Considering our neighborhood is home to nearly every national embassy, the U.S. Embassy is incredibly inconvenient, located north of Namsan Mountain in an area called Jongno-gu. It is a very busy part of the city, mostly a huge business district but near many sites that I visited back in the Fall such as the Seoul Arts Center, Cheonggyecheon Stream and Insa-dong. Compared to other embassy's that are around the neighborhood, it's huge, and understandably so, but not enormous. It looks like a typical U.S. government building and according to the embassy website, in 1986 at the suggestion of the Korean Government, the U.S. purchased a girl's high school which became the current site. The architecture does scream "1960's High School". Despite not being located down the street from our apartment like the Mexican and Afghanistan Embassy's are, it was an easy bus ride, total trip taking about 18 minutes door to door. Not too bad, I even got a seat on the bus.
Upon scheduling my appointment online, you are given specific instructions to show up with your printed appointment confirmation in hand and no earlier than 15 minutes before your scheduled appointment. Entering large unknown buildings like this always gives me anxiety, especially a heavily guarded government building, because I always anticipate not being able to simply enter through a normal front entrance and having to wander around until I find it. Low and behold, the entrance was literally right in front of the building, but was more of a heavily guarded security checkpoint with Korean police all over the corners and sidewalk. When they unlock the door from the sidewalk for you, you enter a small building to go through security. After handing them my appointment confirmation they checked me off the list and then I went through security like at the airport. They then gave me a badge and confiscated my phone for the duration of my visit. It's all Koreans working the security checkpoint but they greet and speak to you in English....after all, we are technically on American soil. After the little bit of protocol, you exit into a courtyard and walk up to the real entrance to the building and you're in!
I really felt like I was back at home....at the DMV perhaps but with a tad more effort put into the decor (shocking). There were four windows and a cashier where I got my number, number 26 (and they were on number 24, this was a good start). After taking my number I took a seat in one of the rows of chairs that were lined up facing a t.v. playing CNN. Much to my surprise, there were beautiful prints on the wall of Edward Curtis' photographs of North American Indians from the exhibit that I visited a few months back that the Embassy was a sponsor of. There were also two Mark Rothko prints. This attempt at decorating was a pleasant surprise. This particular office handles everything from passport renewal, lost passports, declaring the birth of someone, obtaining social security numbers for new births, etc. and the crowd of people here for these services included mostly Koreans with a couple Americans. I'm not sure what everyone was there for but I did catch one American guy's story to the woman at the window when asked how he lost his passport.
Roughly 15 minutes in, my number was called and I went up to the window, handed over my documents, filled out an Embassy courier form for my new passport and documents to be couriered back to me upon completion....in two weeks. TWO WEEKS! THAT'S IT!? No four week or six week typical time frame!? The woman at the window chuckled as I said "Wow, really? Two weeks?" After paying I was on my way! This was THE MOST pleasant experience at a government office, hands down, that I've ever had....easier and more pleasant than going to a U.S. post office, that's for sure. I'm glad to know the U.S. can at least work efficiently outside of the U.S.
Our U.S. Embassy in Korea...
looks just like a high school doesn't it?
This is the street in front of the Embassy.
The large building with the columns is the Seoul Arts Center.
No comments:
Post a Comment