How to Apply for a Korean Visa + Tips for Getting Approved [UPDATED]

apply-korean-visa-1 UPDATE [Feb 25, 2015]: The Korean Embassy announced new visa requirements for tourists effective Mar 1, 2015. See updated infographic below for the details. Those who will be traveling after March 1, 2015 will need to provide additional information from the required Certificate of Employment, Bank Certificate and copy of Income Tax Return, and submit  their Bank Statements.

I’ve applied for a South Korean Visa thrice and have gotten approved in all instances, so I must be doing something right. We got back from our 7-day Spring in Seoul trip a couple of weeks ago and what better way to reminisce about one of our favorite countries to visit than help fellow Filipinos to plan their own trip – but first things first, let us help you in applying for your visa. Here is Travels with a Hobo’s Guide to Applying for a South Korean Tourist Visa for Filipinos Employees.

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How to Experience and Meet K-Pop Stars in Korea

kpop-experience

I was only in high school when I first got into the K-Pop craze that was just starting to take over the world (this was about 10 years ago). Back then, there were just small groups of fangirls like me in the country who discussed about our fandoms in online forums, meet up to celebrate the birthdays of our idols (complete with cakes that had their faces on it #TrueStory) and go to Korean K-TVs to sing and dance along to K-Pop songs. My family thought that I was weird for listening to and memorizing songs that I didn’t even understand, but they got used to it eventually and even knew the name of my K-Pop crushes.



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Korea Budget Hotel Checklist: How to Find The Best

korea-budget-hotel-checklist

GIVEAWAY ALERT: Are you going to Korea this 2015? You’re in luck! We’re giving away a FREE STAY at a new hotel located in the heart of Seoul! Scroll to the bottom of this post to find out how you can join.

Having a small budget for South Korea travel doesn’t mean that you should stay in dingy, cramped hotels. You can find a home away from home and enjoy your stay in Korea  IF you know how and what to look for in a budget hotel.

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Hobo Love, Will Travel: Deej and Joni

deej-joni

Love makes you do crazy things. It can make you jump out of a plane, propose on bended knee in Batanes, and shout to the world that you want to grow old and spend forever with each other. That’s exactly what our first featured Hobo Love, Will Travel couple (and two of our favorite people in the world) did – Deej and Joni.

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Like Locals in Korea: Our Cozy Rooftop Apartment in Seoul

seoul-apartment-kitchen

Don’t have a Korean visa yet? Check out our guide to applying for a Korean visa + tips on increasing your chances of getting approved

As budget travelers, we have to sacrifice a number of our personal wants to successfully cover a trip’s expenses with the tight budget that we have to work with – no to first class flights, no to a hired chauffeur in a limousine, no to fine dining, and no to a spacious luxurious hotel suite with jacuzzi.

Beep and I have gotten used to staying at cramped budget hotels, because they’re cheap and they put a roof on our heads. In fact, for our first trip together, we pitched a tent instead of booking an actual room with a bathroom. Yeah it’s fun, but honestly, sometimes we need a break from such a pitiful state of temporary housing.

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Travel Korea: Tips for First-Timers in Seoul

seoul travel tips

Don’t have a Korean visa yet? Check out our guide to applying for a Korean visa + tips on increasing your chances of getting approved

When I was in high school and early college, I was so obsessed with K-Pop, Korean TV series and movies (and J-Pop, J-dramas and movies too!) that my mom once told me that I’d probably get married to a Korean. Fast forward to 2014, I’m not dating a Korean but I’m dating a guy who knows lyrics by heart and dances (can you imagine my embarrassment every time we go to karaokes with our friends?). Beep’s not Korean, he looks more like a Japanese samurai who likes K-Pop, so yeah, close enough to my mom’s prediction. 

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Korean DMZ Tour: Stepping Foot on North Korea

korean DMZ tour

Few people in the world (including Kim Jong-Un’s BFF Dennis Rodman, tourists touring with accredited tour groups, and North Korean citizens themselves) can proudly say that “I have stepped foot on North Korea!” — I am one of those people.

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Travel Tips: 10 Things I Wish I Knew Before Going to Miri, Malaysia

miri malaysia budget travel Miri City Fan, the beautiful park of Miri City

How many times has this happened to you: You go to a foreign country and during your stay there, you tell yourself “I wish I knew that (small items that you should have brought or vital factors in planning your trip)”? In the first edition of Travels with a Hobo’s “10 Things I Wish I Knew…”, Gem talks about her recent trip to Miri, Malaysia.

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