Korean Job Discussion Forums

[kimiki]

so i accepted an invite from a dear friend in another city to spend the holiday wknd with her and her family. bought presents, wrapped em, packed, did my hair special (it looks really nice), and headed to the train station where i discovered they did not accept my credit card. i use this card every day for ALL of my purchases here-- from dunkin donuts to lotte world. apparently the ONLY place it does not work is the train station.

so then i walked into town and tried every atm of every bank around. none of them would let me do an atm cash withdrawl. what the hell? it is my US card, one of those credit/debit ones attached to my checking account. have had it for years. i do have an account here too, but the bank said i have to wait three months before they give me a cash card. ( i just opened the account last week because my boss had paid me in cash the first couple months). they were closed by the time i got there so going to the teller window is not an option for me at this point....

any suggestions? i thought of calling one of my coworkers to ask if they'd front me some cash, but i'm sure they are all busy with their families on this very important holiday. (they're all korean, i'm the only foreign teacher). if you have any ideas let me know, i'd appreciate it......

happy solnal to all, in the meantime.

[ed]

what city are you in?

perhaps someone can meet you and loan you a few bucks to get through the weekend

I'll do it if you're in my city

[Senior]

Your bank didn't give you an ATM card? Try using your credit card one more time. I have had my card denied before, and they eventually accepted it after I refused to take no for an answer. It wasn't a "Computer says no" issue. It was a retarded cashier issue.

[kimiki]

hey ed, thanks a lot for the offer, it's really kind. i'm in Asan city at the moment. i doubt you're here...never see any other foreigners anywhere..... barely see anyone at all, in fact. it's unusually quiet here. i was told it was a suburb of Seoul before i took this position. now i realize how very loosely they were using that term.

and Senior, yes, my bank did not give me an ATM card. and yes, i think i will go back and try again, though i already did go back once. i thought maybe i had mixed up my pin #. so i went to an atm to test it out and it was fine (but only for balance checking, not for withdrawl). i went back to the train cashier and tried again but the same dilemma presented itself.....

[Senior]

[kimiki]

i'm not sure what the dilemma is.... my korean is quite poor though i've been here for over 15 mos now total (only 3 this time around) so i didn't get what the problem was. it was just clear that it was not going through.

heading back there now to try again. and yeah you're right about the bank. that definitely did not happen to me the first time i opened an account here. if i can't find a way around this weird block that's going on at the train station, i will forever blame my korean bank for ruining my weekend....

[optik404]

maybe the atm isnt working due to the holiday.

i know last year my bank was doing system upgrades for all 3 days of the new years holiday. was stuck without cash and my debt card didnt work the whole time for purchases

i just hopped the turnstile when I had to get somewhere:lol: and luckily i had food

[Senior]

[DeLaRed]

[kimiki]

[quote="Senior"]

What is the dilemma? Does it swipe and then reject? Or will the cashier simply not accept the card? If that's the case, you should ask for the manger..[/quote]

oh, i see now what you were asking.... no, it's not like he refused to take it. i swiped it in that little rotten looking card swipey thing, entered my pin #, and gathered from his reaction that it was rejected in some way....

oh, and DeLaRed, yes, i definitely did go to 'global' labeled (and hit the buttons requesting English service for a Foreign Card) atm's.

i wish i had a horse and i could ride it there.

[Brooksmatic]

Find a 7-11. Your best bet for using a US card. They always have a global ATM.

[ed]

[ChilgokBlackHole]

[fortysixyou]

Uh, where in Asan are you?

[CentralCali]

Is your card an actual credit card or a check card? At the train station, if you're using a US check card, you must tell the clerk that before they enter the transaction. Luckily the Korean for "check card" is "check card."