Korean Transit Tour

My sister and I are going to the US for a vacation this July and will be taking Korean Air. My colleague who owns a travel agency suggested that I take a transit tour of Seoul during the layover in Incheon. At first I thought it wasn’t possible as I didn’t have a Korean tourist visa and I didn’t want to hassle myself into applying for one. But my colleague said that she was able to take a transit tour last year even if she didn’t have a visa. Her passport even got stamped at immigration, proving that she was able to legally enter and exit Korea without a visa.

I couldn’t believe this was possible so I checked the internet to verify if transit tours are allowed for Filipino citizens without South Korean Visas. The first few websites I saw made me doubt what my colleague said. After all, the Philippines isn’t part of the few countries with Visa Exemption Agreements with South Korea. But then, I stumbled upon this website which contained this info:

Transit tourists bound for another country

Eligible countries

• Applicable to all countries (save for Cuba, and Macedonia) that are not granted visa-free entry into Korea.

Applicable to…

• Those with a visa or a re-entry permit for U.S., Japan, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand (5 countries) and traveling to any one of those countries through Korea.
• Those traveling from any one of the five countries mentioned above, whose final destination is not Korea.

Requirements

• Must have a confirmed onward flight ticket for departure within 30 days after entering Korea, in addition to having no record of criminal offence in the five countries mentioned above.

I didn’t want to trust just about any information I read on the web, so to be doubly-sure, I made phone inquiries in the Korean embassy in Manila and wrote an inquiry letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of South Korea.

The answer, Yes! It’s possible. Below is the verbatim reply of the embassy:

----- Forwarded Message ----

From: 주필리핀대사관 영사과

To:

Sent: Thu, May 6, 2010 4:00:16 PM

Subject: [RE][FWD]Transit Visa

--------------------------------------- [ Original Message ] --------------------------------------

Sender : 필리핀(대) <>

To : ph04@mofat.go.kr

Date : 2010-05-05 09:15:42

S u b j e c t : [FWD]Transit Visa

yes you can enter korea without visa if you have a US VISA and an onward confirmed ticket to US after korea. thank you

The embassy echoed the same thing. I hope this clears up a lot of information on this matter as I came across several forums and websites that state Filipinos can’t enter South Korean without a visa. Blanket opinions that say you can't are simply inaccurate! There are in fact some instances which will allow visa-free entry PROVIDED certain conditions are met. Otherwise, a tourist visa is required.

I’m pretty excited to see Seoul and Incheon. We have a 14-hour layover and we can take a day tour of Seoul, visiting temples, markets and savoring authentic Korean food. Tour packages seem quite reasonable at $100 per person. For just $100, I get to step into a new country with no extra airfare charges.

Korea on my mind. I’ve been having a dose of Korean Drama to set my mood for the trip. Can't wait!

Leftover Lechon

Serving and eating Lechon (roast pig) is a must during the holidays. Anthony Bourdain doesn't put the Philippines on top of the pork hierarchy without good reason. He said this after tasting lechon from Cebu.

The way lechon gets devoured is by skinning it one greasy pinch and bite after another. But once the entire skin has been removed, you are left with soft, but rather bland, tasting meat. Without the skin, I can only eat a few bites of the meat portions. A typical pig good for roasting is about 30 to 40 kilos (yes, that much meat!), so it is not surprising to find leftover lechon.

But what do you do with leftover lechon? The standard recycled dish is known as lechon paksiw, or leftover meat cooked in the sweet liver based gravy it is served with.

This Christmas, my uncle introduced me to a different way of recycling lechon, that is, to deep fry it. I didn't think it was actually going to be good until after I tried it. I was totally blown away. I absolutely love it. Goodbye lechon paksiw. Hello deep fried lechon!!!

The best part to deep fry are those meat close to the bones, especially the rib area. You fry the meat until it is golden brown and you dip it in a sauce mixture made with vinegar, soy sauce, onions and chili. You eat it with lots and lots of rice. It is like crispy pata but more tender and flavorful.

So lechon in my book will go from this:

To this:

Cooked twice. Roasted then deep fried. Double the cholesterol. Double the calories. Double the flavor.

I love the holidays and all the bingeing accompanying it. Can't wait for the next holiday.