Legally there are certain limitations as to the amount of money you can send home while you are working in Korea.
There are a couple of reasons for this:
- the Korean government would much prefer that you spend your money in Korea rather than take it all back to your home country.
- the Korean government doesn't want you to be working illegally.
For those of you on the standard one-year contract with a work visa to go along with it, you are permitted to send home 60% of your earnings. This percentage is not certain... some banks allow you to send 80%, others 100%, others don't care and don't stamp your passport...
If your stay is shorter than 1 year, then the supposed limit is $10,000.00 US. The bank is supposed to keep track of your total for you. This is good to keep in mind if you have exorbitant student loan payments or other large debts to pay. There are also service charges, of course. What bank would be complete without them? You get nicely double-dinged for them, too. The Korean bank will charge a fee to send the money, and your home bank will charge a fee for receiving it. The fees will vary from bank to bank, both here and at home. It's best to try to make as few transfers as possible with as large an amount as possible to avoid paying these fees too often.
Some people that are making extra money and have a surplus to send home will take a trip to Thailand or another country and will wire the money home from there. Legally you can enter almost any country with less than 10,000USD without declaring the money. There are Western Unions all over the place.
Other teachers that don't have time to go for a golf trip in Thailand have talked to their Korean friends and solicited their help. Koreans can send out however much money they want... make sure you trust the person because they are going to have to go to the bank without you...
This brings us to the glorious topic of exchange rates. The main thing to remember here is that they fluctuate. This can work in your favour or against you, depending on which way the markets are heading while you are in Korea. Try to send the most money home when the Won (the name of Korean currency) is strong and the dollar is weak. It won't always work out that you can do this, but it's a good thing to try. As a general rule though, about 1000 won is equivalent to $1.
As for choosing a bank to open an account at, well, banks are banks and it makes no real difference which one you use. It's probably best to go to the same one your fellow teachers use, as that bank is likely used to dealing with foreigners sending money home, making those painful language barrier moments slightly less awkward. If you happen to be the only foreigner at your institute, your new found Korean friends and co-workers will most likely be extremely helpful to you in finding a bank with someone who speaks at least a smattering of English.
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