From the travelogue: An Indian in South Korea recounts the ‘jobs’ she held without a work visa

After about a year in Korea, having learnt basic Korean, I went with one of my friends to a meeting in downtown Seoul, which was supposed to be the mayor’s open-house event. It had been arranged to listen to the voices of citizens and foreigners for improvement in governance. At the end, there was a Q&A session where I asked, “If we don’t have work visa but have experience in various fields, how can our services be utilised productively?” I did not expect a response, even though my question was duly noted along with my contact details.

After about 15 days, I got an email from the Gangnam administration office inviting me to an event. I was not sure whether I should go, since I didn’t know what it was about. Nevertheless, I took two trains and went. I was in for a big surprise! The event was to discuss how to promote tourism in Gangnam, using the K-culture experience. Much to my surprise, I was appointed as a Gangnam publicity ambassador with no prior discussion. I guess this was their response to my question at the open house. A handful of other expats were also given similar certificates.

Afterwards, an official...

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