Hello everyone! Summer.

Today, I'm going to cover important things that all international students studying in Korea should know!!

That's right...!!!

Illegal currency exchange!

When I was working part-time at the school's International Office, students like this often came to visit me.

“Sir, my bank card has been suspended, and I have no idea why. The police station said that my bank account was involved in a crime... I swear I never committed a crime like that. I can’t even pay my tuition fees and do nothing because of this!”

That's right. More students than we think have their bank cards suspended and are escorted back to their home countries every year without completing their studies. They say that this happens because they usually exchange money or send money through an unregistered exchange office, not a financial institution legally licensed to exchange money. However, illegal currency exchange itself does not mean that your bank account is blocked. This kind of illegal currency exchange is usually used as a method of “money laundering” by criminal organizations that have profited from voice phishing or financial fraud . So, when the money flows into the student's bank account and the victim reports it, the poor international student becomes the suspect.

When international students study abroad, currency exchange is an unavoidable procedure. Summer is here! please! What I want to emphasize is that you should never exchange money in a legally licensed place. In particular, Chinese students will often see posts on WeChat saying, “We exchange money at a high exchange rate.” If you just see such a post and change money suddenly, 99% of it is illegal, so you will never be able to use that bank card again, and it will affect your visa extension, so you will not be able to continue studying abroad. Although he did not commit a direct crime, he indirectly assisted the “money laundering” of a criminal organization.

We must all avoid illegal currency exchange in order to have a healthy and enjoyable study abroad life and to become great talents in the future when we return to our home countries!