If we want to send money home, how does exchanging our KRW to USD work? Would we be able to wire money to our American bank account, and if so, what are the fees?
You can wire your money directly from KB Bank (the one I suggest) to any US account, so long as you have your account name, account number, address of the branch your account is held, and the routing number (contact your bank to confirm all of these). The cost is about 14,000 won ($14) to wire $1000-2000 US dollars. They will convert your money to US dollars before sending, so you will know exactly how much should be arriving in your home account. It takes from 24-48 hours for your home back to receive it and deposit in your account. It’s very easy, safe, and efficient. There are also Western Unions in Korea, so you could send a money transfer to anyone anywhere in the world if you needed (ie. to mom or dad, and have them deposit cash into your account). Also, once you wire money home, you can still get to it by withdrawing at a Korean ATM, so long as your bank card has a Visa, Mastercard, Plus, or Cirrus logo (or any combination of those).
