Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Omkara]

Trying to make sound financial choices about when to make monetary exchanges right now is tough right now. Do any of you have any information or indications about how the won might behave between now and mid-summer?

I've got to take a trip home for a few months; trying to figure if it'd be better to wait to send it home, or if it'll be better earlier; trying to figure if I'd be better just using my American credit card and letting the balance sit on that card for a few months until I can pay it off at a better rate, assuming that rate would be sufficiently better next summer. . .etc.

Any links or insights would be appreciated.

Also, what has a KEB account to offer? International access? Linking international accounts?

[Ya-ta Boy]

The economic news is pretty uniformly grim with no sign of anything better any time soon. I needed to send $500 home a few weeks ago. Waited 2 weeks and it cost me W75/per dollar more.

[berrieh]

Pull out the Tarot cards and crystal ball.

Nobody knows. Anyone who says they know is either very silly, delusional, or lying.

Economic crisis only make sense in retrospect, especially bad ones; if they made sense while they were happening, they wouldn't happen.

My credit card rates have gone up by 10% (I haven't paid anything late - just what happened because of the credit crunch) so you might consider if your rates are locked in or changed considerably/can change. Putting thigns on a credit card and racking up more debt when you have the cash never seems like a good idea to me, but I'm debt-adverse.

[Omkara]

Thanks. I hadn't thought of the credit interest variable. I actually do not know if it is a set rate or not. That'll give me something to investigate.

I'm also no fan of being in debt. But if I had to pay, say, 20% on three or four months in order to gain 30% on the exchange, it'd be worth it. But I am not sure of the exact way of setting out the calculations, especially when so many prime variables are utterly mysterious.

[Jeff's Cigarettes]

I RECKON ONCE THE WORLD CRASHES, WHICH WILL PROBABLY HAPPEN, IT WILL BE WORTH LESS THAN TOILET PAPER.

[cedarseoul]

[berrieh]

[PRagic]

A load of Korean parents are betting the xrate worsens. They just sent a wave of cash back to cover expenses, hedging against a bigger drop.

Foreign investors are cashing out of the stock market and sending dollars back home. Doing it now before they get less of a return on their investment?

Fact is, nobody knows. Korean firms and banks have short term debt coming due valued in yen and dollars. Global demand for Korean products is down across the board, decreasing demand for the won. Most of Korea's biggest exports to non-developed economies are intra-industry, so they won't impact valuations, and as production and firm-level investment decreases, these levels decrease accordingly anyway.

Tough call. I was ready to buy a ton of won when it scraped 1500 just a few months ago, but had trouble moving the coin (there's a shocker). Stroke of luck as it turned out. It's a herd mentality out there; this is a people made pool and things will get better when people decide there's water in there again and it's OK to get back in for a swim. In the new globalizing economy, though, we're still just not too sure exactly how the water got there, what's keeping it there, if it'll stay there, who's maintaining the water levels and quality, or how long the cycle takes. Not a cop out on an answer, it's the sad truth.

[toonchoon]

right now the Won is pretty close to the lowest point it's been in 10 years. i'm assuming it'll get better. use your american card, and pay back in 3 months is my guess. the rate NEEDS to get better.

the advantage of KEB (at least Itaewon branch) is that the tellers speak fluent english. customer service is A+, better then any banking cust. service i've ever received. i highly recommend them.

p.s. i once saw this douchebag yell at a teller for not giving him a better exchange rate for the dollar, and he called everybody asshole, and stormed out of the bank. keep in mind the teller can't give you a better rate, and if he could, it's only cos you were exchanging a million dollars into won.

[Unposter]

My guess is as good as anyone (who is not an economist) but I don't think the won is going to strengthen anytime soon. It seems to depreciate every time the U.S. market goes down so if the U.S. market were to stabalize than the won would stabalize and if the U.S. markets were to gain in strength than the won would probably strengthen.

I was just reading an article on cnn that compared the current economic problems to the Panic of 1873. They said it took four years for the U.S. to recover; I would not be surprised if we were looking at something similar.

I suspect the current economic slide is somewhat predicated on the belief that the economic crisis will last longer than expected. Those who think that the economy will pick up in the second half of the year may be somewhat disapointed.

I would not be surprised if we saw the won trade in the 1400 - 1600 range for some time. I really hope I am wrong though. And, to me honest, I am not very confident that the won won't break 1600 before all is said and done.

In 3 or 4 years, will the won be in the 1000 -1200 range? I suspect so. Do you have 3 or 4 years to wait?

[Tobias]

[aquaponics08]

The US$ is due for a big drop soon. After some rather bad fluctuations, the won may stabilize......not necessarily a good thing, either. If you can ride out a couple years and save, you can come out ahead like people did in 1997.

[Tobias]

Stay here and wait? Fly the coop and come back later? It's personal preference. Either way you can win. But I prefer to get out. I prefer to have the choice to leave Korea if I want. I don't want to be stuck here waiting around for the won's value to increase. Besides...it's a big world out there, and I'd like to go explore some other place right now. Might even do a few months in Africa. But whatever I do, it'll be MY choice.

[Zulethe]

Alright...another won thread...I love it!!! What's the exchange rate? What will it be tomorrow? What's going to happen? Please keep posting about the won. Anything, just say anything about the won...please!!

[Omkara]