Korean Job Discussion Forums

[big_fella1]

Allright we all complain Korean Banks are racist fascist organisations. Unlike the fascist organisations they are back home. Now its time to list them by name and reason:-

1) Woori Bank - The no you can't your foreign excuse.

2) KEB - The no you can't your foreign and not on a D7/D8 visa (yes its a business decision to only deal with rich people, but poor sangsangnims bank too, take your business to someonle who wants it).

The Good:
1) SC Firstbank - Will give foreigners an international debit card with no nonsense and it works overseas (in ATM's not for purchasing )

Just getting it started the rest is up to you. Maybe it should be bank and branch but be careful about identifying individuals like the guy at one Woori branch that showed me other foreigners salary slips so I could get one from my boss to transfer $200 home.

[KYC]

nonghyup has been decent to me. Then again I've only sent money home twice...

[Otherside]

You should also rate the pro's and con's.

SC seems to have a pretty good rep on this board BUT it was the one of the smallest branch networks in the country. Not so much of a problem if you are in Seoul but outside it can often be more hassle than it's worth.

[Lekker]

IBK blows.

Woori was good until they started to blow as well.

Hana Bank has been good so far.

[maddog]

I second that Wooribank is sh!te. Having my passport stamped when I was down to 4 pages really was the last f4cking straw.

Daegu bank has been reasonable. There's one guy in particular who always goes out of his way to be helpful.

[pootle]

Nonghyup are brilliant. The small town branches solve your banking issues, even if the communication is of the Marcel Marceau/Rolf Harris variety.

[Temporary]

Nonghyup is ok. Pusan Bank was ok as well.

[cdninkorea]

I predict disagreement about which bank are good and which are bad later in this thread; everyone has different experiences, all of it anecdotal, and this thread will soon reflect that.

[pootle]

cdninkorea - you want information on consumer experiences that isn't anecdotal. How would we do that exactly?

To satiate the public's need for hard scientific evidence, why don't we put ten EFL teachers and ten Korean bank clerks in a sealed room for forty days and see what happens? It'll be like the Stanford Prison Experiment, only with fewers beatings and more miming and waving of bank books. Or maybe more beatings and a write up in the Korea Herald that placates the need for foreigner-bashing. Who knows?

[Captain Marlow]

i read this awhile back on dave's and it seems to work magic: always try to deal with the same person every time you're making a transaction (especially the big ones), and always try to bring a small gift like fruit or something for that person... gifts go a long way towards getting what you want, and it's usually less that 5,000 won per month to do so...

side note: do this at work too to win major brownie points... dunkin d's munchkins have always been a fav at the office and it's really no skin off my teeth...

[ED209]

Obviously the 'Sorry you're a foreigner' excuse is simply due to a vitamin C deficiency.

[raclos234]

ive banked with hana bank for the couple years ive been here. first in daejeon, had no problems with them. unexpectedly, my director told us she was changing banks from hana to suhyup bank. why? my co-workers and i had our suspicions..but even though i had the option of closing my acct there and going to the new bank, i didnt since it was easier to transfer money and people spoke english at hana.

in my current city, ive used hana and still no problems. the teller remembers me and even kinda looks happy i came back to transfer money. plus ive transferred money sometimes twice a week. no complaints, no stamps on my passport, no nothing

[jackson7]

English speaking tellers being present or not is a big factor into this, I believe. Before I could speak Korean, my local KEB bank was hell to transfer money. After my Korean got to the conversational level, however, I was informed of several benefits of transferring online, as well as other ways to cut down on my transfer fees every month. They also set me up so I never had to show them another pay slip again. So...before me speaking Korean my bank was a 2/10...after...a 7/10. Had English speakers been present they would have been acceptable right away.

[nomad-ish]

^ i had an English speaking teller at KEB and it was still a horrible experience each and every time i wanted to transfer money

-stamps in my passport
-showing my pay slips when transferring over a certain amount (and given no option of setting up a system to avoid it)
-no international atm card because i'm a foreigner

[ajgeddes]