Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Radish115]

I'll be moving to South Korea (Busan) for the first time this August. I've learned a lot reading these forums about what to bring and what to wait and buy, but I'm still a little unclear about money. It seems like access to capital is a lifeline I'd rather not be without.

I've got a checking and savings account with Bank of America here in the states. When I toured Vietnam a year ago, my debit card worked just fine in the ATMs there.

Does anyone know if my BoA card is likely to work in Busan? Whether or not it will work, I think most everyone agrees one should bring about $1000 USD in won with you when you fly over?

Any advice folks are willing to share would be throughly appreciated.

[MANDRL]

I had a BofA debit card when I was in Korea last year. I only used it on a handful of occassions to withdrawl cash from an ATM, and it worked fine. There was like a $5 or $10 fee from BofA for an international transaction. I transfered money to that same account monthly and it worked like a charm. I would transfer money in the morning from Korea and it would be in my BofA account by 10ish PM everytime.

[Captain Marlow]

i have a boa card here in daegu... it's no prob to take money out at an atm that's a "global atm"... k.e.b banks (or maybe it's k.b.) usually have a global atm... there's a $5 charge from boa, and less than a $1 charge from k.e.b... if you have the c.c. logo on your card, you can easily use it at shops and to eat out... also, if you can't find a global atm, a lot of banks will let you do a c.c. advance even on your debit card... don't worry about it too much, unless you're going to be living in the sticks...

[jackson7]

Reading about BofA's recent losses, I would bet they don't even have any more money for you. Don't worry about the ATM card.

[Drew345]

I recently checked the fees for using my BofA card overseas. It was $5 fee + 1% of the total (It may have even been $8 for overseas). That is about as high as possible. Anyway, I haven't tried it in Busan (only Bangkok) but should work in Busan. I would try to use a US credit card when possible until that first pay in Korean Won comes in.

[I-am-me]

Make sure you call the bank and tell them you will be making transactions in Korea. Otherwise they might deny any foreign transactions due to fraud.