Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Weigookin74]

Good job US Federal reserve!!! Investors thought they were going to stop printing money and currencies were starting to rise. Lo and behold, they didn't and now the won is falling again. What a bunch of stupid effin @ holes!! Thanks. Takes a lot longer to pay off debts because of these idiotic policies over the last few years. So, damn frustrating!!!

[Weigookin74]

http://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/convert/?Amount=2000000&From=KRW&To=CAD

[World Traveler]

I could have sworn it was you who was saying "The won will go back to how it used to be any day now". (It was actually a lot of posters saying that.) Well, it never happened, and it probably never will happen. It's not the fault of the U.S. Federal Reserve either. Korea's economy was strong and growing at a rapid rate...but now...the years of double digit growth are almost certainly gone forever and are never coming back (due to an aging population and many other factors).

[Weigookin74]

The won is tied to the US dollar. When the US dollar started falling, the won started falling. Korea's economy is tied to exporting to the US. When the US went into a tailspin, so did Korea. The dollar started falling at the end of 2007 and accelerated through 2008 and into 2009. What happened to the won during this time? Yeah, it fell too.

America, Korea, and whomever's best days aren't behind them. It's just politicians and political appointees making stupid decisions that cause this to keep dragging on.

[Ranman]

Err, the won is doing really well against the dollar right now. It's at a peak at the moment for the past couple of months.

[nora]

[Weigookin74]

Yeah, it was falling quickly on that day and the US dollar was falling on that day too. Financial websites said the dollar took a hit due to the Fed's decision. But, it has now rebounded. I'm happy to be wrong on that point.

That said, Korea's economy is still tied heavily to the USA's. I remember back in December 2007, the Canadian dollar shot up to $1.10 US causing me to lose value on the won. Lo and behold, later, economists said the US economy entered recession during that month. (Even then, I didn't lose as much value on the won versus what came later.) Still, it wasn't until the autumn of 2008 that the won took it's real historic and worse drop. Within 6 months, many industrial towns in Korea too a nose dive and shut down. The Korean economy has been on shaky ground ever since.

The dollar has risen inspite of the Fed shock. The won has risen too because of it.

In 1997, the economy really tanked due to the Asian Flu. But, Korea could export it's way out and within 4 years had fully recovered. This crash, though less severe than that one has dragged on because Korea can't export it's way out of this one.

Historically, recessions, at least in the States, had always lasted 2 to 3 years and then gotten back to booming. No one really expected this to drag on like this when it first hit. Very frustrating as it ripples around the world. But too many out to lunch politicians on both sides holding the markets hostage. (Too polarized, I guess.)

[Weigookin74]

[quote="nora"]

[hagwonnewbie]

engine? I think you mean vacuum. The USD doesn't produce much real value , but it does create the illusion of value (printing money)

[World Traveler]

The United States produces nothing of value? Most of the world's innovation and technology comes from the United States. The iPhone, the Mac Air, etc., etc.

[mithridates]

United States ≠ USD