Korean Job Discussion Forums

[articulate_ink]

For those of us who've been here more than a year or two, it'll take a while to tie up loose ends and move out of Korea. Whether we're going back to our home countries or moving to new ones, there's a lot to do: furniture to unload, finances to sort out, etc. I've looked through the Stickies but some of the information's not as up-to-date as it could be. Hence, this.

On household goods: One of my Korean friends told me that the secondhand (recycle) stores will come to your home, give you a quote (albeit not a great one), buy your stuff off you, and take it away. Apart from dealing with the logistics across the language barrier, it seems almost too good to be true. Has anyone done this?

On money: I'm not going back to the US, and my bank account there is compromised. My plan to deal with the transition is via an account in Singapore, which I expect to open next week when I'm there. I'll still be in Asia, so it makes sense to have an account in a stable country in the region that imposes few restrictions on foreigners. Would anyone be interested in more information about how to do that? I doubt I'm moving to Singapore next (it's possible but not likely) but it's a good safe place to park my funds.

As a backup, I've got an international ATM card from SC (that bank ought to pay me for all the publicity I'm giving them on here), and can have my pension deposited there when I go. But how fast are pension funds being returned these days? Domestic Korean accounts versus foreign ones? That hasn't come up recently.

I don't think this will be as much of a nightmare as moving out of the US was (never go on a 2-week trip through Europe a month before you move from the US West Coast to Asia) but it's not likely to be simple, either. What else are people doing as they prepare to leave?

[thepeel]

To open an account in Singapore you simply need to show your passport. The banking secrecy laws are very strong. I did something similar to what you are doing.

[NightSky]

[Yaya]

When I left Korea in 2003, I gave myself a couple of months for the process. I sold most of my stuff to foreigners via classified ads online. The second-hand stores will rob you blind, trust me on this.

My remaining stuff I had shipped to Los Angeles (where I spent two miserable years in perhaps the biggest damn mistake of my life).

As for money, I kept a bit in Korea so that I wouldn't blow all of it in the U.S. too soon.

Not sure where the original poster is going, but yeah, leaving Korea doesn't necessarily mean leaving Asia.