Korean Job Discussion Forums

[corroonb]

What's the best way to bring a few grand to Korea? I don't have a credit card or a debit card so I'm thinking about traveller's cheques (sp?). Does anyone have any suggestions on the best way form personal experience?

[ttompatz]

[corroonb]

I'll bring some cash but aren't traveller's cheques safer? Are you able to cash them at the average bank, is this the pain in the rear?

I'd be very nervous about carrying around 2 grand in cash (in Dublin not Korea ).

Do you need an ARC to exchange currency in Korea?

[Free World]

[The Man known as The Man]

Make sure you're sober!

[ttompatz]

[dogshed]

I put some in my bag, some in my front pocket and the rest in a little pouch that straps to my calf. I've read you should not keep cash in a wallet in your back pocket.

I have a small leather card holder I keep in my front pocket opposite the pocket with the cash.

I knew a guy who kept cash in a rubber band and a safety pin. He safety pinned the wad to the bottom of his pocket and pulled the whole thing out when he needed money.

If i'm going to buy something I will separate that money before purchase so I don't have to get my whole wad out.

Front jean pockets will be safer than loose pockets like cargo shorts.

One writer said you should have dummy wallet with some expired credit cards and $20. You give the criminal the dummy wallet. I don't know if that would work. In Kansas City there were a couple of cases where people were hurt pretty bad when they didn't hand over enough money.

You can use your mastercard or visa debit and credit cards at most stores to buy things. You have the issue of converting won to dollars to pay the bill back home.

-Jeff

[dogshed]

How you dress is an issue. Don't dress like you are rich frat brat stereotype spending daddies money to party. Dress like you got stuck in a foreign country and can't afford to go home or you can't go home because of warrants. -Jeff

[RJjr]

I brought $2,700 in my billfold and $5,000 in the right front pocket of my jeans, and exchanged $1000 into won at the airport upon arrival to have spending money until my first payday.

If it's in $100s, it doesn't take up much space at all. I kept the bank bands on the money in my pocket just in case there were any questions from any police authorities

[kiwigirl :O)]

i got a visa/mastercard cash passport card....you use it like a debit card, put any amount of money on it in your home country and you can use it at international atms abroad that bear the visa/mastercard/cirrus/maestro logos......

you can keep using it for a period of 3 years and its awesome you can check balances online .... the only catch is that you can only reload from the store you got it back home (or another branch of the american express/western union in your home country)

i thoroughly recommend them as they are safe convenient and widely accepted at the korean atmss...there is also a locator on the internet for whatever city you are in you can get the address of the local atm....btw wal mart and emart are two places where you can use the card as well as keb bank

good luck

cheers
kg

[RJjr]

One other thing: I would think 1/4 oz American platinum rounds would look like regular coins in the security x-ray. I brought one to use as a barter of last resort in the event of war/currency collapse. I put it in my billfold to keep it from getting scratched and mixed my billfold in with some pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters as camoflauge in the bowls at the airports. It was absolutely legal, but I just didn't feel like being asked any questions or searched. Keep in mind, though, that metals count as part of the cash limit. Jewelry being worn on your body doesn't, but it's not as liquid either.

[sock]

Just bring cash. Second choice would be international money order, which you can get issued from your bank, which you can have made out to only you.

Obviously nobody can guarantee that you won't be mugged in the airport, but in my experience, Korea is pretty safe. People here tend to leave their doors open, walk away from their shops, even from their carts on the street. The 7-11 (convenience store) near my house often leaves whole flats of (full) beer bottles outside the shop, underneath the only window that is blacked out, where it would be difficult to see if someone wanted to make off with some free booze. At the doctor's office, I've seen women leave purses unattended in the waiting room while they go in and talk with the doctor. It's very common to see scooters and cars (even taxis) double parked in the street, running and impeding traffic, while the driver goes in to the bank, to the mobile phone shop, etc. This kind of stuff really fascinated me when I first came, maybe because I could never tell if it was stupidity, ignorance, or just a general lack of petty theft in this society.

Anyway, my experience is that Koreans typically aren't petty theives; they prefer to screw you over in business deals rather than openly rob you.

Oh yeah, and my advice is to only exchange a little money at the airport, maybe $100-200 USD or so, enough to get you through a few days. The rates are atrocious! <see above remark about being screwed in business deals> There are banks everywhere, in addition to currency exchange places (just look for signs on the window that say "currency exchange" in English) and you can walk into any one of them and exchange money at much better rates. You don't need a passport or an ARC card; any tourist in Korea can exchange money with minimal hassle.

[robertmanicni]

What is an ARC?

[sock]

Alien Resident Card. Any non-Korean citizen living in Korea, on any visa other than a tourist visa, must have one. It's basically a government-issued ID card for foreigners.

Check the FAQ forum for more details.