Korean Job Discussion Forums

murmanjake · Joined: 21 Oct 2008

I went to the US embassy the other day to get my passport replaced(i washed it in a pair of jeans the second day I was here). When i inquired over the phone a lady told me the fee was 100. Naturally i assumed she meant won, so when i got there and was told it was actually USD, and the fee in won was 150,000, i was a little taken aback, and after venting my frustrations with the secretary's unclear information(I conventiently had 143,000 won with me), i started wondering where they got their exchange rate.

upon arriving back home I looked it up, and it turns out the exchange rate for that day was 137,000 won to 100 USD.

Whats with this? Is the embassy trying to scam its own citizens? is it just too complicated to maintain a fluctuating fee schedule, so they charge just above the standard exchange rate?

When I think back on it I should have gone to a bank, exchanged my money, and returned...

On a related note this reminded me of the time i tried to buy a blanket in itaewon and the seller told me it was 25, but when i returned to buy it he said, no , no, 25 dollars, 30,000 won...I tried bargaining and sheepishly paid him 28,000 for it(i think he could tell i really wanted it).

whatever · Joined: 11 Jun 2006 Location: Korea: More fun than jail.

I'd rather not discuss the exchange rate...

cheeseface · Joined: 13 Jan 2008 Location: Ssyangnyeon Shi

you washed your passport!!!

Laughing

USA

murmanjake · Joined: 21 Oct 2008

kprrok · Joined: 06 Apr 2004 Location: KC

So you called the US EMBASSY and asked for a price. What did you expect it to be in? Rubles? Of course the US embassy is going to quote prices in US DOLLARS. The US embassy is US territory, not Korean. Yes, they also take Korean won as a convenience, but everything is priced in USD. Besides, wasn't it a clue when they said 100 instead of 100,000? Did you really expect it to cost just 100 KRW?

As for the exchange rate, they don't update it every day, probably just once a week or so. They can't keep it up to the second, they're not a bank.

murmanjake · Joined: 21 Oct 2008

Anyways, yes it was a misunderstanding which i never claimed wasn't partially my fault, and thanks for making me feel stupid, but that wasn't even my point.

if you're saying that the reason the rate is 150,000/100 is because they don't bother to update it that often, are you also saying if the rate went higher than 150,00 they wouldn't update the price immediately..? or that they'll fix the rate at a set date, even if it is a low rate?

it seems like once again im getting f*cked by some government policy without knowing why...

kprrok · Joined: 06 Apr 2004 Location: KC

mindmetoo · Joined: 02 Feb 2004

Well, a bit of logic would have told you "100" means "100 usa dollars" and not "100 thousand Korean won". The US embassy is on US soil and prices things in US dollars, as Wal-Mart would in the suburbs of Chicago. The error was entirely on your part.

And they charge a generous exchange rate? Well, I don't know if you've been paying attention but the won sinks over night. They want to build in a buffer. An it's entirely customary for concerns to charge more than the posted exchange rate. I don't know many retailers, other than those that want to offer a kind of discount to attract customers, that give you the posted rates. Even your own bank will build in a buffer.

kprrok · Joined: 06 Apr 2004 Location: KC

Let's also add into this that banks NEVER give little customers like you and me the actual exchange rate, they almost always build in at least 20-30KRW/USD to cover their fees. And it's worse if you buy cash instead of a wire transfer or TCs. So really, that means you only lost about 10,000 KRW on the exchange. That covers some of the time you would have had to spend sitting at the bank waiting, plus filling out all those stupid little forms.

Hey, I'd say you got a good deal on the whole thing.

ED209 · Joined: 17 Oct 2006

Could you offer them dollars instead of the local currency. Pop round the bank before getting to the embassy.

murmanjake · Joined: 21 Oct 2008

Since I didn't have enough money(and dont have a bank account) I will be mailing my payment in via money order...

thanks for the information, and the embarassment. do people always try to make u feel like a schmuck on these boards?

Bibbitybop · Joined: 22 Feb 2006 Location: Seoul

bacasper · Joined: 26 Mar 2007

lebowski · Joined: 30 Jan 2003 Location: Seoul

Louie · Joined: 12 Oct 2008

I once called the North Korean embassy in Beijing once by accident as I was trying to get info about notarizing documents there at the time (it was 2004, and all embassies were able and willing to notarize documents for the standard fee)

The conversation was like this (in Korean):

Me: Hello
Them: Yes?
Me: Do authenticate documents to be used by your immigration bureau?
Them: For what purpose?
Me: To teach
Them: At this time, we are not issuing visas for foreigners to teach.
Me: huh?
Them: We have no information concerning anyone going to teach in our country.
Me: Is this the Korean Embassy?
Them: This is the embassy for the People's Democratic Republic of Korea
Me: Oh....sorry! (click)

As for the exchange rate the US embassy uses- there are 2 rates of exchange that is used for diplomatic and military purposes......if anyone watches AFN, they would show the 2 rates for that day and the next.