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Banking & Money
Korean money
Korean money comes in denominations of 10, 50, 100 and 500 won for coins and 1,000, 5,000 and 10,000 won in bills. From 2009 there will be 50,000 and 100,000 won bills available.
You should bring a minimum of $500 to tide you over until you get paid. If you plan to do a lot of shopping or exploring in the first few weeks, bring a little more. Foreign credit cards are sometimes accepted in well-known areas, but not always. Cash advantages on foreign credit cards are usually not a problem for cards like Visa, Mastercard or American Express. Finally, as it is difficult to exchange Korean money outside of Korea, make sure you exchange your money before you leave.
Bank accounts
In order to open a bank account and send money home, you will need to bring your Alien Registration Card and your passport to the bank. Some of the more popular banks are Shinhan, Kookmin, Jeil and Woori bank as they have branches all over Korea. Also, Citibank, one of America’s top banks, has over 250 locations all over Korea.
The first time you go to send money home, allow yourself 30 minutes or so to complete the transaction. While most banks have personnel who can speak English, you may want to bring a Korean friend/co-worker the first time you go in case you run into any communication difficulties.
When you transfer money, you will need to have all of the account information of your bank in your home country. This includes their contact information, the branch number, your account number and such. Also, some banks may charge a fee for receiving an overseas transfer. You should contact your bank to find out if they charge any fees to receive an overseas transfer and also to confirm the information you need.
The banks in Korea charge differently, but it is standard to pay about 15,000 won for a bank transfer. Most banks will allow you to send up to 100% of your legal salary out of Korea, although some banks have been known to allow people to send less (between 60-80%). You should note that it is illegal to carry either on you or in your luggage more than $10,000 U.S. out of the country.
ATMs
Bank machines are widely available and almost all of them have the option to conduct the transaction in English. It’s better to use an ATM from your own bank as it is cheaper for service charges, which is why I suggest going with one of the more common banks. The bank machines are not 24-hour and usually close around 10 or 11 PM. If you need money after those hours, use a bank machine in a 24-hour convenience store like By The Way, Ministop, or 7-11.
One thing you need to watch out for is not to accidently withdraw too much money. When you withdraw money, the machine puts out in denominations of 10,000. So if you push ‘3’ for how much to withdraw, you’ll get 30,000 won. If you push ‘30’, you’ll get 300,000 won (this is a common mistake when teachers first get to Korea). Another thing you may want to remember is to make sure you have enough cash on hand before long weekends and holidays. The big holidays, like Chuseok and Lunar New Year, when most of the country shuts down, can be difficult times to get money.
