Korean Job Discussion Forums

[aznguy]

hey, so i just exchanged my money at one of these currency exchange places. i gave them $300 CDN and was given $200,000 KRW Won. i knew i should have called around, but was too lazy; i know i deserve it for not doing my homework. i refunded the money and now looking for a fair place to exchange my money. the best quote i got was $290,000 KRW Won, but they didn't have any Won left. i live in toronto, called a bunch of places and nobody has Won in stock, only the place that screwed me over. any help would be highly appreciative.

[seoulsister]

Change it at the airport in Incheon. They have a currency exchange right as you go through customs. I wouldn't think Canadian dollars would be a problem for them. USD certainly wouldn't be.

[Capo]

yea change money in korea they don't price gouge particularly

[D.D.]

Yes the Korean won is not a good thing to exchange with in other countries. When I was in the Phillipines recently they were buying won for 20 and selling it at 40. I have never seen such a big percentage gap.
200000 for 300 dollars is worse than bad.

[alex83]

I'm also from Toronto. Changing Won there (and likely Canada in general) just plain sucks. The best rate is at KEB (they have a couple of locations in the GTA), but it's still terrible compared to Korea.
Exchange commissions here are generally quite reasonable.
I have to say, quite honestly, I can't think of a single thing Canadian banks have over Korean banks.

[losing_touch]

[greedy_bones]

[livinginkunsan]

[aznguy]

thanks all for your comments, hope to get a fair rate at the airport. still can't believe i got screwed over by so much, i guess i have sucker written on my forehead. anyways, thanks again.

[crazy_arcade]

ohmygod!

And I thought airports gave bad rates.

right now $300 cdn turns into about 338,000 straight.

You'll get a little less because banks never use the exact rate and charge a small fee. You'll get even a little less at the airport because of a further depreciation of the rate and an increase in the fee....BUT....


YOU SHOULD BE GETTING AT LEAST 320,000

[aznguy]

oh, so i should be looking for 320,000. the best quote i could get here in Toronto was 300,000. i guess i should make sure i bring a calculator. thanks.

[Caerus]

You should definitely be getting more than 300,000

$1 CDN = $1,120.87 KRW as of right now on http://www.xe.com/ucc/

[aznguy]

well now i know a straight conversion should be 336,000 KR Won, but every currency exchange place charges a fee for their service. i just should have done my homework, but a $120 CDN service fee was downright sadistic. i just hope that place burns down or a car crashes in an destroys that entire business:twisted:, i swear i don't sound bitter. i wonder if i should just call the better business bureau to report their asses.

[melirae1976]

Yeah, same thing happened to me in the US in the airport, so beware. I was only gonna get a couple hundred, but if you exchanged $450, you didn't have to pay the $7.95 fee. I gave them $450 US and I only got 532,000 won, but the exchange for that day put the actual amount around 621,000 (which I only found out AFTER the fact!). Should have just paid the $5 fee my bank charges for using a different bank's ATM once I got to Korea...lesson learned!! I say exchange the smallest amount possible in your country and wait until you get to Korea to get more.

[chevro1et]