Hold on, let's be frank about the banking situation here.

There's an article in the Korea Times that's been at the top of the page since last night titled "Expatriates Emerge as Blue Ocean for Banks." Let's be clear before we get into it that it's just an interview with some guy and not reflective of any official policy or, like, research. But in the article it's written:

According to Riestra, there were three major changes for foreign customers ― tellers, credit cards and international ATM cards.

First of all, some local lenders provide expatriate-only services at a few of their branches.

``Nowadays, many have a handful of 'designated branches' where usually one or two tellers service foreign customers,'' he said. ``You can find branches with one of these desks and get directions from their Web site.''

Secondly, credit cards are a service foreigners are encouraged not to miss. Although some stigma still exists against certain occupational groups, aliens with credit cards are proliferating here.

Some banks, including Korea Exchange Bank, issue credit cards to non-Koreans that allow them to see all the details of their purchases, make cash advances while overseas and manage other features online, all in English.

``Through English-based Internet banking, foreigners can remit funds overseas. (If you) get your card and Internet access set up, you may not have to take a waiting-number at a branch ever again,'' he said.

Thirdly, with the government easing regulations, foreigners now have international ATM access and are able to remit over $10,000 out of the country. They can withdraw cash worth $50,000 equivalent in won at ATMs outside of the country. ``If any foreigner has an ATM card that was issued before this free-market type of move, they might need to get it changed,'' he said.

Riestra, who is Korea's first foreign holder of a masters degree in foreign direct investment at KDI School, strongly recommended that foreigners develop a relationship with their branch to get better services and negotiation power.

The discrimination foreigners face at Korean banks is one of my latest hobby horses. I'm not talking about securing loans or doing anything fancy, things that longer-term residents deal with and are thus more knowledgable about than me. I'm talking about his "thirdly," the idea that foreigners have easy access to their money. A few weeks ago my girlfriend was denied an international debit card by two Gwangju Bank branches because she's a foreigner, even though she's been a customer with them for two years. If I had been with her at the time I probably would have started moving furniture around that bank because this treatment is pretty common.

In January there was an article in the Joongang Ilbo talking about how some banks that refuse to issue these cards will cite imaginary government restrictions.

The inconsistencies of local bank rules have long been a source of irritation for foreigners living in Korea, especially as the country now aspires to be an international financial hub.

Yeah you're fucking right. I was lucky enough to get an international debit card back in 2005, and each time I go overseas I'm always worried it won't work. However, I've had success using it every time, including in the US this past summer. But I had wanted her to get one, too, should something happen to mine or should it not work.

Sometimes when foreigners aren't refused cards they're given them only to find that they don't work once they get overseas. Less of a problem if you're going home to visit the folks, but a huge one if you're travelling abroad with little cash on-hand.

I've been running a little poll on Dave's with the question "Do you have an international debit card from a Korean bank?" You can check the current results for yourself, but as of this posting 52% said "yes," 31% said "no," 8% said "yes, but it didn't work overseas," and another 8% said they'd never tried to get one. Yes, you can find some flaws with the poll, but if you read the comments you'll see that foreigners are routinely denied these cards---or are given cards that don't work---which is a severe limit on how we can use our money.

I understand the reason banks refuse them---ostensibly because foreigners can go home, withdraw a ton of money, and either avoid transfer fees or circumvent the yearly limits some banks impose. However, as the JI article points out, you can't call yourself a financial hub when you deny the most basic of services to non-Koreans. Moreover, you can make all the English menus you want, you can do English announcements on buses, you can spend millions of dollars on English villages, and you can hire celebrities to be in your tourism commercials, but all that friendliness toward quote-unquote foreigners doesn't do shit when we're struggling with the basics. If we're unable to spend our money overseas, we're going to be less eager to spend it here when we get back from vacation.