Korean Job Discussion Forums

Natebomb · Joined: 23 May 2006

Hello, I'm hopping on a plane this Sunday to come to Korea and my girlfriend and I are wondering what we should bring in terms of money? Should we drain our bank accounts and bring a bag full of Canadian dollars, or should we get traveller's checks? Is there another way of doing it? As we won't have a bank account in Korea, I would assume that anything but cash might be a hassle? Also, leaving our money in our accounts here in Canada is an option, but I'm afraid we might not find an international atm........so any advice is much appreciated!!

heydelores · Joined: 24 Apr 2006

I would not bother with traveler's checks. They're an unnecessary hassle, in my opinion. International ATMs are widely available in cities, though when I lived in a rural area, they were less accessible.

kat2 · Joined: 25 Oct 2005 Location: Busan, South Korea

My first year here, my american debit card worked NOWHERE in Korea. Now I'm with anther AMerican bank and its fine. So, I would bring enough cash to get you through the first month. You can always have family wire money to you if you get in a pinch after that.

Travelr's Checks are a pain and they are hard toget cashed here.

Canadian Club · Joined: 12 Aug 2006

Yeah, get your $$ changed into Won... no one is going to jump you for your money. They don't use debit cards here for shopping, just to withdraw money. Bring as much as you feel comfy carrying, but I think you have to declare anything over 5000 dollars?

OiGirl · Joined: 23 Jan 2003 Location: Hoke-y-gun

Make sure your bank knows you are going to Korea. Most ATM cards should work worldwide (except, of course, for those from Korean banks... Evil or Very Mad

), but there MAY be a fraud block on your card.

Son Deureo! · Joined: 30 Apr 2003

Whatever you do, make sure you do NOT bring personal checks. It's nigh impossible to get them cashed.

OiGirl · Joined: 23 Jan 2003 Location: Hoke-y-gun

I wouldn't bring personal checks as money to spend in Korea, but they are very useful for paying for things back home.

dulouz · Joined: 04 Feb 2003 Location: Uranus

International cards are unreliable. Ther are many atms here with visa stickers on them but I way too many error messages. I live in the foreigner section of town and that seems to have something to do with the international machines working better than the rest of the country but as a general rule, I avoid relying on international withdrawals for daily operating cash.