Korean Job Discussion Forums

[demel]

I'd like to buy some gold, but not interested in jewelry, more like Krugerrands or American gold or silver dollars... anyone know of a reputable place for these? Haven't hit up the Namdaemun shops yet, but someone wrote recently here of being cheated there.

[Straphanger]

[polonius]

You can buy gold at some banks. I know that Shinhan has different weights of gold, along with a certificate of authenticity. They were produced in Switzerland.

[RJjr]

[bassexpander]

[seosan08]

Duplicate post...............

[seosan08]

From my experience, gold coins are expensive here. There are a few places near Seoul Station and Namaemun Market (and probably places like Insa-dong), but I don't advise buying them there. There might be some in the Itewon as well, but I'd expect the price to be equally as high.

I bought a gold coin from a dealer in Namdaemun about 3 years ago that was a rip off. It was heavy, but I think was something like gold plated tungsten or something. The coins near the train station were very high priced--much more than the gold in them. Silver is just not very popular in Korea. You can find silver jewelery, but not much else generally. Like someone else said, best to buy it online if you can. Personally, I've ordered from Apmex.com for several years and have never had a problem.

I was home earlier in the year and had about 10 ounces of Korean gold I traded for Krug's. I'm talking about the "pat of butter" looking square "geum don" (gold money) gold that you buy in many jewelery shops all over Korea. The weight is based on 3.5 grams and I usually buy the 10x square that's 37.5 grams (1.2 Troy ounces). I didn't have much of a problem, but the guy cut 4% off the top. But I bought the gold cheap and sold it over $1k/ounce, so it wasn't a big deal. The reason I like buying from small jewelers is they usually add 5%, not the 10% (and other crap?) they do in banks here. Keeps your costs down.

[polonius]

[jdog2050]

[Illysook]

you do realize that gold is just another commodity and like currency, it will fluctuate in value....because if you think the won is unstable....

[ttompatz]