There are certain limitations as to the amount you can send home while you are here, as the Korean government would much prefer that you spend your money in Korea rather than take it all back to North America. For those of us on the standard one-year contract with a work visa to go along with it, you are permitted to send home 60% of your earnings. This percentage is not certain... some banks allow you to send 80% others 100% others don't care and don't stamp your passport...
If your stay is shorter than 1 year, then the supposed limit is $10,000.00 US. The bank is supposed to keep track of your total for you. This is good to keep in mind if you have exorbitant student fees payments or some such thing. There are also service charges, of course. What bank would be complete without them? You get nicely double-dinged for them, too. The Korean bank will charge a fee to send the money, and your home bank will charge a fee for receiving it. The fees will vary from bank to bank, both here and at home. It's best to try to make as few transfers as possible with as large an amount as possible to avoid these paying these fees often.
Some people that are making extra money and have a surplus to send home will take a trip to Thailand or another country and will wire the money home from there. Legally you can enter almost any country with less than 10,000USD without declaring the money. There are Western Unions all over the place.
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