Fulbright Timeline: South Korea ETA
- February 6, 2024
Left Korea. The end, thanks for following along!
February 2024
- January 17, 2024
Moved out of my one-room
- January 5, 2024
Graduation ceremony
January 2024
- December 20, 2023
Fulbright grant ends
December 2023
- November 16-17, 2023
Suneung break
November 2023
- October 27, 2023
Student volunteer day
- October 20-23, 2023
Fulbright Fall Conference in Sokcho
- October 13-18, 2023
Midterms
October 2023
- September 28 - October 3, 2023
Chuseok break
- September 20-22, 2023
Freshmen field trip (수학여행)
- September 6, 2023
Office hweshik
- September 1, 2023
English department hweshik
September 2023
- August 17, 2023
TOPIK II results announcement day
- August 10, 2023
First day of second semester
August 2023
- July 14, 2023
Last day of first semester
- July 9, 2023
TOPIK II Test
- July 5, 2023
Flea market fundraiser event
July 2023
- June 30, 2023
Forest field trip
- June 27, 2023
English department hweshik
- June 26-29, 2023
Final exams
- June 1, 2023
Office hweshik
June 2023
- May 24, 2023
Hweshik
- May 15, 2023
Teacher's day event + buffet
- May 3-4, 2023
School sports festival
May 2023
- April 26, 2023
Teacher sports event + admin office hweshik
- April 25-28, 2023
Midterm exams
- April 21-24, 2023
Fulbright Spring Conference in Gyeongju
- April 7, 2023
Field trip to Damyang
April 2023
- March 23, 2023
Office hweshik
- March 13, 2023
Office hweshik (delivery)
- March 2, 2023
1st day of school + entire-staff hweshik
March 2023
- February 21, 2023
Departure Day - back to Mokpo
- February 20, 2023
COVID-19 test in preparation for Departure Day
- February 17, 2023
Fulbright Orientation began for renewees at Jungwon University
- February 17, 2023
Fulbright Orientation began for renewees at Jungwon University
February 2023
- January 5, 2023
Graduation Ceremony + winter break begins
January 2023
- December 21, 2022
School festival (King of Mask Singer + concert)
- December 17, 2022
Fulbright ETA Program 30th Anniversary Dinner @Grand Hyatt Incheon; last day of the grant year (but I extended my contract with my school); received ARC + passport
- December 16, 2022
School themed activity day (watched Avatar: The Way of Water with the seniors)
- December 14, 2022
Picked up health check-up results
- December 13-15, 2022
Final exams
- December 12, 2022
Hweshik
- December 9, 2022
Last day of after-school classes; hweshik
- December 7, 2022
Health check-up for visa/ARC renewal (100,000 won)
- December 5, 2022
Mailed ARC + passport to Fulbright KAEC for ARC extension; received renewal application acceptance email
December 2022
- November 17, 2022
Korean SAT day (수능)
- November 7, 2022
Fulbright renewal application deadline
- November 2, 2022
Hweshik
- November 1, 2022
Submitted Fulbright renewal application
November 2022
- October 28-29, 2022
Fulbright Fall Conference
- October 24-28, 2022
Freshmen field trip (수학여행)
- October 24, 2022
Hweshik
- October 19, 2022
Student volunteer day
- October 17, 2022
Fulbright renewal application released
- October 5, 2022
Teacher sports event
October 2022
- September 30, 2022
School anniversary event
- September 28, 2022
Hweshik
September 2022
- August 31, 2022
Hweshik
- August, 2022
Started teaching after-school classes
- August 16, 2022
First day of 2nd semester
August 2022
- July 15, 2022
Last day of 1st semester
- July 13, 2022
Hweshik
- July 12, 2022
Interdisciplinary class field trip + hweshik
- July 1, 2022
Entire school hweshik
July 2022
- June 24, 2022
Last day of after-school classes
- June 22, 2022
Hweshik
June 2022
- May 19-20, 2022
School Sports Festival
- May 18, 2022
Gwangju Uprising Event + flea market fundraiser
- May 13-15, 2022
Fulbright Spring Conference
- May 13, 2022
Teacher's Day Event + buffet
- May 6, 2022
Parents' Day Event + rollerskating field trip
May 2022
- March 24, 2022
Hweshik
- March 21, 2022
Hweshik
- March 14, 2022
Started teaching after-school classes
- March 8, 2022
Switched to an MVNO phone plan (only 10,000 KRW/month!)
- March 2, 2022
First day of school + hweshik
March 2022
- February 18, 2022
Departure Day - back to Mokpo
- February 17, 2022
COVID-19 test in preparation for Departure Day
- February 14, 2022
Fulbright Orientation began for renewees at Jungwon University
- February 9-14, 2022
Mandatory self-quarantine in Seoul in preparation for orientation
- February 3-9, 2022
Mandatory limited-movement period (no traveling) in preparation for orientation
- February 3, 2022
COVID-19 test in preparation for orientation
February 2022
- January 4, 2022
Last day of 2nd semester
January 2022
- December 29-30, 2021
School festival cancelled - free days with homeroom classes
- December 17, 2021
Pfizer booster shot (by myself)
- December 15, 2021
Hweshik
- December 13-16, 2021
Final exams
- December 6, 2021
Received ARC + passport
December 2021
- November 24, 2021
Hweshik
- November 23, 2021
Mailed ARC + passport to Fulbright KAEC for ARC extension
- November 22, 2021
Picked up health check-up results
- November 18, 2021
Korean SAT day (수능)
- November 16, 2021
Health check-up for visa/ARC renewal (100,000 won)
- November 11-16, 2021
Online class
- November 10, 2021
Received renewal application acceptance email
- November 8, 2021
Mokpo Fulbright hweshik
November 2021
- October 27, 2021
Hweshik
- October 19-22, 2021
School field trip
- October 18, 2021
Sports day
- October 13, 2021
Student volunteer day + hweshik
- October 7, 2021
Hweshik
- October 6-8, 2021
Midterm exams
October 2021
- September 30, 2021
Hweshik
- September 16, 2021
Hweshik
- September 4, 2021
Submitted my grant renewal application
September 2021
- August 31, 2021
Hweshik
- August 26, 2021
Hweshik
- August 17, 2021
First day of 2nd semester
- August 12, 2021
Pfizer 2nd dose (with my school)
August 2021
- July 22, 2021
Pfizer 1st dose (with my school)
- July 16, 2021
Last day of 1st semester
- July 14, 2021
Hweshik
- July 6, 2021
Hweshik
- July 1-6, 2021
Final exams
- July 1, 2021
Hweshik
July 2021
- June 24, 2021
Hweshik
- June 11, 2021
Moved out of my homestay and into a studio
- June 10, 2021
Hweshik
- June 2, 2021
Hweshik
- June 1, 2021
All in-person classes began
June 2021
- May 25, 2021
Hweshik
- May 17, 20-21, 2021
School sports festival
- May 12, 2021
Hweshik
- May 7-8, 2021
Fulbright Spring Conference (online)
May 2021
- April 30, 2021
Got SMILE laser eye surgery (2,500,000 KRW)
- April 26-29, 2021
Midterm exams
- April 21, 2021
Hweshik
- April 8, 2021
Hweshik
- April 2, 2021
2nd grade field trip to Chodang University
April 2021
- March 24, 2021
Hweshik
- March 10, 2021
Hweshik
- March 8, 2021
Dinner with the school principal + vice principal + other faculty/staff (hweshik)
- March 5, 2021
Opened an account at the bank my school recommended and got a Korean cellphone plan
- March 4, 2021
Received my ARC (alien registration card)
- March 2, 2021
First day of school
February 2021
- February 22, 2021
Met my Fulbright coteacher at school
- February 19, 2021
Departure Day - moved into my homestay
- February 18, 2021
Signed my contract
- February 17, 2021
Found out if we got a homestay or a one-room (studio)
- February 16, 2021
KLI Graduation Ceremony
- February 11-14, 2021
Seoul Trip
- February 10, 2021
KLI Final Test
- February 1, 2021
Taught my second lesson in the teaching practicum
January 2021
- January 28, 2021
Gave my ETA Insights 20-minute talk on K-Dramas (:
- January 27, 2021
Placement Ceremony - I was placed at an all-boys high school in Mokpo!
- January 26, 2021
Taught my first lesson in the teaching practicum
- January 24, 2021
Done with quarantine! Moved out of the quarantine dorm into another dormitory
- January 23, 2021
Got tested for COVID-19 again
- January 12, 2021
First day of Orientation and KLI (Korean Language Instruction)
- January 10, 2021
Arrived at Incheon Airport, got tested for COVID-19, and checked into quarantine dormitory at Korea University Sejong Campus
- January 9, 2021
Flight to Incheon Airport
- January 6, 2021
Got a PCR COVID-19 test and received results within 12 hours (Genview Diagnosis, $95)
- January 4, 2021
KAEC informed us that in order to board our flight, we are now required to present a negative PCR COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of boarding
December 2020
- December 28, 2020
Korea University Korean Language Center placement test via Zoom (10 minutes of answering simple questions from an interviewer)
- December 23, 2020
Received 2020-2021 ETA Handbook, placement questionnaire, and ETA surveys
- December 17, 2020
ETA Pre-Departure Orientation via Zoom (1 hour). Found out we'll be doing quarantine and orientation at Korea University Sejong Campus
- December 6, 2020
Received flight information from the travel agency that Fulbright Korea works with
- December 3, 2020
Picked up A-3-99 visa in person at the Houston Korean Consulate
- December 1, 2020
Mailed IRS Form 8802 application for IRS Form 6166 US Residency Certification (to avoid double taxation)
November 2020
- November 25, 2020
Received TEFL certificate from ITTT
- November 23, 2020
Received USDOS apostille from Monument Visa
- November 18, 2020
Submitted A-3-99 (Fulbright) visa application in person at the Houston Korean Consulate
October 2020
- October 19, 2020
Registered for International TEFL and TESOL Training (ITTT) 120-hour course by KAEC
- October 15, 2020
Received medical clearance
September 2020
- September 21, 2020
Visited doctor for check-up, drug testing, and TB testing, and uploaded medical clearance form to IIE portal
- September 17, 2020
Submitted FBI background check USDOS apostille/authentication request (Monument Visa Services, $55)
- September 15, 2020
Got fingerprinted and received FBI background check through FBI channeler (Fieldprint, $50)
- September 14, 2020
Received more document details (FBI background check, drug test/medical clearances, etc.) from KAEC
August 2020
- August 4, 2020
Received award paperwork from KAEC
July 2020
- July 1, 2020
Notification of tentative new start date in January 2021
June 2020
- June 25, 2020
Got access to the IIE Portal (for uploading required documents)
April 2020
- April 21, 2020
Notification of program postponement due to COVID-19
March 2020
- March 26, 2020
Finalist notification
January 2020
- January 22, 2020
Semifinalist notification
October 2019
- October 5, 2019
Submitted application
September 2019
- September 16, 2019
Campus interview at Rice University
May 2019
- May 26, 2019
Decided to apply for the South Korea ETA position