New things to worry about

In looking into moving to Korea over the past couple of years (first for a friend and then for myself) I was obviously aware that I would need to worry about the relative value of the Won when compared to the Canadian dollar. In all my time researching the move, it was always rather favorable or at least fairly equal. Now everyone I know is worried about the value of the Won and when would be the best time to send money back home. It's not an inexpensive venture anymore. I had a friend send back money to Canada and effectively lost $700 on the transaction.

So now I find myself checking in on a currency website several times a week, trying to figure out when is the best time to gamble on your money and send some back home. 

Less than a year ago, 1000 Won was worth more than one Canadian dollar. Recently, the Canadian dollar started to climb in relative value (even while losing out against the US dollar) crossing the 1000 Won barrier in early April. In mid-August the Canadian dollar peaked at over 1200 Won. Despite a recent fall of nearly 200 Won per dollar the Won is once again losing out to the Canadian dollar which is steadily gaining in relative value. At the time of writing this the Canadian dollar was worth 1147.74 Won. 

Not a great atmosphere in which to send money back to Canada.

But the news just keeps getting worse.

I received an email from my Korean bank, informing its customers of the poor economy and advising each of us to act responsibly in these uncertain economic times. Wonderful.

Then I read this from the BBC:

Meanwhile, South Korea says growth in its economy, which has been battered by the current financial crisis, is at a four-year low.

Its Kospi benchmark share index fell 7.5% on Thursday to hit a three-year dip, and its currency, the won, has lost a third of its value this year.

In early trading on Friday, the Kospi dipped below 1,000 points for the first since in more than three years, before recovering slightly.

However, it is still down 4.7% on the day so far, having lost almost half its value so far this year.

Samsung, the South Korean electronics firm, has said that its third-quarter profits were down 44%, despite a rise in sales.

So while the Canadian dollar continues its slide against the US dollar (it had been hovering around the 'at par' mark for much of the year but began to dip in late June and nose dived in late August - it is now only worth $0.795 American) the Won is performing even worse (the US dollar crossed the 1000 Won mark in April but is now approaching 1450 Won per dollar). 

So for me to send $1000 back to Canada, I will have to spend 1,128,747.04 Won. I effectively lose $129 in the transaction. I have a feeling that its only going to get worse. 

Wonderful.

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I recently posted about my trip to Busan and one of the things that I had never thought of concerning the cost of living in a big city was time.

Everyone understands that there are costs to pay when living in a big city. The cost of living is higher, real estate is higher, polution is higher but I never really understood the time one has to invest in simply moving around the city. 

In about two and a half days in Busan, I probably spent close to 6 hours on the subway!