Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
medical expenses. Taxes are low, at least by the standards of many Western countries, and
tipping virtually nonexistent.
The country has a modern banking system with a number of international lenders, and it
has steadily been dropping controls on what non-South Koreans can and can't do with the
money they earn here. But strangely, what should be one of the more straightforward ele-
ments of life in South Korea—managing your earnings—often proves to be one of the most
puzzling and controversial. This is both because of the sometimes volatile financial envir-
onment—the currency, and the stock market, seem to take turns being the region's best- and
worst-performing—and the apparent reluctance of local lenders to provide the full range
of banking services to foreign nationals. Arm yourself with persistence and a bit of know-
ledge, however, and more than a few apparent barriers will quickly vanish.
“How much does it cost to live in South Korea?” is one of those questions like “How long
is a piece of string?”—the answer is, it depends. Try to replicate the suburban North Amer-
ican or British life here, living in a stand-alone house with a good-sized yard and shopping
for things like steaks and cheese every day, and your expenses will be astronomical, since
