sandgoose

My wife never cooked when she lived in South Korea. Her mom prepared all of her meals (and they were GOOD). Anyway, I love to cook a number of foods, and she's picked up on my hobby. I think cooking is one of those things that anyone can do without thinking about language. We are in NYC which makes gathering ingredients easy - especially Korean things. There is a fruit / veg market near my place that is run by Koreans. I didn't even know this when I signed the lease on my place. It's turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
My wife doesn't really like to go out on her own yet. I think she's always afraid due to the dramas like CSI and the like. Anyway, she likes to go to that market and get stuff. She's into pickling now. It's awesome - fresh pickles all the time. Salsa too, the best I've ever had. It's amazing how much a simple thing like cooking has helped ease her pain here. The doorman to my building always talks to her when she goes out, and he always tells me things like "your wife brought home a bag of groceries that weighed more than her!".
I love it.
Another thing, not sure about other members situations, but a lot of the ESL certification places require their students to teach a certain number of hours before being certified. There are a few of those in NYC. So she's able to go take free English classes. On the one hand, it's free, so I can't complain. On the other, it's free, so if 1% of her doesn't feel like going- she won't.
Anyway, cooking is the key for my wife. She found this hobby and she loves it. We exercise together a lot too, and go to the pool nearly every night after I get back from my day of work.
The other thing I have found recently is Hulu Plus. They have a TON of Korean dramas that are updated the day after they come out in Korea. I signed up for that in a heart beat for her, and she streams it VIA the Blu ray player. So I'll come home sometimes and she'll be on the couch sobbing, and I'm thinking something terrible happened or she misses her family... then I notice the tv is on and tune into the sound system and recognize the title music from the drama... and she'll say something like.... "she broke up with Soo Hyun".
Everyone is different, but like everyone has said... find hobbies to do TOGETHER. Not things only she likes.
CN-
Find things to do together-
Buy a couples cookbook.
Teach her how to cook, can, bake
Tango
Massage class (highly rec.)
Skype sessions are okay, but I find that if you schedule them then the spouse thinks about that a lot - leads to missing her family which could have been absent. Try to just let that happen naturally (I noticed a big change when we did that).
You will probably be working Mon - Fri. When Saturday mornings come around - cook her breakfast.
Your spouse will take care of you all week. You need to take care of her on the weekends.

My wife never cooked when she lived in South Korea. Her mom prepared all of her meals (and they were GOOD). Anyway, I love to cook a number of foods, and she's picked up on my hobby. I think cooking is one of those things that anyone can do without thinking about language. We are in NYC which makes gathering ingredients easy - especially Korean things. There is a fruit / veg market near my place that is run by Koreans. I didn't even know this when I signed the lease on my place. It's turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
My wife doesn't really like to go out on her own yet. I think she's always afraid due to the dramas like CSI and the like. Anyway, she likes to go to that market and get stuff. She's into pickling now. It's awesome - fresh pickles all the time. Salsa too, the best I've ever had. It's amazing how much a simple thing like cooking has helped ease her pain here. The doorman to my building always talks to her when she goes out, and he always tells me things like "your wife brought home a bag of groceries that weighed more than her!".
I love it.
Another thing, not sure about other members situations, but a lot of the ESL certification places require their students to teach a certain number of hours before being certified. There are a few of those in NYC. So she's able to go take free English classes. On the one hand, it's free, so I can't complain. On the other, it's free, so if 1% of her doesn't feel like going- she won't.
Anyway, cooking is the key for my wife. She found this hobby and she loves it. We exercise together a lot too, and go to the pool nearly every night after I get back from my day of work.
The other thing I have found recently is Hulu Plus. They have a TON of Korean dramas that are updated the day after they come out in Korea. I signed up for that in a heart beat for her, and she streams it VIA the Blu ray player. So I'll come home sometimes and she'll be on the couch sobbing, and I'm thinking something terrible happened or she misses her family... then I notice the tv is on and tune into the sound system and recognize the title music from the drama... and she'll say something like.... "she broke up with Soo Hyun".
Everyone is different, but like everyone has said... find hobbies to do TOGETHER. Not things only she likes.
CN-
Find things to do together-
Buy a couples cookbook.
Teach her how to cook, can, bake
Tango
Massage class (highly rec.)
Skype sessions are okay, but I find that if you schedule them then the spouse thinks about that a lot - leads to missing her family which could have been absent. Try to just let that happen naturally (I noticed a big change when we did that).
You will probably be working Mon - Fri. When Saturday mornings come around - cook her breakfast.
Your spouse will take care of you all week. You need to take care of her on the weekends.

My wife never cooked when she lived in South Korea. Her mom prepared all of her meals (and they were GOOD). Anyway, I love to cook a number of foods, and she's picked up on my hobby. I think cooking is one of those things that anyone can do without thinking about language. We are in NYC which makes gathering ingredients easy - especially Korean things. There is a fruit / veg market near my place that is run by Koreans. I didn't even know this when I signed the lease on my place. It's turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
My wife doesn't really like to go out on her own yet. I think she's always afraid due to the dramas like CSI and the like. Anyway, she likes to go to that market and get stuff. She's into pickling now. It's awesome - fresh pickles all the time. Salsa too, the best I've ever had. It's amazing how much a simple thing like cooking has helped ease her pain here. The doorman to my building always talks to her when she goes out, and he always tells me things like "your wife brought home a bag of groceries that weighed more than her!".
I love it.
Another thing, not sure about other members situations, but a lot of the ESL certification places require their students to teach a certain number of hours before being certified. There are a few of those in NYC. So she's able to go take free English classes. On the one hand, it's free, so I can't complain. On the other, it's free, so if 1% of her doesn't feel like going- she won't.
Anyway, cooking is the key for my wife. She found this hobby and she loves it. We exercise together a lot too, and go to the pool nearly every night after I get back from my day of work.
The other thing I have found recently is Hulu Plus. They have a TON of Korean dramas that are updated the day after they come out in Korea. I signed up for that in a heart beat for her, and she streams it VIA the Blu ray player. So I'll come home sometimes and she'll be on the couch sobbing, and I'm thinking something terrible happened or she misses her family... then I notice the tv is on and tune into the sound system and recognize the title music from the drama... and she'll say something like.... "she broke up with Soo Hyun".
Everyone is different, but like everyone has said... find hobbies to do TOGETHER. Not things only she likes.
CN-
Find things to do together-
Buy a couples cookbook.
Teach her how to cook, can, bake
Tango
Massage class (highly rec.)
Skype sessions are okay, but I find that if you schedule them then the spouse thinks about that a lot - leads to missing her family which could have been absent. Try to just let that happen naturally (I noticed a big change when we did that).
You will probably be working Mon - Fri. When Saturday mornings come around - cook her breakfast.
Your spouse will take care of you all week. You need to take care of her on the weekends.

My wife never cooked when she lived in South Korea. Her mom prepared all of her meals (and they were GOOD). Anyway, I love to cook a number of foods, and she's picked up on my hobby. I think cooking is one of those things that anyone can do without thinking about language. We are in NYC which makes gathering ingredients easy - especially Korean things. There is a fruit / veg market near my place that is run by Koreans. I didn't even know this when I signed the lease on my place. It's turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
My wife doesn't really like to go out on her own yet. I think she's always afraid due to the dramas like CSI and the like. Anyway, she likes to go to that market and get stuff. She's into pickling now. It's awesome - fresh pickles all the time. Salsa too, the best I've ever had. It's amazing how much a simple thing like cooking has helped ease her pain here. The doorman to my building always talks to her when she goes out, and he always tells me things like "your wife brought home a bag of groceries that weighed more than her!".
I love it.
Another thing, not sure about other members situations, but a lot of the ESL certification places require their students to teach a certain number of hours before being certified. There are a few of those in NYC. So she's able to go take free English classes. On the one hand, it's free, so I can't complain. On the other, it's free, so if 1% of her doesn't feel like going- she won't.
Anyway, cooking is the key for my wife. She found this hobby and she loves it. We exercise together a lot too, and go to the pool nearly every night after I get back from my day of work.
The other thing I have found recently is Hulu Plus. They have a TON of Korean dramas that are updated the day after they come out in Korea. I signed up for that in a heart beat for her, and she streams it VIA the Blu ray player. So I'll come home sometimes and she'll be on the couch sobbing, and I'm thinking something terrible happened or she misses her family... then I notice the tv is on and tune into the sound system and recognize the title music from the drama... and she'll say something like.... "she broke up with Soo Hyun".
Everyone is different, but like everyone has said... find hobbies to do TOGETHER. Not things only she likes.
CN-
Find things to do together-
Buy a couples cookbook.
Teach her how to cook, can, bake
Tango
Massage class (highly rec.)
Skype sessions are okay, but I find that if you schedule them then the spouse thinks about that a lot - leads to missing her family which could have been absent. Try to just let that happen naturally (I noticed a big change when we did that).
You will probably be working Mon - Fri. When Saturday mornings come around - cook her breakfast.
Your spouse will take care of you all week. You need to take care of her on the weekends.

Right, you don't need to send extra evidence in package 3. Take things like photo's, phone/text records to the interview as extra ammo.

Don't worry too much. Did you receive a tracking number from the post office or shipping service you used (so you know it has actually arrived)? Like others said, it usually takes from a week to a month to hear anything. Also, check your bank account for the funds to be withdrawn. I'm in the same boat. I sent in our papers and such for our adjustment of status for my wife (she came on a K1 also) the same day as you. Don't worry too much, things will be fine.

My fiance's K1 visa was approved last week in South Korea!
I went to Seoul in January and we prepared the medical exam, scheduled the interview, and got all of the paperwork translated together. We also scheduled her interview for April 4th.
She came to visit for the whole month of March. No problem on entry by the way. We went to my hometown to introduce her to my parents (who loved her!).
She got to the consulate at 7:30 A.M. and I heard from her via text again in about 2 hours time. Apparently the actual non-waiting time was about one hour. The interviewer asked her if she preferred to speak Korean or English, so the interview was conducted in Korean. Questions were very similar to those we've all seen here: how did you meet, did you meet his parents, what's your plan after marriage, when will you leave? The only tricky question was "do you plan to have a wedding here?" I'm not sure if this was set up as a trick or not. Apparently the interviewer was extremely kind and actually said he was impressed by our application packet. But he did ask the question. So my fiance answered properly, "No, we will have a wedding in the US".
One thing I want to recommend to VJ members - I'm sure you've all seen those photo book websites like shutterfly.com or others? Those books make great evidence and it's very easy to handle as opposed to a loose packet of photos. Just an idea. We had three books which she presented to the interviewer. Apparently he said, "You look like a perfect couple. Your visa will arrive in a few days."
She scared the living ####### out of me after the interview. The first thing I received from her was "여보 ... ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ" which is like ... "honey... (crying / sad emotion)". So I was so. scared. I knew I had prepared everything well, so I called her immediately- not even on an app... an actually extremely high priced phone call. She was just teasing me though, and all was completely fine. Phew!
Anyway, if anyone has any questions about the South Korean process - please feel free to contact me at any time.

My fiance's K1 visa was approved last week in South Korea!
I went to Seoul in January and we prepared the medical exam, scheduled the interview, and got all of the paperwork translated together. We also scheduled her interview for April 4th.
She came to visit for the whole month of March. No problem on entry by the way. We went to my hometown to introduce her to my parents (who loved her!).
She got to the consulate at 7:30 A.M. and I heard from her via text again in about 2 hours time. Apparently the actual non-waiting time was about one hour. The interviewer asked her if she preferred to speak Korean or English, so the interview was conducted in Korean. Questions were very similar to those we've all seen here: how did you meet, did you meet his parents, what's your plan after marriage, when will you leave? The only tricky question was "do you plan to have a wedding here?" I'm not sure if this was set up as a trick or not. Apparently the interviewer was extremely kind and actually said he was impressed by our application packet. But he did ask the question. So my fiance answered properly, "No, we will have a wedding in the US".
One thing I want to recommend to VJ members - I'm sure you've all seen those photo book websites like shutterfly.com or others? Those books make great evidence and it's very easy to handle as opposed to a loose packet of photos. Just an idea. We had three books which she presented to the interviewer. Apparently he said, "You look like a perfect couple. Your visa will arrive in a few days."
She scared the living ####### out of me after the interview. The first thing I received from her was "여보 ... ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ" which is like ... "honey... (crying / sad emotion)". So I was so. scared. I knew I had prepared everything well, so I called her immediately- not even on an app... an actually extremely high priced phone call. She was just teasing me though, and all was completely fine. Phew!
Anyway, if anyone has any questions about the South Korean process - please feel free to contact me at any time.