Money Matters
Currency – The Korean currency is "Won", the symbol for Won is a capital W with one or two horizontal lines through the middle and the abbreviation is KRW. It is issued in paper denominations of 1,000, 5,000 and 10,000 and coins of 100 and 500.
The exchange rates stated were as of the credit crunch
1 EUR = 1,604.87 KRW 1 GBP = 2,041.78 KRW 1 USD = 1,245.75 KRW
1 CAD = 1,036.98 KRW 1 NZD = 734.93 KRW 1 AUD = 840.50 KRW
1 ZAR = 126.09 KRW
Salary – A teacher’s salary will vary due to experience and qualification. Below is a guide to the salary a teacher can expect in a private school based on their experience and qualifications.
Credit Crunch 2008*
| Education |
Major |
Teaching Experience |
Salary in Won |
 |
 |
 |
| MA |
English |
4 Years + |
2,300,000 |
1,433.00 |
1,126.00 |
1,845.00 |
| BA |
English |
2 Years + |
2,200,000 |
1,371.00 |
1,077.00 |
1,764.00 |
| BA |
-------- |
2 Years + |
2,100,000 |
1,308.00 |
1,028.00 |
1,684.00 |
| BA |
-------- |
0 - 1 Year |
2,000,000 |
1,246.00 |
980.00 |
1,600.00 |
Deductions – The following deductions will be made from a teacher’s salary and paid by their school to the relevant Government department. All of the following deductions are compulsory by Korean law.
National Pension Fund deductions are 4.5% of your monthly salary.
Health Insurance is 2.385% of your monthly salary.
Korea Bank Accounts – Are easy to set up all you will require your passport and your alien registration card, which you will receive after your arrival.
ATM's – Are wide spread across Korea making access to your cash easy, but just beware that a large majority of ATM's are not 24 hour, and they will close at or around 12 midnight, so don't be caught out or go home early...!
Most ATM machines are in both English and Korean but be sure to check if you are using a machine for the first time. After a few months you should be able to use ATM’s that are completely in Korean. It just takes a little bit of getting used to so our advice would be to stick with the English enabled machines for the first while.
Credit / Debit cards - Are also widely used throughout Korea.
Saving – The excess salary that you don't manage to spend can easily be sent to your home bank account for a fee of about 40,000 Won per transaction. But don't forget to bring your home account's IBAN number (International Bank Account Number) and other branch information, as this will make the process run more smoothly.
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