3 Months in Korea with Liam

The Preparation Journey

17.10.2024 – 18.01.2025

Why I Decided to Spend 3 Months in Korea

I used to think that all kids born into multicultural families would naturally pick up both their parents’ languages as well as the language of the place they live.

When Liam was born and until he was about two and a half, he spent a lot of time with me, so his Korean was improving a lot. But once he started going to daycare 4-5 days a week, his English skills skyrocketed, and before I knew it, he was speaking over 95% in English. Eventually, English became his main language.

Living abroad as a Korean, I’ve seen a lot of kids who were born and raised in Australia but only spoke English. I really wanted to create an environment where Liam could speak both Korean and French.

So, around the middle of 2023, I decided to spend 3 months in Korea, and the adventure began.
I was amazed at how quickly kids pick up languages.

During those 3 months, Liam went to kindergarten and practiced taekwondo. It was definitely a meaningful and enriching experience.

Birth Registration in Korea

Liam’s birth registration was finally completed through the consulate three months before we left for Korea. It wasn’t until he was 4 years old that we were able to register his birth.

With a French dad, a Korean mom, and living in Australia, registering his birth turned out to be much more complicated than expected. The consulate staff were a bit confused, and depending on the person handling the paperwork in Korea, the process seemed to change. In the end, I had to visit the consulate three times.

The birth registration documents were all clearly outlined on each consulate’s website, and there were 7 different methods for filling out the birth registration form, depending on the situation.

After many twists and turns, we finally completed the birth registration in Australia. Now, the last step is to go to the local district office in Korea and get his resident registration number to officially wrap it all up.

Kindergarten Registration in Korea

I had to send Liam to kindergarten for three months, but when I tried calling a few Korean kindergartens from Australia to get more information, none of them answered. Since the calls were coming from overseas, they either picked up and hung up right away or didn’t pick up at all.

So, with some help from my family, I was able to register him in advance. Fortunately, there was a spot available, and I paid for the first month of tuition to reserve his place (the kindergarten suggested this method). This amount was later credited toward Liam’s official tuition when he started attending.

Once the birth registration and kindergarten enrollment were settled, heading to Korea felt a lot lighter and less stressful.

Korean Passport Registration

I didn’t have time to get Liam’s Korean passport before our trip, so we entered Korea using his Australian passport, and he got his Korean passport made once we were in Korea.

Interestingly, when we went through Korean immigration, they asked if Liam had a Korean passport since his birth registration was already on file. When I said he didn’t, they told me to get it made in Korea and to use his Korean passport when leaving Korea.

As for dual nationals, here’s how to handle passports when traveling internationally:

In Korea (entering and leaving Korea): Use the Korean passport.
In Australia (entering and leaving Australia): Use the Australian passport.

However, if you enter Korea with an Australian passport, you’re technically entering as an Australian citizen, so you can’t stay for more than 3 months unless you have a visa or special permission.

When traveling with different nationalities, it’s important that all your passports have the same name to avoid issues with flight tickets and other travel-related problems.

It might not be a big issue when entering Korea, but if you’re traveling to more sensitive countries like the U.S., you’ll need to book your flight tickets using the name on the passport you plan to use to avoid any potential hassles.

Because of this, when registering Liam’s birth, I initially wanted to register his name to match the one on his Australian passport. However, since his dad is a foreigner and there were some legal issues with the relationship between his mom and dad, Liam ended up being registered with his mom’s last name in Korea.