# Using US money in Korea? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 31, 2011, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-us-money-in-korea/594718 "2011-08-31T03:24:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2011, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-us-money-in-korea/594718/21 "2011-09-01T23:16:54Z")
Many poorer countries (former soviet countries in my experience) have potentially unstable currencies and therefore place a high emphasis on the stability of the US dollar. In many cases, common everyday transactions are done in the countries own currency but larger purchases are done (illegally?) in US dollars. People who are poor are not buying mutual funds, but they are not stupid, they understand the concept diversifying their portfolio. When their portfolio consists of cash and goods, diversifying it into a relatively stable form of cash like U.S. dollars can be an attractive proposition. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2011, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-us-money-in-korea/594718/22 "2011-09-02T01:16:44Z")
Let’s look at just how far South Korea is from being a third-world country: > **[List of countries by GDP (PPP) per capita](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(PPP)_per_capita)** > > A country's gross domestic product (GDP) at purchasing power parity (PPP) per capita is the PPP value of all final goods and services produced within an economy in a given year, divided by the average (or mid-year) population for the same year. This is similar to nominal GDP per capita, but adjusted for the cost of living in each country. > In 2019, the estimated average GDP per capita (PPP) of all of the countries of the world was Int$ 18,381.\[a\] For rankings regarding wealth, see list of co... This article gives three estimates of the gross domestic product per capita of all the countries in the world, adjusted for the purchasing power of the local currency. Some think that this is the best way of determining the average economic lifestyle of a country. You take the gross domestic product of a country and divide it by the total population. You then adjust for the fact that the cost of living is higher in some countries than in others. As you can see, South Korea ranks 25, 30, and 31 on the three lists. This isn’t as high as the U.S. (7, 8, 9), Switzerland (8, 9, 11), Canada (12, 16, 16), or Australia (10, 13, 12), but it’s roughly in the same range as Spain (26, 26, 35), Italy (28, 27, 30), Israel (27, 31, 33), or New Zealand (32, 29, 38). ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2011, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-us-money-in-korea/594718/23 "2011-09-02T01:21:15Z")
One of the folks my BIL has breakfast with is retired US Navy with a Korean wife. I was told by my BIL that at breakfast yesterday the husband reported that the wife had just returned from Korea after visiting family. He reports that she, the wife, said that using US money is not an issue and it would be accepted most everywhere. :dubious: This is completely at odds with what you folks have said, so I guess I’ll just have to wait until he returns from his trip for a report. Trip starts in the middle of October, so look for a report in November. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2011, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-us-money-in-korea/594718/24 "2011-09-02T07:21:53Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Let’s look at just how far South Korea is from being a third-world country: I suspect **sitchensis** was referring to North Korea, whose use of US currency has also been commented on a few times in this thread. (Incidentally, North Korea technically isn’t a third-world country either.) ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2011, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-us-money-in-korea/594718/25 "2011-09-02T08:18:58Z")
If sitchensis is talking about North Korea, he (or she) is ignoring the subject of the thread. The thread is about South Korea. Furthermore, I wasn’t replying specifically to sitchensis’s post but was expanding on the idea mentioned in various posts in this thread about South Korea not being a third-world country. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2011, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-us-money-in-korea/594718/26 "2011-09-02T08:27:37Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Trying to pay for something in American currency is implicitly saying that you think their currency is just some funny money they play games with, while of course American money is the only thing that’s worth anything… > > There are a few countries which officially use a foreign currency for some reason, sometimes because they have no currency of their own and sometimes because they’re willing to have a foreign currency officially accepted: > > [List of circulating currencies - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_circulating_currencies) Cambodia is on the list of countries with their own currency, but in fact dollars are preferred, and prices are generally quoted in dollars. American coins are not used – the small riel banknotes perform that function. I don’t know if the riel-dollar tie is official but the exchange rate has been approximately 4000 to 1 for several years. Cambodians are honest. Buying a sandwich as bus was leaving, the vendor held up one finger so I gave him one dollar. He chased after the bus to give me 3000 riel change. And don’t forget to bring $2 banknotes – Cambodians love them as tips. I ran out, and tried to buy them back for $3 each, with no takers. ---
**Author:** ![Grey\_area](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Grey\_area](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey_area)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2011, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-us-money-in-korea/594718/27 "2011-09-02T09:02:37Z")
I’ve been in Korea for a few years now and I can say with little doubt that most stores and restaurants will not accept foreign currency. There are exchange stations at the airport. Or if you are hell bent on never laying your hands on filthy local moneys, most places take visa and other major credit cards. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2011, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-us-money-in-korea/594718/28 "2011-09-02T10:00:26Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > Cambodia is on the list of countries with their own currency, but in fact dollars are preferred, and prices are generally quoted in dollars. American coins are not used – the small riel banknotes perform that function. Vietnam is also like that. 100 US Dollars = 2 million Dong and the largest bank note is 100,000 Dong = 4.8 dollars. So any transaction more than buying a meal tends to be paid in USD, otherwise you’d need a wheelbarrow. ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2011, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-us-money-in-korea/594718/29 "2011-09-02T18:41:18Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > I suspect **sitchensis** was referring to North Korea, whose use of US currency has also been commented on a few times in this thread. (Incidentally, North Korea technically isn’t a third-world country either.) > [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > If sitchensis is talking about North Korea, he (or she) is ignoring the subject of the thread. The thread is about South Korea. Furthermore, I wasn’t replying specifically to sitchensis’s post but was expanding on the idea mentioned in various posts in this thread about South Korea not being a third-world country. I was talking about neither I was simply pointing out that this is a common enough situation around the world that this: > [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Trying to pay with American currency is the equivalent of shouting at a foreign clerk in English and assuming that they must really understand you because, hey, those funny noises they make aren’t a real language but just some silly babble they’ve created deliberately to annoy you. Trying to pay for something in American currency is implicitly saying that you think their currency is just some funny money they play games with, while of course American money is the only thing that’s worth anything. If you’re lucky, they won’t beat you up before throwing you out of their store. Is not a factually correct response to the OP Especially one who thought ahead enough to first ask the question on a message board ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2011, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-us-money-in-korea/594718/30 "2011-09-02T18:55:14Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > Many Carribean island economies are almost completely dependent on US tourists. Almost any tourist-based store will be happy to take US dollars, **though they’ll give you a terrible exchange rate** and most likely give you change in the local currency. So lots of Americans travel to the Carribean, often as their first or only international travel, use US cash, and get the impression the rest of the world operates the same way as well. (Bolding mine) Actually, in St Martin there are US-friendly businesses whose signage says, “$ = Euro”. I love those places! ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2011, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-us-money-in-korea/594718/31 "2011-09-03T01:05:51Z")
I think the only countries I’ve seen take US dollars are dirt-poor ones that need the hard currency, such as the aforementioned Cambodia and Vietnam. Laos too. South Korea certainly wouldn’t be in that category, although I admit I’ve never been there. In Thailand, you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who’d take dollars, especially since there are exchange booths practically on every corner where a tourist might possibly wander. The same with countries like Malaysia, Singapore, even Indonesia. I may have seen some hotels with signs saying they’ll do it, but the rates they post are really crap, I suppose a penalty for being too lazy to walk outside and exchange some yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2011, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-us-money-in-korea/594718/32 "2011-09-03T03:27:54Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Trying to pay with American currency is the equivalent of shouting at a foreign clerk in English and assuming that they must really understand you because, hey, those funny noises they make aren’t a real language but just some silly babble they’ve created deliberately to annoy you. Trying to pay for something in American currency is implicitly saying that you think their currency is just some funny money they play games with, while of course American money is the only thing that’s worth anything. If you’re lucky, they won’t beat you up before throwing you out of their store. This plus one. And thank you, **Wendell** , for indicating just how insulting it is to be handed American greenbacks and the attitude that the American tendering them is doing you a favour. I worked retail in Canada for a number of years. We took American currency (at a rate that covered our costs on the exchange), and I cannot count the times an American said something like the following: “Here’s some _real_ money.” “Betchell take this. US greenbacks–everybody wants 'em.” “This is better than that Monopoly money you use.” I cannot speak for Korea, but I can attest to feeling the insults that \*\*Wendell \*\*alluded to. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2011, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-us-money-in-korea/594718/33 "2011-09-03T11:46:18Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > “Here’s some _real_ money.” > “Betchell take this. US greenbacks–everybody wants 'em.” > “This is better than that Monopoly money you use.” > > I cannot speak for Korea, but I can attest to feeling the insults that \*\*Wendell \*\*alluded to. Now that the Australian dollar is worth more than the US dollar (1.06 right now), I wonder how I’d fare trying that with AU Dollar notes in an LA Bar. "Here’s some ‘real’ money’… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-us-money-in-korea/594718.md?page=1)