Our First Week in South Korea

We have made the move!

After an amazing summer vacation in Europe and the US, we were ready to head to Korea to get settled in our new home and explore the area. It has been a week, and we have felt completely welcomed and taken care of by the KIS community.

How was the flight?

The school booked our flights, and they recommended changing our travel date so we could take a direct flight from Boston to Seoul on Korean Air, rather than having to take two flights. The 14-hour flight was long, but it was really nice to have just one flight and to not worry so much about missed connections or lost luggage.

Korean Air is super kid friendly. Families with kids get pre-boarding, and the kids got little activity packs as well as comfy headphones that actually fit their little heads! The food even included fun options like bibimbap, and everything was non-spicy. My kids were so happy to be able to eat the airplane food, as most of the options on Air India, including the snacks, were too spicy for them.

What did you pack?

KIS has a super active Facebook group, and the current teachers recommended using travel totes instead of suitcases. Since we had a luggage allowance for six pieces at 23 kg each, I picked up five 27-gallon HDX Tough Totes from Home Depot and secured them with zip ties. I also added labels with my Korean address on each one with yellow duct tape, covered in clear packing tape to protect the writing. We also had one suitcase.

I almost had to pay $100 extra on check-in for overweight luggage, as one of my totes was 3 kg over, but since three other totes were under I was able to get it through. I did not feel like undoing all the zip ties and trying to re-organize any of the VERY tightly packed totes. Weighing the totes on the scale while holding them is not the most accurate method…oops!

Everything made it through to Korea. All of the totes were opened by TSA. They did not seem to move anything around inside, which was great because putting it all back in would have been difficult! One tote was cracked down the side and is no longer usable, but thankfully all the items stayed in.

How was the arrival?

Two of our new colleagues happened to be on our flight, and they saw us at the baggage claim and helped me with my three carts. Staff from the school promptly met us and brought us to meet some of the other newly arrived faculty. We waited about an hour for one of the librarians to arrive, and then we all took the big KIS school bus to our neighborhoods. The kids were definitely tired but they were so excited to ride on a yellow school bus!

Korea Apartment

Arianne's New Desk, Bought From A Departing KIS Family And Conveniently Delivered By The School.

Master Bedroom - Temporary Furniture. I Can See Mountains Out My Window!

Gabriel With His New Bedding That He Brought From The US In Our Travel Totes.

Indian Lunch On Our First Day, Thanks To Lovely Neighbors

Arianne's Unicorn Themed Room! The Shelves Were Left For Us For The Family That Used To Live Here.

The Open Kitchen/dining Area Is Perfect For Our Family Meals Because I Can Be Two Places At Once! In The Kitchen And With The Kids When They Are Taking An Hour To Eat Their Dinner. ; )

Our apartment was set up with furniture, bedding, basic kitchen & cleaning supplies, WiFi, a phone connection, and grocery items. It was so nice because by the time we arrived, it was evening, and were exhausted from the long flight. Two KIS employees helped carry ALL of our heavy boxes up the stairs to our 4th floor walkup, and they even installed a Korean food delivery app and helped me order a pizza for dinner.

I was also given a loaded transport card and cash for our settling-in allowance. So far, this has been the easiest international transition!

The gas connection had been turned off over the summer, so we didn’t have hot water or a working stove when we first came, but the school had someone come and get it sorted within 24 hours of me notifying them. The Middle School Principal came over to check on us, and one of our KIS faculty neighbors sent over delicious Indian food for our first day.

What have we been doing?

The first day we spent unpacking all of our totes and suitcases. I had a list of things to figure out, like the washing machine, dishwasher, and dryer. All the labels are in Korean, but the family who lived in this apartment before us left lots of helpful notes and even sent us how-to videos. We also walked over to the school so I could give the kids a tour and pick up some luggage I had left with the school Director during my May visit.

The second day our neighbors took us out in their car for a tour of the area and to help us get stocked up on groceries and kitchen items. It was SO helpful. The stores here are huge, so it was more like a shopping excursion! They helped keep the kids occupied while I worked through my list, and then got all of our stuff up to the apartment. I have never felt more welcomed and supported in a move!

Exploring

At COEX Mall In Gangnam

Gagnam, About An Hour Away By Bus.

Jeongja, About A 30 Minute Walk Or 20 Min By Public Transport

Korea International School Field

Migeum, 10 Minutes By Bus. Good Area For Shopping.

Neighborhood Convenience Store

The rest of the week we have been busy exploring, trying out public transport, meeting people, and shopping. Another KIS faculty member had been assigned as our “neighborhood captain,” and he sent us a detailed spreadsheet of tips and things to do. We checked out all the local stores and went to meet some another newbie family at a kids’s cafe, complete with a disco/K-pop party on trampolines.

We ventured to Gangnam, which is about an hour by bus, and saw the Lion King at COEX Mall. We walked from our house to Jeongja, a hip area lined with cafes and BBQ joints. It’s been raining a lot, so we’ve also spent a good amount of time in the house, looking out at the mist on the rolling hills. It’s so lovely to be surrounded by green, but also not far from the city life. I’ll post more about our neighborhood soon!

What next?

This coming week I’ve got a health check scheduled for my ARC (alien registration card), and orientation starts on Wednesday! The school has organized childcare for all the faculty kids during the sessions, so hopefully the kids will start to make some new friends and get to know their way around the school. I’ll be organizing some sessions for Applied Learning and Experiential Education, and mostly I’ll try to be remembering everyone’s names! School starts August 12th and we are so excited! Gabriel is going into Grade 3 and Arianne into Grade 1.