THE WEBSITE IS STILL UNDER DEVELOPMENT, SO PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THESE PAGES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS THE FINAL WORD ON THE ADMISSION CRITERIA AND/OR THE CURRICULAR REQUIREMENTS OF THE DUAL DEGREE MS PROGRAM IN EMBEDDED SOFTWARE.

Frequently Asked Question

Visa, Housing, Etc.

Which visa is needed?: Officially, if you want to stay more than 90 days in Korea, you need E-1 visa. However, you can't get the E-1 visa simply because you are not paid by Korea University directly. Instead, you can go to Korea with a C-3 Visa with which you can usually stay up to 90 days. As your visa is getting expired, you can renew your visa by visiting an embassy or consulate in nearby countries such as Japan and then you can stay for additional 90 days. One thing to keep in mind is that the period may depend on the nationality and current visa type of the applicant. For example, if you have tunishia nationality and only have B1/B2 US-visa, you will only get a C-3 visa with 30 days of maximum period. For more information, visit the link below.
General visa information
Which document is needed for the visa?: You just need your passport, photo and processing fee.
When should I get the visa? How long is it valid?: It takes two business days to process the visa request after you submit all the required documents to Korean consulate. Usually, the C-3 visa is valid for 5 years from the date it is issued. You can use the visa as many times as you want to visit Korea before the expiration date.
How to fill out the C-3 visa application?: You can fill out the application as follows.

Purpose of entry
  Collaborating with faculty at Korea University
Desired length of stay
  90 days
Address in Korea
  Korea University , Anam Residence-International Residence
  Anam-dong, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, 136-701, Korea
  Tel : 82+(0)2+3290+1555
Who will pay for your trip
  Georgia Tech (It is very important that you make it clear that you will NOT be paid in Korea and that the funds
  will be from the US)
Guarantor or reference in Korea (name, address, phone#, relationship)
  Chuck Yoo, Professor
  Division of Computer and Communication Engineering
  Korea University Seoul 136-713, Korea
  Tel. : 82-2-3290-3194
  Korean representative to Korea University teaching program
What kind of housing will be served?: For the academic year(Spring and Fall), you will stay in CJ international house located inside Korea University.
During the summer semester, Somerset Palace Seoul will be served.

Following facilities are available to faculty and TAs staying at the Somerset Palace in the summer:
  1. Fully furnished residence and equipped kitchen.
  2. Daily housekeeping service. (except Sundays and linen service is 3 times per week)
  3. Daily breakfast at Residents Lounge.
  4. Utilities charges. (electricity and water supply)
  5. Internet charges.
  6. Complimentary use of Fitness Center. (Gym, Sauna, Pool, Jacuzzi)
  7. Complimentary use of shuttle service.

Contact Information for Somerset Palace Seoul
Tel : 82-2-6730-8005
Fax : 82-2-6730-8001
Email : jimmy.lee@the-ascott.com
Website : www.somersetpalaceseoul.com

Contact Informaion for the CJ i-House:
Tel: 82-2-3290-1806
Tel : 82-2-3290-1555

For more informaion, refer to the pdf files linked below.
CJ i-House
Somerset Palace
Do I have access to school facilities such as library or health center?: You are going there as an employee of GT not KU. So you do not get any services in KU except library access and an office for yourself in the department.
Direction from the airport?: A taxi is the easiest way to get to the CJ International house from Incheon. It costs about 60,000-80,000 won (~60-80 USD) and that does not include a 7,100 won toll charge. The ride is about 1 hour. Very few of the taxi drivers speak english or can read english instructions, so I have attached a map I made in korean of how to get to the CJ International house. The first time I came, I just gave the taxi driver the map and he was able to find the CJ house easily. When you find a taxi, tell them you need to go to "Korea Univerisity" and show them the map. The text on the map has the address of the CJ house and has instructions to call the front desk if the driver gets lost. (cj_house_map)

Some of the taxi drivers take visa, but not all. I've only used cash. We have an ATM at the CJ house, but there are also lots of them at the airport. When you exit customs, look for the "Currency Exchange" sign in front of you. There is an ATM on either side of the "Currency Exchange" shop. The keypad doesn't have any english on it, but after you insert your ATM card, the instructions on the display will appear in english.

The exits near the Currency Exchange will lead right to the taxis. There is also a tourist information desk in the atrium, who can guide you to the taxi stand. There will also be taxi drivers in the atrium (usually near the Currency Exchange) who will probably approach you and see if you need a ride. Those drivers actually know a some english. Just make sure how much they are going to charge you. I usually write "60,000 won" on a sheet of paper and show them so they understand what I mean.

Here is the address of the CJ house for your reference:

Korea University , Anam Residence Life
CJ International Residence
Anam-dong, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, 136-701, Korea
Tel: 82+(0)2+3290+1806
Tel : 82+(0)2+3290+1555
What are incentives to join this program?: If you are really interested in this program, please contact program director(prof. Ramachandran, rama@cc.gatech.edu) for the information including incentives.

Class-related Questions

What should I prepare with respect to constructing my working environment?: Korean staff will help you set up your PC that you will use for the whole semester. Other than that, anything you need should be prepared by yourself.
Where should I get desk copies of books for my course?: All desk copies should be obtained from GT, not from KU.
Who manages this GT website for the course that I teach/TA?: This web page has to be hosted on GT machines and maintained by the instructor/TA.
Are the class lectures for courses taught in KU recorded?: All courses can be recorded into video tapes. Although it is totally up to an instructor, videotaping lectures is strongly encouraged for future use.
Language for Communication?: English is the only language for the communication between TAs and students. Even if some TAs are Korean, they should speak only in English for academic communication. To guarantee this, faculty should encourage all TAs to use English inside the school. Of course, for other purpose (e.g., enjoying leisure hours outside the school), they are free to use any language.

For TAs going to Korea

Which office and lab will I use?

Here's the location of the office and lab you will use.
-Office: Science of library B/D #622B
-Lab: Environmental Engineering Lab #106

For the location, refer to the campus map below.
campusmap

I already paid for the health insurance here. Will my insurance be useful in Korea?

Pearce & Pearce(the default insurance plan for Georgia Tech students) should be covering you internationally.
In this case, your benefits will go under "out of network" category: $300 deductible & 60% of the costs covered except emergencies (80% covered in that case.) For more details, one should check their insurance plan coverage online at www.studentinsurance.com.

Since the hospital abroad will probably not process the insurance claims, you will need to get an itemized statement which includes:

-doctor/hospital name
-amount charged
-amount paid
-services received
-diagnosis

and send the original statement (make a copy to keep) to the insurance company with a copy of insurance card attached. They should be sent to:

Pearce & Pearce Ins
PO Box 2439
Florence, SC 29503

AIG International services can also be contacted for 24-hour Assistance.
tel) 1-713-267-2525.
fax) 01-713-974-3422.

Note: If you have a different provider, you should consult with them for international coverage.

Do I have to do anything special for semester registration?

All GTAs going to Korea should be registered as a full-time student on the GT Korea campus.

You can only register for courses that are offered for the GT Korea campus. You cannot register for any GT Atlanta courses. If you want to register for any of the courses being offered for the KU students. (Refer to the answer to the next question below.) Please check with your academic advisor to make sure you are doing the needful commensurate with your F-1 status.

Which courses can I register for the semester?

For each semester, usually 3 or 4 courses are offered in KU campus. Out of those, you can register for any classes you want except the course which you assist as a TA. (see the course page for the course offerings). However, since those courses are offered in a different campus, you need to contact the academic advisor of the specific unit which is offering the course in order to remove the restriction. In addition, some video courses will be available. (In other words, those courses will be held in Atlanta campus, and be delivered to Korea in synchronous format.). If you want to register any such video course offered via DLPE, please get in touch with Kishore Ramachandran, ASAP, since this requires getting special permission from DLPE. You can also register for thesis or project credit so long as your academic advisors accept it. You will have to contact your respective academic advisor and ask them to set up a GT-Korea campus version of the course (for e.g., CS 8903 RKR or ECE 9000 RK1, etc.) so that you will be able to register for them.
To summarize:

You need to register for GT Korea campus not Atlanta campus.
You should register for 12 credits for full-time student status. At least 9 credits should be for letter grade.
You should register for the GTA course, which can be used to round up to the required 12 credits for full-time student status.
If you need to take a course that is offered for the Korea campus and if you need a permit send e-mail to Cathy Dunnahoo (for COC courses) and Marilou Mycko (for ECE courses).
If there are some video courses that are already being offered for the Fall and you want to take them, please let me know right away with the course number, etc.
If you need to take special problems with some specific faculty, please let Cathy or Marilou know right away (for COC and ECE courses, respectively).

For faculty teaching from Atlanta

How will the lecture be done?: The course will be taught using Distance Learning facility. We use 14 specially equipped classrooms on the main GT campus. Courses are jointly assigned to these rooms by the individual in the offering school or department working in conjunction with Distance Learning (which is administrated by George Wright). Every room has the same functionality. The only difference among the 14 classrooms is location and seating capacity.
Do I need to take care of recording the lecture?: There will be a technician recording all the lectures.
Is the lecture recorded or live?: The synchronous (live) sessions are delivered via video conference systems (two-way video and audio and in the future VGA from the instructors computer). Not all courses in the past have been delivered in synchronous format due to time differences. However, the majority of the courses are delivered, as you have stated, early in the morning or later in the day here in Atlanta (just the reverse for you at Korea University). In addition, all lectures are captured in streaming media format (Windows Media Player currently) for on-demand viewing or down-load. Links are placed in the GT course management system "T-Square". Every student must have a GT Account and password in order to access the captured lectures.
Who can help me if I have a distance learning program question?: George Wright is the contact person for technical problems.
Send an email to george.wright@dlpe.gatech.edu.
How are tests administered?: Every semester all students MUST select a proctor to administer, supervise, and authenticate that exams were taken by the student according to the guidelines established by Georgia Tech. All proctors will be approved by the Center for Distance Learning. If they do not have an approved proctor they will not receive exams.
Who is eligible for proctor?: At each off-campus location, a site coordinator or proctor must be identified to administer examinations. The site coordinator/proctor must be an individual in a responsible position such as the student's immediate or higher supervisor or someone in the company's personnel or training office. Each student must submit a Proctor Approval Form for approval by the Coordinator of CDL. The proctor may not be a peer, someone who reports to the student, or a relative. Examples of acceptable proctors include, but are not limited to, the following: company training department personnel; company human resources personnel; student's immediate supervisor or higher. Students who cannot identify a suitable proctor at their work place may arrange to have exams administered at a cooperating college, library, or other site approved by the CDL office.
Time difference?: In summer time, there is a time difference of 13 hours between Atlanta and Korea.
Therefore, most classes will be hold 8:00 a.m. or 7:00 p.m. based on the time in Atlanta.
What are incentives to join this program?: If you are really interested in this program, please contact program director(prof. Ramachandran, rama@cc.gatech.edu) for the information including incentives.

For the TAs working in Atlanta, there's no difference compared to TAs in other regular classes. They are in charge of tasks only for students studying in Atlanta campus.