Hello everyone! 안녕하세요 여러분.
It has been a while since my last blog post about the paperwork required when planning a trip to Korea (at least during pandemic times). You can find that post here KAD Life: Planning a Trip to Korea – Part 2 – Paperwork.
Since then, I have successfully traveled to Korea, lived in Seoul for about a month and a half, and returned to the USA. I had an amazing experience and, despite all of the ups and downs, I feel it was a pinnacle life experience as a KAD and as myself individually. So, I want to do what I can to document and share my journey with all of you.
I did a lot while in Korea and have tons of material to cover. So, I’ll be slowly updating the blog and Instagram (@learningtobekorean) as I find time.
For this first post, I am focusing on my experience flying and arriving in Korea!
I flew out of SFO at 11:55pm on September 17, 2021 on Korean Air. I was super paranoid that I’d forget some important piece of paperwork or that things would go wrong because of flying internationally during Covid, so I arrived multiple hours early. Thankfully, the airport was not overly busy and, because all my paperwork was in order and I had taken the extra step of getting TSA PreCheck approved, I whisked through security ridiculously quickly. 대박이야! Awesome!
Because I didn’t want to have terrible jetlag, I pretended like it was already Korea time. (Korea is 14 hours ahead of the Pacific Time Zone in the USA, so my 11:55pm flight time was 3:55pm Korea Time). Since I had a few hours to wait, I had a small meal and a coffee (like it was lunchtime), did some laps around the airport, practiced a little Korean, and generally tried not to think too hard about things, haha.
If anyone is worried about jetlag, I recommend the app Timeshifter (https://www.timeshifter.com/the-jet-lag-app). I used it and found it helpful. I was recommended serotonin as well, but did not take them for my trip to Korea from the USA.
Boarding was reasonably quick despite most of the process being in Korean. Everyone’s negative Covid tests results were reviewed before they could board the plane, which added a little time.
The plane itself was pretty empty. Some people had entire middle sections to themselves and could fully stretch out and sleep. There were bottles of water, blankets, pillows, some minor toiletries, earphones, and slippers provided on each seat. Everyone pretty much took off their shoes immediately and stored them, wearing only their socks if their feet were up or wearing the slippers to travel in the cabin or anywhere their feet would touch the ground.
There were a couple of food and beverage services during the flight. There seemed to be both Korean and American/Western food choices. I didn’t eat or drink much as I did not want to potentially impact my jet lag or intake too much sodium over the long flight. But what I did eat (the Korean choices) were tasty.
It is worth noting that while there were options for everything in Korean and English, most things on the flight to Korea were Korean first, with English second. This included how the pilot and flight attendants would communicated. Most of the folks on my flight appeared to be Korean speakers and followed Korean etiquette. The flight attendants understood and spoke English, so if you cannot communicate in Korean you will still be okay. 🙂
I tried to sleep on the flight for the last handful of hours so that I’d be reasonably rested for the 5am arrival on September 19 at Incheon. That said, all of the things I thought I’d do on the flight (practice Korean, watch Korean shows, get some sleep etc.) I actually did very little of. I think I was too anxious, excited, thoughtful to do anything productive.
I hadn’t realized how important or meaningful the trip was to me, despite all of the lead up and work I’d put in. The relationship with my birth mother over the preceding year, the studies in Korean language and writing, continued discovery and integration of Korean culture in my life… . I feel like I was so focused on the action and task requirement in getting everything set up that when I got on the plane, and had nothing to do but sit and wait, the magnitude of the trip snuck up on me. The unspoken hopes I had for the visit, the meaning of rediscovering the land and the culture where I was born, the opportunity to explore a missing part of myself and who I might have been or could possibly still be, meeting biological family, wanting to be as open minded, accepting and explorative while still caring for and supporting myself and my journey… . All of these latent thoughts, either intentionally suppressed so as not to give them too much weight, or overridden by the needs of “tasks” and “to-dos” had space to rise up during the flight. I had not expected it. Ultimately, I slept terribly hahah.
Thankfully I planned ahead and, knowing that my birth mother and some of the family were planning to greet me at the airport when I arrived, I packed a light change of clothes, toiletries and makeup and made myself presentable before we descended and landed in Incheon. Because of how spotty the experiences and stories about what happens to people arriving in Korea from an international flight during Covid, I didn’t want to assume that I’d be able to find a bathroom or stretch my legs after deplaning.
I am glad that I thought to get ready on the plane rather than waiting as the process after deplaning to get through multiple checkpoints (Covid, immigration, customs) was extremely long, confusing, and did not allow any breaks.
Before you descend and deplane, you should be given paperwork to fill out that you will need for your first checkpoint at Incheon. However, if you do not get the paperwork (which happened to me), you have to wait in line to get to the first security checkpoint, realize you don’t have the paperwork, go find the paperwork (nearby but out of line at the front), and then get back in line to get to the first security checkpoint again. What a pain!! So, GET THE PAPERWORK and fill it out (on the plane or get it from the first checkpoint) before getting in line and save yourself some hassle. It is likely that the line you find yourself in will be extremely long, so plan accordingly.
During this time you also have to download and install the Korean Self-Check app. There will be signs throughout the halls at Incheon which you will see as you wait in line to the first checkpoint with information (although it will be in Korean).
Once you get to the first checkpoint there will be someone who does a quick look at your paperwork, waves you on to another person who will do a deeper look. From there more stations exist that can help you with things like correctly installing the phone app, before you move onto the second checkpoint.
By the time I made it to the second checkpoint it had been about an hour and forty minutes from deplaning. At this stage I had picked up and filled out more paperwork (I kept finding kiosks with more paperwork, but was completely unsure which, if any, I needed to fill out. There wasn’t really anyone to ask, so I just picked up and filled out anything that seems related and wasn’t a duplicate of what I already had). You can see that everyone in line with me had literal packets of paperwork in hand to share with the folks working at the Incheon airport. If you have all of the paperwork that I’ve mentioned in previous posts, as well as the paperwork that you get along the way in Incheon, you should be fine.
After getting through the second checkpoint, the third checkpoint (getting in line and then being waved through a gate attendant), gathering your baggage at the claim, and getting through the fourth checkpoint (customs) should be relatively quick. As a note, it is worthwhile to review what you cannot bring into Korea with you as you will have to declare imports (which will be seized from you and your bags searched should you declare something that is not allowed). Beef/meat especially seems to be a nono, so don’t bring things like beef jerky even if it is meant as a gift to someone you are visiting.
I finally made it out of Immigration/Customs around 7:45am. In total, from time of deplaning, it took me about 3 hours to make it into the actual Incheon airport after landing. Granted, this was in September of 2021. I also had quarantine exemption (How To: Apply for a Quarantine Exemption to Visit Family as a KAD) which meant that I did not have to go through the process for going from the plane to a quarantine facility. It is possible this process will be longer, or shorter, or easier, or harder depending on your particular travel details. 🙂
When I finally made it into the Incheon airport, I got caught up in a flurry of texts and calls with my birth family who did not know where I was. None of them speak English, so it was very hard to communicate where I was so that they could meet me. I finally found a very helpful attendant at a help kiosk whom spoke enough English that she understood the situation and kindly spoke with my aunt. It turns out, they had gone to a different terminal and were waiting there to greet me. The attendant told me that my birth family wanted me to wait where I was, and that they’d come to the terminal where I was to meet me.
While I waited, I walked over to the 7/11 to pick up my Sim card nearby. I had pre-ordered one (https://www.krsim.net/product/Korea-SIM-Blue-4G-LTE-Unlimited-Data-Local-Voice-USIM/40/) while in the USA so that when I arrived in Korea I could simply pick it up at the airport, install it, and then have a Korean phone number to use during my stay.
It took a while for them to track down my order (nobody spoke English, so we fumbled through using gestures and my beginner’s Korean). But, I was able to obtain and install my Sim relatively painlessly as I waited for my birth family to find me.
After sorting out the Sim card, I returned to kiosk and sat nearby. I really wasn’t sure what to expect, I wasn’t sure whom would be meeting me, or when they would arrive.
After some time passed, I turned around to look out the large windows behind me. I saw three women running full tilt down the sidewalk gesturing wildly at each other. One was holding a sign and another was holding flowers. I thought to myself “that must be them”. Moments later they were running down the terminal hallway and I was immediately embraced by one sobbing woman, talked at excitedly and embraced by another, while the third stood quietly nearby holding a bouquet of sunflowers. The sobbing one was my third aunt. The excited happy one was my fifth aunt. The quiet one was my birth mother. (As a note, you do not call an elder by their name in Korea. So, I called my aunts by their Aunt titles and my birth mother Eomma.
I felt immediately cared for and welcomed. It felt like they had all been waiting to meet me for a long time. I don’t know how long they had waited at the terminal for me that morning, but it seemed like none of that mattered to them and they were just glad to see me.
With little fuss the three women took my bags (which were quite heavy because I’d packed gifts) and walked me to a waiting car. Each took turns touching me and holding my hand. A man got out and he quickly stowed my luggage. He was my only uncle. (I called him 삼촌/sam-chon). We all got in the car and off we went!
Uncle dropped us off at my birth mother’s apartment in Nowon-gu to spend some time together and to eat lunch. The lunch was delicious and was a precursor to the Chuseok holiday (like Thanksgiving in the USA), which started the next day (Sept 20-22). There were many dishes and my birth family made sure I ate well. It was very comfortable and we spent time quietly conversing however we could.
My younger birth sister (a 25 year old pharmacy student) lives with my birth mother. So, I got to meet her for the first time too.
After eating, my aunts left for the day. My birth mother suggested that I take a shower, rest, and get settled. Apparently she had planned for me to stay with her that night, which I had not realized. While I’d had arrangements at an apartment in Itaewon for the entirety of my time in Korea (about 50 minutes away by subway), I decided to stay at her home and check-in at the apartment when it made sense at a later date.
She helped me figure out getting the first of two Covid tests that were required as a part of my quarantine exemption (one within the first 24 hours of arrival in Korea and another about a week later). We walked over with my younger sister that afternoon to the nearby Covid testing site, which was set up outdoors via a series of tents. It was quite quick because I had paperwork that showed I needed a Covid test as part of the quarantine exemption. I showed it to the administrator, they gave me a vial with a sticker that had my information on it, I got in a short line to go to a booth with a nurse, they administered the test, and off I went!
As a note, the Covid tests in Korea are more painful/brusque than the ones in the USA. They take a throat and a nose swab. The nose swab is very deep. If you aren’t prepared for it, it is a bit of a rude surprise.
After that we walked back to her home in Nowon-gu and spent the rest of the evening relaxing, resting, and eating dinner. She suggested I shower and go to bed relatively early, which I was grateful for as I was rather exhausted from the travels as well as my first full day in Korea.
I was too tired to take any pictures of the bathroom, which I regret. Bathrooms in Korea are different than in the USA for the most part. The entire area is intended to get wet. There is likely no shower curtain to separate the bath/shower from the rest of the room. Most Koreans seem to keep the shower head separate (handheld, not attached). Koreans also tend not to have a trash bin in the bathroom and use very small towels (think hand towels). In Korea, people also have bathroom slippers specifically meant to be used in the bathroom only. This is all fine and I learned to really appreciate and love many things about the bathing experience in Korea. That said, if you find yourself showering in Korea and have expectations for an American bathroom experience, I’d suggest you be open minded. Make sure you use the bathroom slippers, have a plan for where to put your trash (for me it was dental floss and daily wear contacts), and know that you will only have a small towel to dry with (that should be used once and then laundered). It is considered polite to clean up after yourself in the bathroom, scrubbing and rinsing the surfaces with the little mops/sponges many people keep.
I was definitely mentally and physically spent, so not particularly elegant or thinking quickly as I experienced my first shower in Korea at my birth mother’s home. I have no idea if I used the correct products on the correct places haha! Thankfully I bumbled through and passed out nearly immediately after my birth mother bade me goodnight.
I have probably missed some details about my flight to Korea and my first day in Seoul. It was all a whirlwind and happened about 6 months ago. But, I tried to cover some of the main things that came to mind about my journey there. If there is anything in particular that you are curious about, please feel free to ask or comment and I’ll do my best to be responsive.
Thanks all for reading! Until next time.
사랑해요. I love you.
Learning to be Korean ❤
Learning to be 한국인 