Korean Consulate in London!

Contrary to my belief that embassies are heavily guarded fortresses (mostly down to the tank traps and outpost that surround the U.S. embassy in London), the South Korean consulate in Westminster was 'guarded' by a sweet looking Korean lady who greeted me nicely and asked me what I wanted to do there. She had no gun, no uniform, and I think she even smiled. The metal detector beeped and I don't think she even noticed (she was more concerned with my phone being off).
But, seriously, compared to the 3-4 hours I was in the U.S. embassy a year and a half ago, I was in and out of there in 10 minutes. No appointment needed, no questions at the booth, no hassle. The things I needed to apply for my E-2 Visa were:

Notice of Appointment from EPIK
Contract
E-2 Visa application form
Passport sized photo attached to the above form
Consul checklist
£37 in cash (£32 for the visa + £5 for the courier service to post it back to me)

A lot of panic for something that was pretty much a doddle.

Posted in: consulate,E-2,e2,embassy,EPIK,south korea,visa