Quick update + wiring money

So there are about 5 days left until I depart for Korea and I am super excited!! Unfortunately, I got sick earlier this week which was the last thing I wanted since I was already stressing over last-minute preparations for Korea. I am feeling a little better now but hopefully I will be fully recovered by the time I leave for Korea.

In my first post, I briefly mentioned the topic of wiring money and how simple the process really is. However, I will go into more detail now about how to wire money and how the process works. For Korea University, the only way for international students to make payments for dorm fees is through wire transfer (unless for some reason you are already in Korea before the payment deadlines). If you are someone like me who has never done wire transfers until now will most likely be confused with this process. When you wire money from one place to another, you are basically sending money from one bank account to another. For example, when I paid for my dorm fees I had to transfer money from my personal bank account into a bank account at KU that is specifically linked to my student account so that the money gets credited to the right person. So how exactly do you wire money? Well, the easiest way is to go to whichever bank you have an account with and ask the teller to do a wire transfer for you. However, you need to be sure you have the appropriate information with you when you go to the bank. You will need to provide:

1. the name of the bank you are sending to,
2. address of the bank you are sending to,
3. SWIFT code,
4. account number that you are sending to,
5. and the name of the beneficiary.
(These were all included on my billing statement from KU so all I needed to do was print it out and show the bank teller.)

In addition, the bank will charge you a wire transfer fee on top of the amount you are planning to send (I have an account with First Hawaiian Bank and their fee is $50).

The main reason I wanted to add this explanation on wire transfers is because I experienced some bumps in the road when I did it and I hope you will not make the same mistake that I did. The biggest thing to keep in mind when doing wire transfers is how much money will actually reach the final destination. Many people do not realize that the sum of money you send out will actually shrink by the time it gets to its destination. This is because your money is sent through one or more Pay Through Banks before it reaches its final destination. Each Pay Through Bank that your money passes through will take out a small amount as a transfer fee. There really is no exact science to calculating how much money you should send out so the best thing to do is to convert your money and then round up by a substantial amount. It is really up to your own instincts! Remember to look up the most current exchange rate or use a currency exchange app!

When I did my first wire transfer for my dorm deposit of 200,000 won, everything went smoothly and I only overpaid by a mere 882 won (which equals to roughly 80 cents)! Unfortunately when I paid for my dorm fee, I guess I miscalculated and I underpaid by about 42,000 won. I checked my housing account online and despite the status showing 'Dorm Fees paid', I was worried that my room reservation would be canceled due to my outstanding 42,000 won. (The housing contract states that any rooms not paid before the deadline would be automatically canceled.) Because I did not want to risk becoming homeless in Korea, I rushed to the bank as soon as I could and did another wire transfer which cost me an extra $50 that I could have avoided if I had calculated correctly the first time.

That is all for now!