Changing KRW to USD in South Korea: the cheapest way, and what the rest cost you

KRW → USD

The spread takes 0 KRW at KakaoBank.

Measured against 1337.5500 KRW per USD, the reference these banks price from.

Every figure is read from a bank's own published board, or derived from a margin it discloses — named in the evidence column, never inferred. We do not rank by any commercial relationship; the order below is the rate, and nothing else.

Which method costs least

This is the choice worth the most money, and the one most comparisons skip. Cash desks sit several points above card and transfer rates in every country we measure.

MethodCheapest hereCosts youHow we know
Buy banknotes at a branch
The bank's own banknote board — the widest spread of the three, everywhere we measure.
KakaoBank 0 KRW read from obank.kbstar.com
Transfer / account conversion
What the bank converts at when the money moves between accounts.
Industrial Bank of Korea 541.45 KRW read from www.ibk.co.kr

Cash withdrawals at an ATM are left out on purpose: they carry a per-withdrawal fee we do not collect, so listing them beside the others would flatter them.

Every bank's cash / banknotes rate

If you have to use a branch anyway, this is the order to try them in — 5 banks, cheapest first. The dearest takes 2.5% more than the cheapest.

BankBuys USDSells USDCosts you
KakaoBank own board 1364.4600 1328.0000 0 KRW
Read from the board this bank publishes at obank.kbstar.com.
Woori Bank own board 1314.1000 1360.9000 8,578.88 KRW
Read from the board this bank publishes at spot.wooribank.com.
KB Kookmin Bank own board 1314.1000 1360.9000 8,578.88 KRW
Read from the board this bank publishes at obank.kbstar.com.
Busan Bank (BNK) own board 1314.1400 1360.9600 8,600.55 KRW
Read from the board this bank publishes at www.busanbank.co.kr.
Hana Bank own board 1314.3000 1361.1000 8,651.09 KRW
Read from the board this bank publishes at www.kebhana.com.
2026-09-28 2026-11-11 1386.3400 1313.7000
Cheapest (green), median (dashed) and dearest (red) selling rate on each day — 33 days on which at least two banks published, 2026-09-28 to 2026-11-11. This is why we can say who stays cheapest, not just who is cheapest today.

Every bank's transfers rate

If you have to use a branch anyway, this is the order to try them in — 5 banks, cheapest first. The dearest takes 0.9% more than the cheapest.

BankBuys USDSells USDCosts you
Industrial Bank of Korea own board 1313.8000 1339.0000 541.45 KRW
Read from the board this bank publishes at www.ibk.co.kr.
KakaoBank own board 1354.0000 1341.0000 1,286.35 KRW
Read from the board this bank publishes at obank.kbstar.com.
KB Kookmin Bank own board 1324.6000 1350.4000 4,757.85 KRW
Read from the board this bank publishes at obank.kbstar.com.
Hana Bank own board 1324.6000 1350.8000 4,904.50 KRW
Read from the board this bank publishes at www.kebhana.com.
Busan Bank (BNK) own board 1324.1700 1350.9300 4,952.14 KRW
Read from the board this bank publishes at www.busanbank.co.kr.
2026-09-28 2026-11-11 1375.2700 1326.5000
Cheapest (green), median (dashed) and dearest (red) selling rate on each day — 33 days on which at least two banks published, 2026-09-28 to 2026-11-11. This is why we can say who stays cheapest, not just who is cheapest today.

Tell me when this changes

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Rates are KRW per 1 USD; "costs you" is the part of your amount the spread absorbs, against 1337.5500, the reference these banks price from. Collection began 2026-06-24. Indicative information for comparison, not financial advice. What each country's rates are officially anchored to is on the references page. Generated 2026-11-11.