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ssulja
Joined: 01 Sep 2009
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 Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2011 11:59 am Post subject: Bringing money TO Korea (a bit urgent) |
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Hello!
I'm going to be leaving for Korea (again) on Wednesday so this is a bit of an urgent question.
I will be a Master's student at Yonsei University, and am planning on living in an apartment / officetel, whatever you wanna call it.
Anyway, I know that the key money is like $10,000 or 10,000,000 won. What do you guys think is the best way to bring that kind of money in? I dont' have a Korean bank account, nor am I a Korean. The only bank I use currently is Chase.
My ideas so far are to use Traveler's or Cashiers check but even then, I'm not sure if I can/able to get the money without an account.
Help?
I have a student visa and all that already.
Thanks  |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2011 3:07 pm Post subject: Re: Bringing money TO Korea (a bit urgent) |
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| ssulja wrote: |
Hello!
I'm going to be leaving for Korea (again) on Wednesday so this is a bit of an urgent question.
I will be a Master's student at Yonsei University, and am planning on living in an apartment / officetel, whatever you wanna call it.
Anyway, I know that the key money is like $10,000 or 10,000,000 won. What do you guys think is the best way to bring that kind of money in? I dont' have a Korean bank account, nor am I a Korean. The only bank I use currently is Chase.
My ideas so far are to use Traveler's or Cashiers check but even then, I'm not sure if I can/able to get the money without an account.
Help?
I have a student visa and all that already.
Thanks |
Three options:
1) Make arrangements with your bank to forward the funds to you at a future date (after you open a bank account here you can have it sent by wire).
2) Bring it as cash (travelers check, whatever form you prefer) and open the account when you arrive. The only problem is that you will be restricted to "over the counter" service until you get your ARC.
3) Do a combination of the 2. Bring a couple thousand with you and have the rest sent to your Korean account after you arrive.
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ssulja
Joined: 01 Sep 2009
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| Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2011 3:46 pm Post subject: |
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Do you have any idea how long it takes to get that ARC? I've seen anywhere from 3-4 days to like 7-10 days.
And would it be possible to deposit it into say a friend's account if I was present?
Thanks. I'm not 100% sure how Korean banks work. =/ |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2011 5:04 pm Post subject: |
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| ssulja wrote: |
Do you have any idea how long it takes to get that ARC? I've seen anywhere from 3-4 days to like 7-10 days.
And would it be possible to deposit it into say a friend's account if I was present?
Thanks. I'm not 100% sure how Korean banks work. =/ |
IT now takes about 40 days to get your ARC (they aren't processed at the immigration office anymore).
You do NOT need an ARC to open a bank account or to send money into it.
You are restricted to "over the counter" transactions before you get your ARC (no internet or ATM banking).
You could send it to a friend (if you trusted a friend with that amount of cash).
You'd be better off giving a trusted person a "limited power of attorney" to act on your behalf to send the money to you IF your bank won't take care of it for you with prior authorization (strange bank!).
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cincynate
Joined: 07 Jul 2009
Location: Jeju-do, South Korea
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| Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2011 8:52 pm Post subject: |
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Remember it is illeagle to leave the united states with more than 10,000 in cash or cash equivilents (travelers checks etc.). You can't rent a place unitl you have your arc card anyway, so might as well wait and have your bank send the money. It's fairly simply.. open a korean account.. takes 20 minutes. Then call your bank in the us and initiate a wire transfer to your korean bank account. You'll have the money in a day and be good to go.
Good Luck! |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2011 11:35 pm Post subject: |
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| cincynate wrote: |
Remember it is illeagle to leave the united states with more than 10,000 in cash or cash equivilents (travelers checks etc.). You can't rent a place unitl you have your arc card anyway, so might as well wait and have your bank send the money. It's fairly simply.. open a korean account.. takes 20 minutes. Then call your bank in the us and initiate a wire transfer to your korean bank account. You'll have the money in a day and be good to go.
Good Luck! |
NO. It is NOT illegal. It is LEGAL provided you declare it (file the paperwork).
The same is true of IMPORTING more than US$10,000. You need to declare it.
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cincynate
Joined: 07 Jul 2009
Location: Jeju-do, South Korea
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| Posted: Fri Aug 05, 2011 1:16 am Post subject: |
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| Yes, sorry.. you are correct that you can decalre it.. But then you have to fill out 500 forms, and have the IRS riding up your arse wondering why you are exporting so much currency. |
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ssulja
Joined: 01 Sep 2009
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| Posted: Sat Aug 06, 2011 8:14 am Post subject: |
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| Wait 40 days?? Are you serious? Where do I find a place to live for 40 days... |
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Gorf
Joined: 25 Jun 2011
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| Posted: Sat Aug 06, 2011 8:54 am Post subject: |
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| Almost no one offers or accepts traveler's checks anymore, the best bet is to just give it to a friend or someone who has a bank account and they'll change it for you until you can get a bank account. |
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cert43
Joined: 17 Jun 2010
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| Posted: Sat Aug 06, 2011 11:04 am Post subject: |
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OMG..Stop..  |
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