DNK Newsletter #14 - December 2024

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✨ You’re reading the DNK December 2024 issue

💬 Contact: [email protected]

Annyeong !

Winter has come again! There are Christmas song covers in cafes, colorful lights in department stores, and thick snow… We wish you Happy Holidays 🫰

For those of you already in Korea, don’t forget to RSVP for our cozy pre-Christmas event planned tomorrow!

Our local community managers have been working hard, hosting meetups like this one every two weeks, and Korean cultural workshops, like learning calligraphy, making kimchi, creating jewelry with mother of pearl…

In today’s newsletter, we’ve got some good news about the digital nomad visa and the startup visa. We’ve also planned a little recap of the political events that happened in Korea over the last two weeks.

❄️ HOPPIN HOUSE’S WINTER SALE

Hoppin House, our coworking and coliving space in Yeonnam-dong, still has some availabilities for this winter - with 10% off 🤗

We’re planning winter activities: steaming in Korean spas, skiing, snowboarding, chilling at cafes, eating BBQ, maybe a hiking trip to Jeju…

⛷️ Book your winter stay with 10% off

🎉 THE DIGITAL NOMAD VISA IS A GO FOR 2025!

With the Digital Nomad Visa being a pilot program in 2024, it wasn’t sure if it would still be there in 2025.

But some of our members have already been granted their one-year extension!

We’ve updated our Digital Nomad Visa’s guide FAQ with the information you’ll need for the renewal 🥰 Click here to read all about it.

👩‍💻 THE STARTUP VISA WILL GET EASIER TO GET IN 2025

To attract international entrepreneurs, Korea has a unique visa program called OASIS. It’s a mix of classes, mentoring, incubation, funding, and other startup-related ecosystem offerings in English, funded by the government.

OASIS classes are an easy stepping stone to obtaining a two-step entrepreneur visa: the D-10-2 and the D-8-4. Many members of our community have found it interesting and a great alternative to Korea’s Digital Nomad Visa. 

In 2025, there are going to be a few changes that will make the visas faster to obtain 👇

🏝️ Learn all about the OASIS program

🇰🇷 PRESIDENT YOON WAS IMPEACHED

It’s been quite exciting recently to be in Korea these last two weeks with the political unrest. Conversations have been very interesting and we’ve all learned how to say ‘impeachment’ in Korean: 탄핵 (ta-neck).

But, despite some alarming foreign media coverage, everyday life here has not changed at all. Korea remains completely safe and fun.

Here’s a quick overview of the events:

• President Yoon declared Martial Law in a surprise broadcast at 11 PM on the 3rd of December, in a desperate last grab for power which still needs to be fully understood by specialists.

• Police and military blocked the Assembly, but Assembly members climbed over the walls. The members present at the Assembly voted unanimously against it around 2:30 AM.

• The coup is over.

• The opposition deposed a motion to impeach Yoon and, the following Saturday, thousands of Koreans went into the streets to protest peacefully, waving K-Pop lightsticks, in front of the National Assembly in Yeouido.

• The impeachment didn’t pass.

• The president didn’t resign as he promised to his party members, so there was a second round a week later. Koreans went protesting again.

• The impeachment passed with 204 votes (out of 200 needed).

This was the first step to stabilize the situation and now, people in power are trying to figure out how to proceed: Will the Constitutional Court approve the impeachment? Who stays in power? Who resigns? Is Yoon going to be jailed? And should be done about the new Presidential election?

In the meantime, expect Saturday protests to continue - and expect them to continue looking like a crowd cheering for a sports competition or singing at a concert. Big K-Pop names like IU, Yuri, and New Jeans have donated to local cafes so protesters would get free drinks and hand warmers. Parents even bring their kids 🤣

⚠️ WARNING: as a foreigner, you cannot participate in protests in Korea. This is very important, it could get you deported. If you go to observe, be careful not to get swept up in the crowds or act like you are protesting (chanting, having clothes or objects that could be political symbols, etc).

Happy holidays and see you in two weeks!

🫰

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