VP of Engineering who? I'm a K-Pop star now 💅

Ever wanted to leave tech and become a famous k-pop dancer? Now here is your chance. According to Expat.com, the government announced last year it will introduce new visas this year, including the hallyu visa. While the name ‘Hallyu visa’ was initially translated into ‘visa for K-pop fans,’ the visa actually targets all Korean culture lovers at large.”

• Also known as the K-culture training visa, the hallyu visa will allow foreigners to stay in Korea for a maximum of two years by registering at local performing arts academies such as acting and dance studios.

• If you don’t got the moves, a digital nomad visa is in the works as well—known as the workcation visa, it too will allow holders to stay up to two years in Korea while maintaining their employment contracts abroad.

• If you make it in Korea because of this newsletter, please invite me to one of your concerts. I stan.

Featured Job Opportunities in Asia (for English speakers)

Tech job boards specific to Asia and remote - TalentTribe.Asia, JobStreet, NomadList, WeWorkRemotely

Teach English in Taiwan - I collected recommendations, resources, and programs that allow you to teach English in Taiwan. Many programs would require teaching certifications or continuous education, but these programs did not require. As always, please do your due diligence and your own research before applying and committing to programs.

Opportunities with Blue Startups - A nexus of entrepreneurial activity in Hawaii, and between Asia and the US. They have summer internships and take in applicants on a rolling basis for their extensive list of portfolio companies.

Until this day, my Asian parents still don’t know what I do for a living (and that’s OK)

Yes, I am a manic multipotentialite that loves working on various projects. From my YouTube channel, consulting, AWW community, IRL events, and now these newsletters, I have dabbled into interesting projects, some monetized and some not.

How I keep myself alive atm:

• consult part-time for a startup in NY, get paid through brand partnerships as a content creator, YouTube ad revenue, consulting calls to help folks move abroad, and pledges to keep my writing alive

Here are some interesting ways to move and live abroad in Asia (as done and witnessed through my friends).

• find a tech job abroad in another Asian country - the best thing I’ve seen my friend do is an internal office transfer with a decent moving package and salary adjustment

• live overseas in a lower cost of living country - work on side projects catering to a market that has $$ until they monetize and use geographical arbitrage to your advantage if you can make a decent sizable income

• attain free housing through housesitting - a friend did this for 5+ years while working as a remote senior engineer. her and her partner move around and she says not paying for housing significantly takes off a financial load when living abroad

• start their own consultancy, biz, or operate as a sole prop - this gives them the chance to choose their clients, their projects, but there is a lot of work put into the beginning to sell your services and build a portfolio

Food for your Brain 🧠

• KPMG released a digital nomad and remote work visa landscape—when a behemoth of a company is focusing on this space, you know travel and work is here to stay.

• Where’s the best place to remote work from now? Bangkok, THAILAND! NomadList has a community scoreboard of all the reasons why, including costs, internet, healthcare, startup score, etc.

• Shifting perception after being laid off: many of my friends in tech have lost their jobs overnight and are reeling from the aftermath. This is a great article to read and to move forward with next steps.

Keep up with the Fang Girl 🌞

Mini life update: Maybe it’s the American in me or wanting a sense of familiarity/stability, but it was a strange phenomenon to be popping into McD’s every so now and then in Taiwan. Taipei is on my watch-list for a nomad city and where I want to spend more time in 2024.

I am in Singapore for a booked-out event with Asian Wander Women. IYDK, it’s a 1600+ online Facebook community of Asian women who are nomads, expats, creatives, and entrepreneurs. We’re partnering up with Draper Startup House and SG Global Network for this panel on how to wander and make money. Follow our newsletter.

I also want to continue growing this Option Asia newsletter and have it grow as the best resource for those interested in having Asia as an option. Let’s get to 10K subscribers! Please forward and share with a friend.

Want to get in contact with me? Email me for content partnerships, opportunities, or questions. Always happy to make this newsletter better.