Korean Job Discussion Forums

lantie84 · Joined: 24 Feb 2010 Location: London, UK

Hi, i have been living and working in Korea for 3 months and have so far come up short with getting a credit card. I have used the advice from previous threads on this forum BUT the criteria have supposedly changed recently. I tried to get a Samsung card (even filled out the application form) and enquired about other CC's - i've been told that because I work for a hagwon i can't get one. Only public school or uni applicants need apply.

I can't help but think this is nonsense and there must be a knowledegable soul out there who can help me. The only option i've been given is where you give a bank a deposit and they match that as your credit limit. In my eyes that's not a credit card.

So any suggestions South Korean guru's???

Globutron · Joined: 13 Feb 2010 Location: England/Anyang

Heh. Soul.

Why not just do everything the way I do. Get my mum to pay for things like holidays and then risk not being able to enter the country due to lack of proof of payment.

Basically I'm wasting your time but I want to know this too, for my winter holiday.

dharmasister · Joined: 23 Aug 2010 Location: New Orleans, Louisiana

Can I use my CapitalOne (master card) or American Express card in Korea?

peppermint · Posted: Sun Aug 29, 2010 1:24 pm Post subject:

Try asking for a prepaid card- where you lock X amount into a bank account, and have a credit limit of that same amount.

peppermint · Posted: Sun Aug 29, 2010 1:25 pm Post subject:

Try asking for a prepaid card- where you lock X amount into a bank account, and have a credit limit of that same amount.

eIn07912 · Joined: 06 Dec 2008 Location: seoul

Most places aren't going to give a foreigner a credit card, regardless of where you work. The closest you can get is a debt card linked to your checking account or a kind of pre-paid credit card where you put money on it to use it. You can get an international debt card that will work overseas and it's linked to your Korean bank account. I've used mine extensively.

If you have a Visa card from the U.S. it will work here no problem. A Visa debt card linked to an American bank account will work as well. For both though, you have to notify your bank or card sponsor and let them know you are in Korea and will be using it here or in any other country you're in. If you don't, they'll put a block on it if they think you're in the U.S. and they see charges from the Converse store in Seoul.

Last, as a word of advice: don't get a credit card. They will ruin your life. Credit card debt is the second leading reason people file for bankruptcy (first being unexpected medical expenses.) Live within your means. Credit distorts this ability and fools you into believing your in a better position than you actually are. In short, don't borrow money. It's as simple as that. If you want something, save up and buy it outright. By the time you pay it off with a credit card, you'll have probably paid for it two or three times over. I have friends that have more in credit card debt than I had in students loans. One friend was 22 and she had over $15,000 in CC debt. I didn't even pay that much for my first car.

Don't borrow money.

DeMayonnaise · Joined: 02 Nov 2008

I don't know anyone in Korea with a credit card. All my friends just have debit cards tied to their Korean accounts. For vacation I just use my Visa card from back home, and send money home every 6 months or so...

john110375 · Joined: 30 Jul 2007 Location: seoul

Try to get a lotte card : ) I got one fairly easily and with no deposit.. They gave me alot too $8500.00 and you can use it anywhere even other countries. Good Luck

Gaber · Joined: 23 Apr 2006

If you just want VISA function, rather than a loan from a Korean bank, then a Visa debit card can do the job. My Shinhan A1 card worked for me in Nepal. It doesn't play nice with a lot of online sites, but you can synch it to Paypal, which you can use for almost everything.

mm · Joined: 01 Jul 2010

I got a KEB credit card through my work. It is both a bank account and a visa credit card. It works overseas and it also has a direct international transfer option, so all I need to do is go to an ATM or log on to my online account to transfer money instantly back home. But as I was filling out the form to get it, I think the lady said that only foreigners at certain institutes were eligible to apply.

lantie84 · Joined: 24 Feb 2010 Location: London, UK

ttompatz · Joined: 05 Sep 2005 Location: Kwangju, South Korea

matthews_world · Joined: 15 Feb 2003

A CitiBank account is quite useful for expats alike, especially since they drop wire fees.

You can' get the CitiBank credit card, plus the credit line & mortgage features if you start with a $6000 balance. Basic account doesn't allow for a credit card but can still wire for free.

https://online.citibank.com/US/JRS/pands/detail.do?ID=Packages

Proustian · Joined: 06 Jan 2008 Location: penniless in Pusan

I dont know why people are lecturing others on not getting a CC - surely free will and self determinism are still fundamental human rights.

Samsung cards used to be freely available to Hagwon workers and several of my co-workers have one. Apparently, the rules changed in May - according to the samsung lady I spoke to today - although, she also said I could try and apply.

As for banks not offering CC's without a secured deposit, this is also nonsense as my girlfriend and my boss both have unsecured CC's from KB with no deposit down and 3k limits.

OP, keep searching and trying and you will get a CC.

RMNC · Joined: 21 Jul 2010

Anyone else amazed that credit cards still exist? I mean I thought with the advent of debit cards people would have moved to them exclusively, considering how credit cards are a waste of money and debit is an instantaneous withdrawal, something that happened very slowly in the check writing days, and debits made checks obsolete, so...

I guess some people just don't mind paying for things with imaginary money and hope that everything works out okay in the future. I guess I just don't get how people risk getting massive fines and debt all in the name of buying stuff and paying it off later. If you lose your income, you're screwed, even if it's just brief. Then again, most people don't think of a credit card as real money, just a magic swipey thing that will get you a TV and a Car.