Korean Job Discussion Forums

[a4athert]

Just got my ARC. What banks would you recommend and what kind of accounts/things should I make sure I have for sending money back home to pay off some debts, loans, etc?

[NSMatt]

[OiGirl]

KEB for everything except possibly getting a joint account with your spouse.

[chevro1et]

[rickpidero]

I can tell you which not to use: Nong Hyup. It is beyond awful. Just a heads up.

[Captain Corea]

I find KEB the best for international matters.

[da_moler]

Citibank, without a doubt.

International check card as standard (giving 10% off lunch at all restaurants), credit cards (with some of the best benefits in Korea), 3.3% interest checking account, excellent Internet banking service, English-speaking call centers and global branches with English speaking staff throughout Seoul, free and instant transfers to Citibank accounts overseas.

And, most importantly of all, no prejuiced foreigner-only rules restricting access to credit cards, Internet banking, international check cards, etc. Foreigner treated as customer like any other.

[akcrono]

[da_moler]

[DaHu]

The best bank is the one closest to your school or home. You put money in, you take money out. Don't over complicate matters.

[Vox_Populi]

When I lived in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi-do, I LOVED my local IBK branch. The staff was mostly bilingual and were EXTREMELY kind and courteous. One teller had actually grown up in a Korean family in Hong Kong so English was essentially one of her two native languages.

Now I'm with Shinhan Bank. I have no complaints, but they don't seem quite as overwhelmingly friendly as they did at IBK. One specific problem with Shinhan is that they don't automatically issue a visa check card. They give you a standard atm card at first and make you wait a couple of months before you can then go and ask for a visa check card.

I didn't have this problem at IBK. The IBK check card (it's not actually Visa but another Korean entity that works the same way) is issued INSTANTANEOUSLY when you first apply for your account.

I also had an account (US Dollar Account) at KEB for awhile. I never used it and once had sort of a semi-emergency at the US Embassy and had to withdraw all the money in the KEB account (thankfully there's a branch right behind the embassy). Otherwise they're just alright. The one thing that is handy about KEB is that you can purchase a money order in US Dollars from them. It's great for paying bills back home.

God forbid that the postal service should lose your money order though (this happened to me) because there's a 6 month waiting period before KEB will refund the money to you (I'm not exaggerating).

[rayne]

Anyone have a Samsung account? I won't be transferring any money out of Korea.

[da_moler]

[myenglishisno]

IBK is pretty good. I've had no problems with them.

Sending home is generally the same headache regardless of what bank you use. Go into the bank, get a teller, go through the same paperwork, hope your money gets there.

I've had three banks and the one that was the most incompetent for this was Shinhan. My money kept coming back to me over and over again and I eventually just quit banking with them.

They also used to spy on my transfers and ask me strange questions about then (I sold my computer for 500,000W and received payment via bank transfer -- the teller asked me where the money came from and what I did to earn it).

So yeah, it's all good but avoid Shinhan.

[rchristo10]

A kimchi cabbage field, but just make sure it's on private property. Apparently you can secure your money for some time underground. Highly recommended!