Soaring to 1,490 Won at Currency Exchanges
Months of Losses for Small Business Owners and Travelers
"The dollar payment date is today, so even if the exchange rate jumps significantly, there's nothing I can do. I lost 500,000 won compared to the last time I exchanged currency."
Recently, with the won-dollar exchange rate entering the 1,400 won era becoming the 'new normal,' self-employed individuals and overseas travelers have been hit hard.
On the morning of the 3rd at around 10:30 AM, Yoon (38), a clothing retailer whom we met at A Currency Exchange in Seongdong-gu, Seoul, complained while exchanging a lump sum of 50,000 won into dollars. The real-time exchange receipt showed 1 dollar at 1,494 won. At that time, due to then-President Donald Trump's tariff imposition plans on Canada and Mexico, the won-dollar exchange rate had surged to 1,470 won per dollar. Yoon said, "The high exchange rate has continued for months, and the more I sell, the more I lose. At this rate, I might have to close my business."
B, a cafe owner who purchases Robusta coffee beans directly from Vietnam, said, "Not only the coffee bean prices but also the exchange rate of the Vietnamese dong against the won has risen sharply since the end of last year. We need to raise the price of an Americano by 500 to 1,000 won to break even," but added, "I haven't raised prices yet because I'm worried about losing customers."
The situation is similar for those who have to travel abroad. Han (39), a corporate employee scheduled to depart for business in Las Vegas, USA, in two weeks, said, "Every time I regularly exchange 1,000,000 won into dollars, the amount of dollars I receive decreases by 20 to 30 dollars," and added, "Even though the won-dollar exchange rate is maintaining around 1,450 won, I'm debating whether I should stock up on dollars in advance." Some overseas travel communities have posts saying, "I'm going shopping in the US in March, but the exchange rate isn't dropping, so I'm worried," and "I'm thinking of canceling my overseas trip for this year's Chuseok holiday."
Professor Shin Se-don of the Department of Economics at Sookmyung Women's University said, "Due to various uncertainties, the high exchange rate maintaining around 1,450 won throughout this year is highly likely to continue," and added, "This should be seen as a new economic challenge that Korea is facing."
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