Korean embassy interview

[anxiousmom 0]

Hi all!

My 11 year old daughter will have her following-to-join immigrant visa interview on 10/17/06 and I will be with her. We are not from Korea so we are not familiar with Seoul, Korea. Is there anyone who interviewed in Korea or any Korean who can help me? I need some more info.

...What is the closest hotel to the US embassy?

...Does taxi drivers speak English? or it is better to hire interpreter? (not that I know anyone who can interpret for me)

...How far is the embassy from the Airport?

[William33 110]

Hi all!

My 11 year old daughter will have her following-to-join immigrant visa interview on 10/17/06 and I will be with her. We are not from Korea so we are not familiar with Seoul, Korea. Is there anyone who interviewed in Korea or any Korean who can help me? I need some more info.

...What is the closest hotel to the US embassy?

There are many. How much do you want to spend?

...Does taxi drivers speak English? or it is better to hire interpreter? (not that I know anyone who can interpret for me)

Some do and some don't. Generally, the taxi drivers from the airport speak some english, or just enough to understand where you are going. Taxi's hired within the city, speak little to no english.

Best to have the hotel desk staff write your destination in Korean. Of course, the desk staff's ability to speak english, is directly proportionate to the quality and price of the hotel. I have stayed in "low rent" Seoul hotels, no english spoken. On the other hand, the first class hotels have many english speaking staff.

...How far is the embassy from the Airport?

About an hour by taxi. The fare will be roughly 60-80 USD, depending on how "nice" the taxi is. Deluxe or regular.

[anxiousmom 0]

Thank you for your reply. About the hotel, my budget is upto $200.00

Of course I would like to spend less, if possible. Was the hotel you stayed in

safe enough for 2 women? I tried to search the hotels nearby the embassy

through Expedia, Orbitz ...etc. I do not know what area is it in.

[William33 110]

You may want to consider staying in Itaewon. It is about a 10-15 minute taxi ride to the Embassy. The benefit of staying in Itaewon is the shopping and restaurants, the best in Seoul (well, the shopping is anyway).

Hotels that come to mind: Hotel Capital ($150), Hamilton($95), Itaewon Hotel ($100) and the Crown ($90).

They are in rank order according to quality. Of course for $200, you can do a lot better.

Thank you for your reply. About the hotel, my budget is upto $200.00

Of course I would like to spend less, if possible. Was the hotel you stayed in

safe enough for 2 women? I tried to search the hotels nearby the embassy

through Expedia, Orbitz ...etc. I do not know what area is it in.

Edited September 21, 2006 by William33