Korean Job Discussion Forums

[icicle]

I have been following all the news stories and postings on here re the money people felt they were losing with the fall in the won relative to the other currencies. I had read about other currencies but not the Australian dollar which as an Australian who like others has bills to pay there was most important to me.

I just finished looking at the situation both monthly since May (which was when I arrived here this time) and weekly since the start of September - Looking at percentage change relative to the level in early May. And to my suprise found that in contrast to most of the other countries that E2 visa holders come from and a couple of other countries like Japan and China the Australian dollar relative to the won is actually at almost the same level that it was in early May.

By my calculations percentage increase (from todays rates (8th Oct) relative to 8th May)

USD (US) 37%
EUR 21%
GBP 23%
CAD (Canada) 25%
AUD 0%
NZD 8%
ZAR (SA) 11%
CNY (China) 40%
JPY 100 (Japan) 43%

I think that it is important for people to realise that to this point in time the currency changes in the won are impacting on some countries less than the others

[Trevor]

I am curious how the Australian dollar has performed against the US dollar in that time period.

[dingo_man]

the Australian dollar hit a new 6 year low a few days ago trading at 69c for every US dollar, its now trading just above 70 US cents. Only a few months ago it was as high as 95c. Some were even predicting it would be worth more than the US dollar.

How things can change so quickly.

[icicle]

A partial explanation for it is that the Australian dollar is currently not performing well against the US dollar either ... So not good if we want to buy something from the US right now either in won or dollars ... But the reason I say that it is only a partial explanation is that if you look at the Australian dollar against the won over the last 5 months or so there is that it shows less variation (is more stable) against the won than it has been against the US dollar ... But right at this point of time I think that the best explanation for why the australian dollar in contrast to many other currencies has managed to not lose as much value against the won is that it is also not doing well against the US dollar. Not so good for the Australian ecomony either ... But OK right now for those of us who are currently earning won.

[Beej]

Maybe a good time for Americans earning won to buy Aussie dollars and convert into US dollars later. I think the US dollar is doomed vis a vis strong world currencies: pound, euro, yes, A$ in the medium term.

[Yesterday]

Yes - I have been very HAPPY with the "terrible" financial crisis happening...

Its great for Australians here in korea...

sending money (Korean won) back home to my Australian bank account at the moment - I am getting MORE money than what I have during the last few years...

I hope the Australian dollar goes down heaps more - so I get more money...

still not as good as back in the years 2000~2002 though..

back then 1,000,000won would get me $1,500.00 AUD.

now 1,000,000won gets between $1,075.00 ~ $1,150.00 AUD

but better than before the crisis when 1,000,000won only got $1,000.00 AUD.

I am hoping the won does go back up quickly and the Australian dollar stays low....

sorry to all those Americans, Canadians and British who are losing money

[Temporary]

Canada is not doing that badly either. My parents own a couple stores and they said the spending has not decreased infact it has increased.

[D.D.]

I am lucky to have residency in Aus and a canadian passport. My runner plan is to bank my money in Aus now and run if things get bad enough. I would not want to be stuck with only a Canada visa at the moment.

Doing a dip ed in Aus for the next year looks like a good option.

[losing_touch]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122350768775217147.html

The Australian dollar went into free fall Wednesday as global growth concerns intensified and investors fled to currencies they saw as safer.

The currency fell to a five-year low against the U.S. dollar of 64.57 U.S. cents, extending a move that has wiped out four years of gains in four months. Just months ago, the currency was trading in the 90-cent range against its U.S. counterpart, and some analysts were forecasting that it would ultimately reach parity.

The depth of the decline is stunning for a major currency and reflects the ...[/quote]

[icicle]