I had to do this as well. You have to go to the Korean embassy and fill out forms as well as bring in family documents. They need your birth certificate, your passport, both parents' passports and some document that shows your family tree bloodline (those are the 4 I remember). It is definitely best to bring one of your parents. They told me it'd take about a month and a half but it really tool about 3-4 months. They also wanted me to make a Korean passport as well, but because they took so long with my military service waiver they said I could make one in Korea. Got to Korea and was told that I cannot make a Korean passport (because I fall in a grey area because of my age) and that I should've made it while I was in the states (Korean immigration laws are garbage). I even consulted an immigration lawyer (at $100/hour) in Korea who couldn't tell me anything for certain. He did tell me that the waiver I received from the embassy is also not for certain. Although the waiver is good for 4 years, the Korean government still can grab me and throw me in military service at anytime. He advised me to just leave the country every 3 months and spend a day or two in Japan and come back in order to renew my Korean tourist visa. I am not an English teacher in Korea, so I don't know exactly how the school or hagwon you would work for will work out your visa. But what I can tell you is that being Korean is a disadvantage for you when it comes to being an English teacher (most of the time). Schools usually want non-asian teachers. If you had a choice between Korea and Japan, I would definitely choose Japan. Fuck how your parents feel about it...it's your life bud. I've been to Tokyo like 5-6 times. Tokyo is awesome! The only negative is that living costs are a more expensive in Japan. I would definitely advise having everything (job) set up before you come to Korea or Japan. If you do find a school or hagwon that will hire you, they'll probably pay for your airfare here and back too.