Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Wangja]

Live mid-market rates as of 2004.11.26 07:05:58 GMT.
1.00 USD
United States Dollars = 1,047.56 KRW
South Korea Won
1 USD = 1,047.56 KRW 1 KRW = 0.000954599 USD


It was 1041 earlier ....

[Zyzyfer]

[Wangja]

OK, then you're doing the right thing - I'd do the same and and clear them as fast as possible to become debt-free as soon as possible.

And even as you repay the loans, each dollar payment will cost you less of your KRW salary - enjoy!

[Wangja]

[Wangja]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;sessionid=OW5W0ZUQLGNUVQFIQMFCM54AVCBQYJVC?xml=/news/2004/11/26/udollar.xml&sSheet=/portal/2004/11/26/ixportaltop.html

[Ya-ta Boy]

Woo hoo! W1047 yesterday. One newspaper article said the gov't. won't intervene until it hits W1000. "They" also said the gov't would intervene at W1100, W1050, and W1025.

The thing to do is to hold won as long as you can before exchanging. When the US dollar bottoms out, then is the time to exchange if you have to. It will be several years before the dollar goes up. The only people who should be buying dollars now are the ones who absolutely have no choice.

However, watch the Korean government. Last week they mentioned inflating the won. That would not be good for foreigners. If they do that, you should buy a strong currency, not the US dollar.

[MixtecaMike]

For me it's win/loose.

I send money to Guatemala and it has to go via the US, so I get more $$ for my won but less quetzales for my $$.

[dutchman]

1035 today! Closer and closer to that magical 1000.

[shawner88]

1,000,000.00 KRW
South Korea Won = 966.3520 USD
United States Dollars
1 KRW = 0.000966352 USD 1 USD = 1,034.82 KRW

[jajdude]

1000 won = $1.16 Cdn

Happy new year (?)

[Ya-ta Boy]

The exchange rate for US dollars was W1192 at this time last year. Now it's 1035. That's a difference of 157 won, or $127.25 for every million won you have.

[Rather_Dashing]

Other currencies aren't getting stronger - it's the US dollar that's getting weaker. And it's purely speculative demand that's causing the US dollar to fall. The US economy is doing well and they're even talking about raising interest rates. As you know, raising interest rates, in general, causes a country's currency to appreciate (gain in value).

Inflation is currently stable in the U.S. The last real inflation fears occured at the end of the Clinton term, where the US Federal Reserve shot up interest rates which decimated an already slowing economy.

The US trade deficit is dropping because a lower dollar means foreign goods are relatively more expensive compared to domestic; therefore people will choose to consume more domestic rather than foreign.

A high or low value of a currency is neither here nor there; problems only arise when it's not valued correctly. The US trade deficit is not a problem, despite what politicians say, because the deficit is primarily financed by foreign capital.

The US government runs social security apart from general revenue: the program was designed to sustain itself. Hence the separate payroll tax on your pay stub. It won't be running in the red for a few years now. Hence, at this time, social security has nothing to do with the US government deficit.

Loans do not drop in value by their denomination, they only drop in their relative value. Nobody knows if and when the U.S. dollar will bounce back.

Oil is currently priced in USD. There is talk of redonominating it in Euros but don't expect that to happen any time soon. Meanwhile, the European economy is reeling from a dramatic fall in export demand due to the low US dollar.

People are "betting on" the Euro because there is less instability there. Until Iraq settles down some, expect a low US dollar.

That is all.

[dutchman]

[Cedar]

Don't ever bet on the exchange rate continuing to do what you want... change a bit, change a bit as you need it, and NEVER stress about exchange rates. If I stressed about them... well, I guess I would have grabbed my money and left in late 97... but here I am!

[dutchman]