F4-visa update

I successfully processed my paperwork and wasn't told I needed to bring anything else (what Mark Salzman, in talking about the PRC in his book Iron & Silk, called the game of "Let's Make a Regulation," a frequent thing in communist China, a country that is a bureaucratic nightmare), so that was a plus. The officer in the Plexiglass-front booth was friendly and spoke clearly, which was also a plus. I came early, arriving around 8:30 a.m.; my appointment had been precisely scheduled for 9:12 a.m., and I was ticket number 7, but when all the many booths opened up at 9, I was in the first round of people to be called. Everything went smoothly at my booth when I handed over my documents, then the guy told me—just as happened last year—that I needed to visit a different booth to (1) have a photocopy of my passport made (W200), (2) get the standard certification (now W60,000), and (3) pay the W35,000 fee to be able to pick up my new ID (good thing I'd brought ID photos). 

The snag, though, was with (3), which was a new thing for me. I don't know whether this might have been a new rule, per se, but the procedure was new for me; this was the first time in nine years that I'd had to request the pick-up option for my ID (they'll mail you your card for W39,000); normally, I present my ID and get new validity dates stamped on it; it's a quick, same-day procedure. The lady at the tucked-away booth—where you get your passport photocopied and your certification printed out—told me to just use the nearby ATM to pay for the W35,000 pick-up fee, but I didn't see any instructions for what to do, having not used a Korean ATM to pay for anything since I'd taught down in Daegu (where learning the bill-paying procedure had also been a chore) in 2013. I got confused and asked one of the green-vested assistants to help me out with the procedure, and I also asked her where the instructions for the procedure were printed. She pointed vaguely outside of the tucked-away corner, then she helped me out by basically doing the thing for me: scan the passport, then follow certain ATM prompts; deposit W40,000, then get W5,000 back, and be sure to take the receipt back to the original Immigration booth Where It All Began. So I took my ATM receipt, certification, and passport photocopy back to the original officer; he took this new set of papers and told me to wait to be called by name. A few minutes later, a different officer called me up and gave me a single printed sheet that I guess is supposed to stand in for my ID card; I won't be able to pick it up for three weeks, which means I'll need to come back in August. I should've paid the extra W4,000 to have the ID card mailed to me. Ah, well. No big deal.

So it's not over quite yet, Poison Girls. It'll be over in early August when I go back to pick up my new card. And now: I must get a haircut and finish watching "Psych." I finished all eight seasons (damn, that was a slog, but in a good way); I still need to watch the "after-show" episode and the first "Psych" movie. There are three movies (so far), but the second and third aren't available on Apple TV: you have to be subscribed to the Peacock streaming platform, which reviewer Adam Olinger lovingly calls "The Cock." Expect a review soon.

Later today: the meet-up with Charles. Photos to follow.