Skiing@Yangji Pine Resort (양지파인리조트)

It had been over four years since I had my first skiing experience- falling all over the place! Last weekend, off  I went to Yangji Pine Resort to get a feel of skiing once again. I had planned to take lessons this time,  and it was well worth it! At the end of the morning session I had fallen just once. wow!

What I liked about Yangji is that it is about 30 km from home.  The slopes are considered too simple by people who know to ski well, so probably not too crowded! For me, the gradient was just right to relish going down the slope.To top it, there was a 30% discount for foreigners on ski/clothing rental and a 20% discount on lessons. 

For English lessons, one should probably call them up and reserve a slot. 

Transportation: http://www.pineresort.com/yangji_eng/html/trans/car/car.html


Address:
               34-1, Namgok-Ri, Yangji-Myun, Yongin-City,Gyeonggi-do, Korea
            
               경기도 용인시 처인구 양지면 남고리 34-1

Phone:  031-338-2001

Height Jump Land ( 키점프랜드 ) , Yeongtong

There is a small playing area quite close to our place,in fact, across the road.

It is called Height Jump Land. Located on the second floor of the building as you climb down from the Hwanggol Overbridge at Yeongtong-1danji.

Had been curious about the place since I walk across the road everyday while going to work...but as it usually happens, places nearest to us seem so accessible to us that we usually miss...

One recent evening, went there with my son.

Quite a small place, meant only for jumping!

But, then kids there didn't seem tired of all the jumping!

Business Hours:

Weekdays: 1 pm to 8 pm

Weekends: 11 am to 8 pm ( better to call them and check if they are open)

Phone:  010-3277-3058

Price: 2000 wons for 30 minutes, 3000 wons for 1 hour

CheongMyeong Station, Yeongtong

The subway service(Bundang Line) near our apartment started yesterday as scheduled.
Few images of the place from our first trip today.

Durga Restaurant,Yeongtong (두르가 레스토랑)

 Images from the newest Indian restaurant in Yeongtong, Suwon

Location:
About 100 m from Yeongtong gate of Samsung Electronics.

SB Bldg., 349-1, Sin-dong, Yeongtong-Gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-Do, Korea
수원시 영통구 신동349-1

Tel : 031-206-1155
Operation Hours: 10:30 A.M.~  10:30 P.M.

Website: http://www.durga.co.kr
 

Yeongtong Subway Line Opening

After waited for ages, the subway line at Yeongtong is finally going to open.
Unusually for Korea, the project has been going on for eons. The construction started long before we came to Korea. There was a lull for some time, and picked up a couple of years ago. Probably hit by the recession?

The service is slated to begin on December 1st (2012.12.01).
Four stations (Mangpo, Yeongtong, ChongMeong and SangKal) will get connected to the Bundang line at Kiheung.

TOPIK 2013 SCHEDULE

Test No.	Test Date	Registration Period	Test Locations	Test Results
29	2013.01.20	2012.12.13 to 12.26	Korea Only	2013.02.04
30	2013.04.20~04.21	2013.02.12 to 02.25	Worldwide	2013.05.30
31	2013.07.21	2013.06.12 to 06.25	Korea Only	2013.08.02
32	2013.10.19~10.20	2013.08.07 to 08.20	Worldwide	2013.12.03

Source: TOPIK.GO.KR

New Delhi - Another Indian Restaurant in Town

With the increasing  number of foreigners in Suwon, it is quite a treat to have increased choices for food.

A new Indian restaurant opened at Yeongtong, a couple of months back. For whatever reasons, it took me two months to come to know!!! Had gone over to the KEB ATM to withdraw some cash, and was pleasantly surprised to hear Indian film songs being played. Getting curious, I saw this restaurant- New Delhi, right across! That's when I decided to have dinner the next weekend...

I must say this is the most spacious Indian foodie place in town. And, staffed by Koreans. Chefs from India+Nepal. What I found very convenient about the place was the location- close to Yeongtong Homeplus in the KEB bank building. Service was not bad. Not too great either. Although, I must say that I was impressed with the packing of left-over appetizers. Price-wise it is on the medium rung compared to other Indian restaurants in the vicinity. All-in-all a welcome addition.

ADDRESS:
New Delhi

125Ho, MinaeCity Building, 

995-2, Yeongtong-dong,

Yeongtong-gu,

Suwon City.

수원시 영통구 

영통동 995-2 

미네시티 B/D 125호 

Tel: 031- 202-6888

Korean Permanent Resident Visa (F-5)

With increasing number of foreigners choosing to stay for longer durations in Korea, there is a growing interest in residency/permanent residency visas. Helping to make life in Korea a bit more convenient, it makes sense to have one if one plans to stay here for an extended period. The points system established for the F-2 visa makes the application process simpler. For those interested in the permanent resident visa, there are various ways and criteria to apply for it.

How to get?
Many roads lead to a F-5:

• The person who has been longer than 5 consecutive years in Korea 

• The person who invested more than USD 500,000

• The one who is applicable to apply naturalization

• Doctor's degree holder in the field of high-tech industry

• The one who has brilliant ability in specialized field 

•  Working visit (H-2) status holder

• Spouse of Korean national, Spouse and children under age of Permanent Residency (F-5) status holder

• Overseas Korean (F-4) status holder

• Overseas Chinese who was born in Korea 

•  Bachelor's degree and license holder in the field of high-tech industry

• Who has done distinguished service 

•  A pension beneficiary

Related links:
English: http://www.hikorea.go.kr/pt/en/info/popup/icis/3-4-2_pop.htm
Korean: http://www.hikorea.go.kr/pt/kr/info/popup/icis/3-4-2_pop.htm

It is a usual thing to find the English versions of Korean websites not having the latest info.
The English version and Korean links show different financial and Korean language skills requirements for various visa types. It would be better to look at the English version to get an idea of F-5 eligibility and the Korean version to crosscheck. The annual income and TOPIK requirements have been relaxed recently adn it can be found in the Korean version.


Why to get F-5?

Listing some of the benefits of a F-5 visa...

• On paper, a F-5 visa holder is legally same as a Korean, except for presidential elections. Voting in local elections is allowed after 3 years of being a permanent resident holder. 
• One need not worry about renewing visas every year or every few years.
• F-5 visa holder can use the Korean lines at the airport
• One is free to go for any legal job in Korea.
• Free to make any investment
• Spouse automatically gets a residency visa(F-2)
• Can continue keeping the visa as long as a visit to Korea is made atleast once in 2 years

Personally, except for the spouse getting a residency visa, nothing else quite impresses me.
Unlike other countries, I have not yet seen any special benefits for being a permanent resident. Like getting visas for parents, getting bank loans, to cite a couple of examples. It sure makes life a little bit more convenient though. And, probably as Korea opens up, things may change for the better! Hope^^

Online Indian Grocery Shopping Links

A quickie!

Recently found a couple of sites that are tailored for online shopping for Indians. A grocery site for residents from the Indian sub-continent is a  novelty. Makes life far more convenient.Prices are comparable to prices at Itaewon/Suwon/Ansan.

I wish to add a list of offline stores too...Another day that.

http://indianshopkorea.com


http://expatmart.co.kr/

PhotoTrip to the Garden of Morning Calm(아침고요수목원)

I finally made it!

Having been a member of the photography community at the company for close to a year and never going for the field trips was taking its toll on me! I was beginning to wonder the whole point of paying money every month without participating! The master of excuses that I can be many a time, I would find convenient excuses not to join the group- "busy" is the easiest! The fact that I am the only non-Korean member as of now made it overwhelming with  all sorts of images of my being uncomfortable!

I had heard of the Garden of Morning Calm a few times over the last 5 years here. Chiefly, the fact that the name is inspired by the great Indian poet, Rabindranath Tagore, kept feeding my curiousity for the  place. A private garden opened to the public as a small beginning and growing to over 30,000 sq. m. is quite an achievement. Professor Sang Kyung Han of the Sahmyook University,Seoul conceived this idea of a garden representing Korean traditions.

We left near the company by 9:30 am. Lunch was on the way. I was impressed to see an almost-everything-on-table being vegan. That quite made my day! I made a mental note of SsamBaap(쌈밥) restaurants for future reference. I am quite tired of looking at BibimBaap as a primary vegan option in Korea...

After a sumptuous lunch, it was a short trip to the Garden. Being spring these days the theme was tulips! There are various gardens  and  quite large to walk the whole place in about 2 hours that I was there.I have never seen tulips in so many colours and hues before.  

Peace-listening my camera "click". After ages, I went somewhere with  the  sole purpose of clicking pictures. How therapeutical! How alive I felt! I am sure to join in for more picture taking trips now after the first step!

As an aside, I tried searching for the poem by Tagore mentioning "Land of Morning Calm". All I could find were lines from "Lamp of the East"(1929) associating Tagore with Korea. Looks like middle school students get to study this poem in Korea.

In the golden age of Asia
Korea was one of its lamp-bearers
And that lamp is waiting to be lighted once again
For the illumination in the East.

Website: http://morningcalm.co.kr

Location:

              Gyeonggi-do 

              Gapyeong-gun 

              Sang-myeon 

              Hanghyeon-ri San-255

Getting There: http://morningcalm.co.kr/eng/sub2_02.htm

Other Link(s): http://www.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=264212

Dongtan Suembu Restaurant (동탄 수엠부)

Last evening, had been to the Dongtan Suembu Indian/Nepali restaurant. It is rare to get good Indian restaurants around town and so when this idea of eating out propped up, we chose to go to a new place, along with our Korean friend.

At the outset, I was surprised to find Korean staff there. Since the Suwon branch is run by a Nepali family, I presumed this was a branch. This is more of an independently run restaurant except for the name, which has probably been licensed/franchised from the Suwon restaurant. 

I was impressed by the ambience when we entered. The staff were courteous.

Our ordered food came relatively quickly.  And, the taste, quite delectable.

I also got to meet the chef, who is from Mumbai. 

Durng the course of our eating, I was quite curious, how a Korean started this restaurant with a Nepali connection..While paying our bill, I came to know of the owner's involvement with social service in Nepal. Mr. DongHyon Kim(김동현), the owner, had been there a few times to help some children's cause. And,  over the years, this Nepali connection grew. He informed me that he quit his job and started this restaurant last year.

The prices were reasonable for the quality. 

Location: 113-4, Bansong-dong,
               Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggido.

              경기도 화성시 반송동 113-4 번지 1층

              Tel: 031-8015-2494

Business Hours: Mon~Sun 11:00~22:00

                         Closed on the last Sunday of every month.

Daum Place Link: http://place.daum.net/place/Top.do?confirmid=13127748