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The currency of South Korea is the Won, normally represented by the “W” sign. There are three bank note denominations: 1,000W bills, 5,000W bills and 10,000W bills. Additionally, there are four types of coinage: the 500W coin, 100W coin, 50W coin and the 10W coin. One euro is worth about 1,500 Won.

Banking in South Korea is much like in the West. You can use your Korean bank card for withdrawing small amounts, however there are limits on the amount you can withdraw and making large withdrawals should be done in person at your local branch.

If the bank card from your home bank has the Cirrus or Plus logos on the back you’ll be able to withdraw money from most Korean cash machines.

Banks based in Seoul include:

• Hana Bank
• Woori Bank
• Kookmin Bank
• Korea Exchange Bank
• Nonghyup Bank
• SC First Bank
• Shinhan Bank

The main foreign banks present in Seoul are:

• Bank of America
• Citibank (Korea)
• ABN AMRO
• Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ
• Deutsche Bank (Korea)
• HSBC (Seoul)