How Much Cash to Bring to Korea: Only the Places Cards Fail

Korea runs on cards almost everywhere, so there is no reason to exchange a thick stack before you fly. The catch is "almost" — a handful of places travelers actually go, like street-food carts and traditional markets, take cash only. All you need to settle is how much, when, and where to get it.

Last checked: 2026-09-22·Desk-researched — not yet verified on site

1. 1The basic split

   Plan on roughly 80% card, 20% cash. Hotels, department stores, chain restaurants and cafes, convenience stores (GS25, CU, 7-Eleven) and attraction tickets all take cards. Treat cash as the reserve for what falls outside that.

2. 2What you need on landing

   ₩10,000–20,000 in hand at the airport is enough. Get the rest from an ATM or an exchange booth once you are in the city — the rate is better there, since airport counters are the worst you will see.

3. 3Where cash is the only option

   Street-food carts on strips like Myeongdong, small stalls in traditional markets, older subway coin lockers, and old neighborhood eateries. Underground shopping arcades sometimes discount for cash. Budget ₩30,000–50,000 a day for this layer and you are mostly covered.

4. 4Getting cash: Global ATMs

   Any machine marked "Global ATM" or carrying a Visa, Plus, Mastercard, Cirrus or UnionPay logo will take a foreign card. Convenience-store ATMs are the practical default — 24 hours, everywhere — but they cost a little more: around ₩3,000 per withdrawal at a bank machine versus ₩3,000–4,000 at a convenience store. The per-withdrawal limit differs too, roughly ₩1,000,000 at banks and ₩300,000 at convenience stores. Among banks, Woori, KB Kookmin, Hana and Shinhan have the widest coverage.

5. 5Always choose won at the terminal

   When an ATM or card terminal asks whether to bill you in your home currency, decline and choose won. That offer is DCC — the terminal's operator converts on the spot at its own rate, and there is no cap on the commission it may add, so the cost varies by machine and you can't know it in advance. Choose won and your own card issuer does the conversion instead.

6. 6Spending down what is left

   If you end up with coins and small notes before flying home, loading them onto a T-money card and spending them on subways, buses and convenience stores is the cleanest exit. Refunding a balance carries a fee, which hurts most on small amounts.