Club of the week

Name: AFEK (The Association for F-Class Expatriates within Korea)
Location(s): Nationwide
Number of members: 453, growing daily
Started: 2009
 

This is a series introducing associations and clubs for expats. This week, Expat Living spoke to AFEK founder Mike Yates ― Ed.


Who is it for?: AFEK is for F (family) visa holders. This includes F-2 (spouse of a Korean national and new “points” based resident) F-5 (permanent resident) and F-4 (gyopo) visa holders.

What goes on? AFEK is an information sharing and networking resource for F-Class visa holders. We discuss the things that matter to people living in Korea long-term. This often involves advice on property rental and ownership, starting (and running) a business in Korea, childrearing in Korea, and dealing with the Korean family. The website allows people to speak freely without the “noise” that drowns out similar conversations on other expat sites.

The website’s download area contains around 400 documents that could be useful to people living in Korea. We also have a solid library of weblinks that people may find useful. All content is submitted by the website’s users, who can easily upload their own resources to share with other members.

There are also numerous social meets offline. Last year we had a calendar filled with children’s events for kids to enjoy. There is a hiking group that meets every month, a photography group, and a number other special interest events.

Plans for the future? Hopefully 2011 will allow AFEK to open up parts of the site to a wider expat community. Although parts of the site will always be kept “secret,” we do hope to be able to share a lot of the information and resources we have.

How to join?: Simply visit the site (www.afek.info) and register. You should then e-mail a copy of something that proves your F-visa status to join@afek.info to activate your account.

Are there any membership fees? No