness is priceless and irreplaceable.

We came from all over the world. We found each other in Daejeon.

A Week in Review: Week One

My first week of teaching and my first video detailing it are finished! It's kind of long and kind of boring but I hopefully will be getting more interesting videos and material as the year goes on. It's been a crazy first week for this fresh new Guest English Teacher. If this first week is any indication, its going to be one crazy time in Korea.

Contains: tennis, Roger Fedderer, bulgolgi, beer, fights, teacher fights, miscommunication and teacher hookups

Week One

Chapter 1: Departure

A year's worth of struggle, mis-direction and uncertainty was finally coming to an end. I stood in front of the bus stop as my family stood behind me. I was only minutes away from leaving behind the people that I have known longest in my life to travel to a country on the other side of the world. This was not the first time I had left behind my family, friends and hometown for an overseas trip, however this one would be different. This one was more than just a vacation or a simple job that lasted a few months.

This was a year long commitment in a country I was not the least bit familiar with. This was a journey into the complete unknown.

I had always talked about traveling. Dreams of getting away from my sleepy little town and seeing the world. What started as naive childhood dreams they soon turned into a reality for me. Once was enough to hook me. To convince me that my life's calling lay beyond the confines of my comfy little town. Traveling and exploring had found its way into my body with the only cure a few thousand miles away.

As the bus finally was ready to depart I gave my family the last physical farewell for a long while. I knew deep in my heart that I would see them again and though I did not act it, I knew I would miss them very much. They understood me. They understood my need to travel and see the world, even if they did not agree with it entirely.

“You're an adult now Kyle. I can no longer tell you what to do,” said my mother to me. “You have to live your own life. Chase your own dreams.”

As I boarded the bus I gave one last hearty wave goodbye with a smile on my face. I didn't want to them to be sad, I didn't want anyone to miss me. As selfish as those wishes were, I didn't want to hurt my family anymore. I wanted them not to feel sadness or loneliness but rather encouragement that I was embark on a new adventure, a new beginning.

The family (minus parents) 

It would only be one week later that I would understand how my family felt. One week later when the very concrete fact of being alone in another side of the world would sink in and paralyze me with fear and uncertainty. In my darkest and most fearful moments my thoughts would go to my family. They were the ones that mattered most, They were the ones I needed by me in times of crisis. They were the ones who I did not want to lose.

I sat down on the stiff seats as the bus rumbled along the highway. In less than a few hours I would be boarding a plane to Korea to start my new life. With a thousand bucks to my name and my entire life packed away into two suitcases.

As I started out the window I remembered the words my professor had told me in the past:

“One day you'll have to face the world on your own. It's is going to suck, but its what you have to do to grow and mature. You have to take control of your life. You have to become a man.”

His words echoed in my head, their abstract meaning finally making sense. So did the sadness and heavy heart of my parents.

I was twenty four years old, but still not an adult. I still had trials to face, challenges to overcome.

They were not losing a grown son eager for adventure, they were using their little boy about to embark on a journey that would most likely shape his life forever.

I was leaving a child.

I was coming back a man.  

Quick Update: Now in Korea!

The last time this blog was used was back when I was still bumming my way around Japan. The time has changed and now I find myself with a new job in South Korea. I plan to document the experience the entire way through a variety of different mediums (writing, video and photos).

The posts will divided into chapters because like any good story, the adventure comes one day, one week, one chapter at a time.

Hope you all enjoy and learn a little something about Korea along the way. I've been here a little under two weeks and I can say that I have learned many lessons and have met many interesting people along the way.

"I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul." - INVICTUS William Ernest Henley

I ran into this group of people during EPIK training. Coolest people I've met in a while? You bet.