Duke, the US also charges fees for visa applications, as does Ireland. I’d be surprised to find out that any country doesn’t.
ruadh: Hmmm…until very recently, the UK did not charge for visa applications. Perhaps the UK Immigration and Nationality Department, which I have been maligning so much recently, was actually more enlightened than I thought. Ah well, Jack “Iron Fist” Straw crushed that glimmer of kindness flat.
I’ve spent about 2 1/2 years in Korea and three years in Newfoundland (Canada) and I loved both places. The people in Newfoundland are so unlike anywhere I’ve ever been.
The only thing I can think of that these two places have in common is that they are both pretty homogenous cultures. Korea has mostly Koreans, and Newfoundland has mostly Newfoundlanders. They take what they want from outside, but they’re very proud of their own cultures.