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General Information - Money and Economy |
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Korea's currency is the won (W). Paper money comes in denominations of
W1,000, W5,000, W10,000, and W50,000 (started from 2009),
while coins come in denominations of W10, W50, W100,
and W500. Banks also use aluminum W1 coins to keep
track of transactions which are not exact multiples of 10 won, but you will probably
never actually use one. Bank checks (sup'yo) in denominations of W100,000,
W500,000, and W1,000,000 can be used, but merchants often
tack on a surcharge for handling them, especially if they were issued by a bank in a different
city. Instead, most people carry huge wads of W10,000 notes.
Through much of the 1980s and 1990s, the won usually traded between 700-850 won/dollar.
During 1997 it steadily lost ground until it reached the 950 level in October. After that,
demand by companies trying to clear their year-end dollar-based debt pushed the won to
almost daily record lows. Since the IMF intervened in December
and agreed to loan Korea over $57 billion, the won has traded between 1,400 and 1,800.
Since then, depending on world and local events, the won has flucturated accordingly.
(Up to the minute exchange rates can be found on www.bloomberg.com).
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