Korean Job Discussion Forums

[VTsoi]

My contract finishes in a month or so and foolishly or not, I've kept all my money here up to this point rather than remitting every month.

I have an account with NongHyup with about 10 million won in it.

Should be a bit more before I leave.

Whats the most cost effective way (in terms of both fees and exchange rate) to bring it back home?

Cashier's check? Standard remittance? Western Union? Open up a KEB account and do it with them? Briefcase o' cash?

I'm aware I have to declare if I'm bringing over 10k US out. Are there limits on how much I can remit or take out at one time?

If i get a cashier's check from NongHyup, can I get it in dollars or does it have to be in Won?

Thanks for your help. I know you get these alot.

[Wildbore]

[tardisrider]

You can, if you want, get a bank check made in U.S. dollars. I don't know what fees would be involved. And you can certainly remit your money all at once. That being said, I have another suggestion that many have found helpful when in your situation. It may seem slightly complicated, but it's not really.

At KEB you can get a foreign remittance account set up online. This is a KEB account that you deposit money into, but the money transfers automatically to the account you have in your home country. Of course, this means that you'll have to have an account in your home country.

You'll have to transfer your funds to a regular KEB account and get internet banking set up. So really you'll have two KEB accounts, let's call them "A" and "B." We'll call the account in your home country "C."

A is a regular account. B is your remittance account.

Put all your money into A. When you get home, you can look go online and look at the balance in A. Whenever you want, you can transfer money from A into B. Any money transferred to B automatically gets transferred to C.

There are two main advantages to doing it this way. One is that you can keep some money in Korea and transfer it whenever you the exchange rate is favorable. I am not sure about the precise fees, but they are minimal, and you may save more in the long run by by watching the exchange rate. Of course, that's a bit of a gamble, but what isn't?

Second, you can transfer in increments,thus avoiding needing to declare money or having any red flags raised.

There is no limit to how much you can remit, but of course you'll have to declare limits over the US$10K mark and you can't take more out of Korea than you can prove you legally earned.

[ttompatz]

For large sums the best, safest and cheapest way is a simple bank wire (swift).

.

[pkang0202]

Get it all in bills, put it in a plastic bag. roll up the bag so it looks like a big brick. Tape that closed. Put that bag inside another plastic bag. Roll that up so it looks like a brick. Tape everything. Leave in your carry on. Don't leave it out of your possession except when it goes through the x-ray machine

Sounds ridiculous? Its been done. No one even batted an eye in Washington DC or in Incheon.


That is one way to do it. The best, easiest, and safest way is to wire it.

[ajosshi]

Not a good idea

http://www.koreaherald.com/national/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20120116001281

[VTsoi]