Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Zanniati]

I'm leaving very soon. I'm planning on bringing about $1000. I was thinking of just bringing all cash. $250 in each bag and then $250 on me in my wallet. My dad said I should bring traveler's checks, is that better? Also, is $1000 going to be too much, not enough, or just enough money for me living in Ilsan for a year? I'll be making 2.1m and I'm pretty frugal. I'm also bringing most of the things I should need to live there.

[crossmr]

you should be able to save lots each month, so once you get your first pay cheque you'll be fine. $1000 should be good unless you drink it all away.
but it can't hurt to bring more.

[Hokie21]

You're going to leave hundreds of dollars in your luggage?

Never a good idea.

[decolyon]

The way you worded that it sounded like you were planning on living on $1,000 for the whole year, hahaha.

As long as you don't go crazy as soon as you get here, $1k will be more than enough to hold you till your first paycheck, which depending on your school will come anywhere from 2 weeks to 6 weeks from the time you start.

Also, bring a couple hundred in cash. But I'd skip the travelers check. They can be more hassle than they're worth. Instead talk to your American bank now. Make sure your debt card will work in Korea and they have authorized it's use there. You can then use it to get Korean cash out at any major bank's ATM. This is what I've used and never had a problem, as long as you don't lose it.

But don't just assume it will work without talking to your bank first. Some times they have to approve it's use before hand for certain countries.

[West Coast Tatterdemalion]

Keep all your cash, trav cheques on your person. Putting it in your luggage is pure stupidity and you deserve to get it stolen if you do this. ALL cash stays with you. Period.

[heynice]

not sure if I'm getting trolled, but I'll bite. Keep the money on you. Only exchange around $100 at Incheon airport (unless you have Korean won already). The next day, you can change it at a bank for a better spot rate than what the airport offers (the difference can be around 10%~20%). In terms of money, don't worry because you only need to declare it if it is over $10,000. 1k will be enough to live very comfortably on while you wait for your first paycheck. Breaking your money up will probably get it stolen.
NO traveler's checks. They are a pain in the ass.

You should have no problem keeping 10 $100 bills in your wallet.

[jvalmer]

Just bring it all in cash. $1000 bucks really isn't much to Koreans, so unless you wave $1000 around when buying a can of pop, Koreans won't even care. $1000 can even last a month, but for 2 weeks it's more than enough (unless you party every night). Also, DO NOT 'hide' cash in your luggage, keep it on you.

[ttompatz]

[Zanniati]

TY guys for the advice.

I went to my bank and they said that I could do just about whatever I wanted. I'm going to avoid traveler's checks. I think I'm going to bring $500 along with my debit card. I will most likely have my mom wire me money from my account. I gave her access to the account. My bank said they charge $30 for the transfer which doesn't seem too bad to me. Worth not risking more money. I clearly didn't realize putting money in your luggage was such a risk. I did it when I went to Europe and thankfully didn't have any problems. I guess I will avoid that in the future though.

So, $500 cash that I will carry on me at all times. Debit card that I will also carry on me at all times. In Korea I'll have my mom wire me another $500 if I need it before pay day. Either that, or I'll just use my debit card to take out a few hundred dollars and just use that. Good plan?

[madoka]

If you're into saving every won, change the bulk of your money with the grandmas in Namdaemun. I checked this past month. At the airport, they gave 1055 per $1. Namdaemun grandma gave me 1088 per $1. Yahoo reported the exchange rate at 1090 at the time.

[Murakano]