Consulate General of the Republic of Korea

I visited here on August 28 (Thursday) around 1 pm. and received my wife and daughter's renewed passports. I commend the kindness of the female employee in charge of the passport field here. She was kind to many people's complaints, persevering until the end. Once again, I sincerely praise her for coming to another country far away and working hard.

It was very difficult to make an appointment online, and I barely managed to do it over the phone. I tried to cancel several days before the appointment date, but there was no option to cancel online. Since phone service was unavailable on weekends, I had to call on the day of the appointment to cancel. When I finally reached a representative, the way they answered the call was so rude and curt that I felt extremely offended. I wanted to raise my voice and complain, but I held myself back. The reason people ask to be connected to a representative is because they need guidance, yet the response I received was blunt and unhelpful from the very beginning. I was truly shocked and upset. That someone like this works at the Consulate of the Republic of Korea is simply disgraceful. They should feel ashamed.

The consuls are incredibly kind. I felt it last time, but today, I had to wait a long time, so I spent a long time observing them. It was truly amazing how they treated each person, no matter what task they brought or what mistakes they made.

I made an appointment for an F4 visa even though I didn't have all the docs because I had a lot of questions that the website did not answer. I've called multiple times but no one ever picks up which is why I made the appointment. The young lady with shoulder length hair that worked in Window #5 (visa) was very unfriendly and rude. She practically refused to help me because I didn't have all the forms and when I said I was here because I had questions, she barely would answer and was very curt. SO unprofessional and clearly is just trying to coast and not do her job. I had to ask the other people working in the office for help and most were nice, but weren't sure what I had to do since my case was not simple. It wasn't until I spoke with the young man with glasses working in Window #3 (notary) that I got the answers I needed. He was VERY helpful and friendly and kind. They should really FIRE that woman who is working the Visa window. She is such a disdainful unhelpful unprofessional person and really should not be working there. If you read other reviews, I'm pretty sure we are all talking about the same person. Maybe if they get enough complaints about her, she'll get fired.

I called to inquire about visa-related information, but unfortunately, the experience was deeply disappointing. The staff member I spoke with was extremely dismissive. Cutting me off repeatedly, refusing to listen, and ultimately saying, "So what? I don't care," with a completely dismissive attitude and no interest in helping at all. I understand that not every question can be answered, but the lack of basic courtesy and professionalism was shocking. For many non-Koreans seeking a visa, the Consulate General is their first encounter with Korean government services. It's incredibly disheartening and frankly, embarrassing to think this might be the lasting impression they leave with. I truly hope the Consulate invests in better training for staff to ensure they represent Korea with the respect, patience, and dignity it deserves.

Planning to visit Korea and called the Consulate for entry permit clarification since the website is confusing. A rude lady answered the phone and told me “read the website.” As I was trying to explain to her that I needed clarification she repeated to me that I should read the website and hung up on me. So rude!! A very bad front representative to her country. Needs to go back to diplomacy school.

TLDR: Mail in your visa application if you cannot find appointment, it was quick, in and out pick up after a week submitting. Very nice staff! After reading reviews on Google and Reddit, i learn that the consulate is not reliable. I was not able to find an appointment to get the visa, there is a mail in option, however I didnt trust it at first. However, because I couldn't find an appointment, mailing in my application was my only shot. I shipped my application via USPS along with my passport. It says it would take up to 2-3 weeks for approval on the website which I was worried about. But my application got approved within the same week - and got an email to come pick up my passport. When I get to the consulate, there was no wait. I showed my ID, pick up my passport and visa within like 3 minutes. I was in and out! P/S Make sure you have all the paperwork needed. I oversubmit and when in doubt, just send it anyway. Because if you're missing a piece of document, there will be delay.

Friendly staff. Extremely helpful. I couldn’t travel to Asia for business since my existing passport was expiring in 5 months. Consulate set me up with morning appointment. I got there at 9AM, was out the door with an emergency passport by 9:35AM, and caught my flight at 12:30PM. I could not thank the staff and this facility enough.

Very kind , courteous workers. Made us our visit easy and comfortable The paper work we requested returned within promised time. How come we can not receive same kind treatment at US government offices?

I had the pleasure of experiencing one of the rudest service encounter with one of the VISA staff personnel.

I had to go get my visa to come to Korea and the green consulate in San Francisco was extremely helpful and polite. I read reviews before I went. That said no one there spoke English, which is not true. They were definitely many people there that spoke English, and could help me with the process as I do not speak Korean.

I would give no star to this ridiculous place. If I could I will contact foreign administration office in Korea for complaint. So !!!! Rude!!!! They look like they don't want to help anyone nor work. Just sitting around doing nothing!! Also it says you can't enter without mask when everywhere else doesn't require which I could totally understand this part but the guy who work inside wasn't even wearing a mask!!! Such a waste of tax money they should close this place down.

금요일 3시에 예약이라 산호세에서 가는길이 가기전부터 마음에 부담이 있었다.. 샌프란으로 들어서는 차들은 너무 많고 주차도 걱정이 되고 그런데 영사관 입구에서부터 따뜻하게 인사를 건내며 맞아주는 분~ 여권을 담당해주시는 분의 친절함~ 전화를 받으시는 분들의 그 목소리에 저절로 미소가 지어졌다 다음주에 다시 가야되는데 마음이 너무 가볍다!!

I don't understand why this place gets bad marks for attitude and rudeness! I needed to renew my passport and they greeted me in Korean, I greeted them back in Korean! I am able to have simple conversational Korean and I can read it very slowly but have no idea what I am reading. After the greetings, I told the lady I needed to renew my passport. Easy, she gave me a form which was in Korean and I filled it out by the window just in case I needed help. The lady helped me when I asked what certain boxes meant and she also made sure I understood. It took less than 10 min for me to fill out my forms and give her my passport picture. I didn't get any weird attitude or rudeness from anyone. I was treated very nicely even though I am sure they were thinking...oh great we gotta deal with a simpleton. My passport was done in less than 3 weeks. Do come smiling and from the beginning let them know you do not speak Korean and that you are more comfortable speaking in English. They deal with people that are frustrated and stressed constantly so imagine how they feel...

The 2009 Korean Embassy mansion location totally rocked because I could easily find parking, but the 2012 new location where the Consulate office moved is so claustrophobic and the parking literally SUCKS! You either have to feed the blasted meter or pay an exorbitant parking rate fee; San Francisco parking is getting to be just as maniacal as trying to park in downtown Madrid, Spain! Make sure you bring at least two rolls of quarters or a major credit card for the new, digital parking meter; I'm not parking in the parking lot-charging $3.00 for 1/2 hour! Oh~don't even think of parking at McDonald's across the street either-the tow trucks will tow your car away! BTW: You must sign in before going up the elevator to the Korean Consulate's Office. Some Korean Office Personnel don't speak fluent English; Luckily, I could get by speaking a few "Hangugo" vernacular. Oh~I took pics of the new location; look for the East West Bank-this is where the Korean Consulate moved to and it's on the third floor, room 320.

Some feedback for these people. If someone is speaking to you in English and you yourself know fluent English, do not stare dumbfounded at the person speaking English as if you cannot speak English and then ask in Korean, "can you not speak Korean?" I'm speaking in English because although Korean is my native tongue, I use more English on a daily basis and I'm more comfortable with it. So if you're working in a US city, for a Korean consulate in the US and a Korean comes to you speaking English, please respond in English. If you'd prefer Korean, ask politely if the person can speak Korean instead because you'd prefer it. Don't passive aggressively, in a challenging way, ask to converse in Korean. This also applies to phone conversations. Especially, don't ask passive aggressively to converse in Korean only to whip out all your English skills later on in the conversation. Also, do not ask a Korean who walks into the Korean embassy to renew a Korean passport whether they are "Korean" and if they are sure if they are Korean and ask this question in Korean. What do you mean, "are you Korean?" Yes I am. I'm not stupid enough to google "Korean embassy" and come inside a Korean embassy with a Korean flag flying outside to renew a Korean passport only to be not Korean. Yes I am Korean. That's why I am here. Thank you. 1 star because it's a nice building and location and another star for being available to help "Koreans" or at least the Koreans who can speak Korean. Guess if you can't speak fluent Korean, you're not a Korean or at least a deep shame to the Korean people.

I have applied for visas' in other embassies before, Korean Embassy in San Francisco is by far the rudest people working in an embassy I have encountered . From the greeting on the phone to the end of our conversation. They greeted me in Korean, of course that is expected. I replied in English, that however, is something they are still not use to because they continue to speak in Korean. She can't answer my question so she put me on hold. I didn't hang up because I want an answer, though, I've been on hold for a good 15ish minutes. She picked it up again and said "I have to wait" I said I've been waiting, I need to speak with someone who can answer me. She said "that's why you have to wait" and I said "wait for what?" She took my name and number and hang up on me mid sentence. I have a feeling no one will be calling me. I've been to the embassy as well, all smiling and friendly, but they were just as unaccommodating and stoic. The security guard was the only warm person in that building. This had been a long back and forth student visa application (D-2) that started in early January. They returned applications to us several times because they said, they prefer one document over the other, or the date wasn't written correctly when it was, but they want it to be dated this year and not last year, when 2021 is the correct year when the application was initially started. Anyway, my daughter really wants this done and I'm in full support. Other Korean Embassies in other states ( my daughter is in communication with other students applying for the same visa) are not as rude and actually some are accommodating. There must be a power tripping of some kind or they just dumped the most incompetent people in the San Francisco office.

Came to renew my passport, and everyone was SO KIND, from the security guard outside to every worker in the building. I wrote my wrong because I haven't lived in Korea since I was 8 and I didn't know you always write your birthday first. The person processing my application corrected it himself and super kindly told me about it. Super great customer service!

The worst service ever. My mother called to ask about document requirements for a non-citizen when traveling to a different state. They were incredibly rude, their answers ranging from "Go Google it" and "Call the airline?" and lastly "We're not responsible for that, decide for yourself". I'm quoting verbatim here. If they don't know the answer, fine. Help direct the person elsewhere. But so many of us that call your consulate do it because they just want to hear someone explain things in the language that they're most familiar with. If your staff are not understanding of that, they shouldn't be working there.

It was so amazing to get here than other embassy the visa agent is very kind and easy.. and the place is nice.. and if you are a philippine passport and then greencard holder there is no fee.. i love this consulate very easy ... godbless this team and korean embassy team...

Went here around lunch time on a Monday to apply for a Korean visa. I was the only person to apply at the time and the process took less than 5 minutes. Smooth and fast!

odd location...flag pole with republic of korea flag...residential presidio heights...easy free street parking plenty...or, park along the white curb, as long as you go in and get a parking permit...expired passport and renewal required for $53...free photos for passports at this location...reason for visit....renewal application in korean...difficult words and unable to comprehend...not very helpful, but if you ask they do help eventually...need to know your registered address of origin...but, if you ask, they can look it up....get a military waiver if you are a male under 35...3 weeks to get a new passport...pick up or mail...

A long time ago, I lost my green card at Jupiter in Berkeley. Actually, I lost my whole wallet which had my green card and Social Security card in it. Don't ask why I carried those things around with me. I never bothered to replace the green card until I got a job at a place where they needed to see it. I went back and forth with what was INS at the time and the Korean Consulate to give me something to prove I was here legally and could work. The green card was going to take months so they told me to get a passport stamped by INS. My old passport was of me as a 2 year old with my mom so I needed a new one. The people at the Korean Consulate were nice, even though my Korean is terrible and I had to spell everything out for them phonetically with my dad on the phone. I never had to wait long and it took some begging but they were able to get everything sorted out so that I got my passport a day or two later. I had that passport when I was traveling in SE Asia during the 2002 World Cup. While it sometimes took a long time for my US friends to get through customs, my Korean passport got me a lot of love while South Korea was still in it. See, WS, I'm a fob too.

Quick and helpful, as long as your questions are straightforward and sensible. While Iw as there I overheard them take a call in Korean, and the caller was making unreasonable claims and requests so the employees here seemed a little flustered. However, the service I got was good, especially Mr.Jang is helpful. **Tip: you can park in the areas painted white, as long as you go in and get a parking permit from them. Remember to return the permit before you leave!

Pretty awesome. Not as efficient as the Vietnamese office, but pretty awesome. I had to apply for my visa to teach overseas, and these people got the job done. The language barrier was kind of disturbing, and they sort of messed up on the dates. When I was in Korea, I had to ask for an extension because they did not read my application correctly. While I was in San Francisco, I tried to remedy the problem and was told that it wouldn't matter. But while I was in Korea, I was told that I could be fined up to $100 a day for overstaying my visa. So, nuts to you, Korean Consulate!

I work for a major korean company. I have a passport that needs a korean visa. I came to this page as google took me here and felt i must comment/review on my experience. Last time i visited, i found the staff member (forgot her name) to be very understanding to my situation and helped me in getting the visa in-time for my business trip. She was good with her English (unlike the general categorization in other review) and treated me with respect.

The staff here are very dismissive and are unwilling to assist. Came to gather some information regarding applying for the Kyopo VISA and had a few questions. The woman "assisting" me kept telling me to get the application. I asked if the application had all the information that I needed and she said yes. Also hard to communicate if your Korean isn't fluent. Mine was rusty so I was speaking the her in konglish. Back to the internet I go to try and get some information.

It's as fast as Korea and it's a detailed description. And they are kind enough more than the Korean public officials.

Easy,quick , I'm Vietnamese and I applied for a visa , just only 5 minutes , Make sure you guys bring tickets, bank statement (over than $3000), hotel voucher, green card, and passport

The new temporary location on Van Ness is awesome for the simple reason that it is right across the street from Philz coffee. It was also the quickest visa application process I've ever had. I was there for 2 minutes at the most. Most of that time was spent forwarding my flight itinerary email to their email address. If only I had take a printed itinerary, I could've saved 75% of my time and utilized it towards the greater good of humanity.

We recently applied for Visa's for my wife and two daughters to go to Seoul Korea, during Spring Break. The entire staff was absolutely incredible with our needs. We called several times, they were so patient to explain the step by step procedures. We sent everything in, and as promised we got it back in the same week we mailed all the paperwork. My family wants to Thank the Korean Consulate, in San Francisco for their professionalism.

Quick and easy. I applied for a korean visa and got out of there within 10 mins. Be sure to print out a mock flight booking as they ask for it even though it's not listed on the website. They have a computer and a printer in case you forget though.

The passport that I applied for on Christmas Eve... that was suppose to take approx 4 weeks... ready issued in 5 days and ready in 12. That's badass. Just sayin'

I worked with this office for quite awhile in an advisory type position. They were always very organized and punctual in their paperwork and a pleasure to deal with.

Hands down the best service ever owned by the government. Kind, friendly, knowledgeable, and quick.

So i went here to renew my passport and my god did they give me a hard time. They should have a sign that says we don't speak english cause they will only talk to you in Korean (i know they are Korean but my Korean small). So if your coming jere to do anything, make sure you have a Korean translator; the Korean lady that was handling out business was very rude and uncooperative, like if you cant speak english let me know cause you talking to me as i understand anything you said. We asked where is the best food area in the place and she just blew us off and said go google it. That was it right there, I'm done with this place. Would give it 0 stars if i can but she made my experience hell. Try not to get her to assist you with anything cause she will throw negative attitude towards you and ruin your day.