3

As usual I found myself a little bit short of local currency in my current country a day before flying to my next country.

ATM fees add up fast (especially in Thailand!) so I withdrew enough KRW to last a couple of weeks in Thailand.

But I seem to remember that exchanging currencies is quite a pain in Thailand. I seem to recall being advised to ask in gold shops when in smaller places. Of course it will be possible in the airport but airports always offer the worst rates, and in any case I'm curious. I do know that Bangkok at least has a decent chain of exchanges called "Super Rich" that offers good rates. But I don't know if that extends to Korean money.

Koreans have become a decent sized force in tourism in Asia in recent years so that's a plus.

My flight isn't until the evening so I will be able to exchange some KRW for USD or possibly THB before I head to the airport. If anyone has experience comparing rates between these strategies that would also be great to know.

Improve this question
3
  • 1
    "Readily" and "realistic" move this question into the Land of Opinion. I voted to close.
    – DavidRecallsMonica
    Aug 19, 2019 at 14:33
  • 4
    @David: That closevote was ten thousand times more opinion based than anything in my question. In fact assumption based as I see you have lack experience with foreign exchange to have an opinion. I'm not asking about two percent here or there. You are aware that some currencies are not even accepted in some countries? Even next door neighbours like Mexico and Guatemala. In other cases you'll get fair market value for USD but pennies on the dollar for other currencies. That's what I'm asking about. Thailand is a known problem country for changing money.
    – hippietrail
    Aug 19, 2019 at 14:40
  • Some info buying THB in Seoul. Near the Chinese embassy are many exchanges. Only 3 showed a price for THB. Only 1 actually had any to sell, and the rate was poor. Price for USD was fine though.
    – hippietrail
    Aug 20, 2019 at 6:22

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
4

The website of the chain mentioned in the question shows the exchange rates they offer. Korean won isn't at the top of the list, but it is mentioned before Chinese yuan so it seems a safe bet that it's a currency they handle regularly. The exchange rates they're offering are currently 0.0252/0.254 buy/sell, which is a fairly small spread and seems 'realistic' by any reasonable interpretation.

Improve this answer
1
  • I don't know why I didn't look there first! (That works out $2 cost to change $165) Probably because I'm still curious overall. I won't have to change KRW outside Bangkok this time but it will surely be useful for other people. I know there are also direct flights from Korea to Chiang Mai for instance.
    – hippietrail
    Aug 19, 2019 at 15:05

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .