KRW South Korean Won
Buy and sell South Korean Won in Sydney
South Korean won in cash, bought and sold back at our counter in Suite 202A, Level 2, 60 York Street, NSW 2000. Live rates in each direction, 0% commission, open Monday to Friday from 9:30am to 5pm.
How to get your won
Three short steps, no account and no booking required.
Check today's KRW exchange rate
The calculator shows the won your Australian dollars buy at this moment, and beside it the A$ we pay for won you carry home.
Visit our store
Come upstairs to Suite 202A, Level 2, 60 York Street, NSW 2000, a four-minute walk from Wynyard, or ring (02) 8014 4222 beforehand and we will have the won ready.
Get your cash
You watch the notes being counted and leave with them immediately - and any won you bring home are bought back over the same counter.
Key information about the South Korean won
Four notes, four coins, one central bank - and a country that pays by card.
South Korea has used the won since 1962, when it replaced the hwan, and every note and coin is issued by the Bank of Korea in Seoul. On paper a won divides into 100 jeon, yet the jeon survives only in exchange-rate quotes and prices are written in whole won - the money of one of Asia's largest economies.
Four notes circulate - ₩1,000, ₩5,000, ₩10,000 and the ₩50,000, which arrived in June 2009; until then the ₩10,000 was the largest note and big sums moved by cheque. The current designs date from 2006-2009 and carry stronger security features; earlier designs remain legal tender but are rarely seen. Travellers tend to over-order ₩50,000s; ₩10,000s are handier at market stalls.
With Australians flying to Korea in growing numbers, the won is one of the 22 currencies we trade at York Street. Anyone buying South Korean won in Sydney can walk up with photo ID during trading hours, or telephone first to have an amount held; whatever comes back unspent, we buy at the live buy-back rate shown above.
South Korean Won details
- Currency
- South Korean Won
- Code
- KRW
- Symbol
- ₩
- Subunit
- 100 jeon in name only - no jeon coin circulates and prices are whole won
- Central bank
- Bank of Korea
South Korean Won in use
- Banknotes
- ₩1,000, ₩5,000, ₩10,000, ₩50,000 (the 2006-2009 series; the ₩50,000 has been the largest note since June 2009)
- Coins
- ₩10, ₩50, ₩100, ₩500 in everyday use (₩1 and ₩5 are struck for collectors' sets only)
- Used in
- South Korea
- Also used
- Nowhere else - the won is not accepted outside South Korea, and North Korea's won is a separate currency
Carry a fold of ₩1,000 and ₩5,000 notes for market food, street stalls and transport-card top-ups: convenience stores load T-money cards with cash only, and a ₩50,000 note is a big ask at a tteokbokki cart.
Today's won exchange rate in Sydney
Here is the AUD to KRW rate at our York Street counter right now, both ways: the won your Australian dollars buy, and the A$ we hand over for won you sell back. Each figure in the tables is calculated from the calculator's current rate.
Buying won in Sydney
A$1 = ₩880.14
Australian dollars across, won notes back.
- The rate on screen is the full price: 0% commission and no fee stacked on top of it
- Pay with cash - we are not able to take cards at the counter right now
- Ask for a good share of ₩10,000s and some ₩1,000s - stalls, taxis and T-money top-ups go smoother without a ₩50,000 to break
Selling won back in Sydney
₩1,000 = A$1.06
Won notes across, Australian dollars back.
- We count, you agree the total, and the Australian dollars are paid to you there and then
- Notes should come back clean and whole - a torn, taped or badly creased won note may not be accepted
- Korea's current notes all date from the 2006-2009 redesign; older-style won notes are legal tender there but rarely seen, and are simplest to spend in Korea
These are the counter's live rates and they shift with the market during trading hours. The time shown on the calculator is when the tables above were last set, and the rate the counter confirms at the moment you exchange is the one honoured.
What things cost in South Korea
Seoul prices for a typical day, not counting accommodation - the national museums are free. Busan and the provinces come in cheaper, while cherry-blossom and autumn-foliage weeks push hotel rates up.
Korea travel money tips
Korea pays by card, but a few things still want won in hand.
Cards rule, yet cash still has jobs
Korea is about as card-first as a country gets - department stores, cafes, convenience stores and the corner kimbap shop all take cards, though a small independent may struggle with a foreign one. Cash comes into its own at traditional markets such as Gwangjang, at street-food carts, and for loading a T-money transport card at a convenience store, where only won notes are accepted. Seoul's city buses stopped taking cash in 2023, so top up before boarding.
Things to see in South Korea
Palaces and pop culture in Seoul, beaches in Busan, volcanic Jeju - and a few won notes in your pocket for the market stalls and street snacks along the way.
Why exchange won with us
Won for the outbound flight or won left over from the trip home - a registered CBD counter buys and sells at rates shown live, with nothing added.
0% commission, no fees on top
Our AUD to KRW rate stands alone: 0% commission, and no service or handling charge appears afterwards. Whatever number of won the calculator shows for your Australian dollars is the number counted into your hand.
Live, timestamped counter rates
Both won rates here - the one you buy at and the one we pay on the way back - are set by our own counter, refreshed across the trading day and labelled with the minute they last changed.
Registered, reviewed, guaranteed
Currency Wise Exchange is AUSTRAC registered under ABN 18 675 798 302, holds a Google rating of from 59 reviews, and puts its Best Price Guarantee in writing for every customer.
Rated on Google by 59 customers
Every one of these was left on our Google profile by someone who came up to Level 2. We cannot edit them or take them down.
"Nice attention, customer service and good rate"
"Great people. Great rates. Great location. Sunil is the best."
"Thanks sunil. Great service and great rates"
"Pretty good rates, the place is clean and comfortable to wait in."
See what customers across Sydney say about our rates and service.
Read them all on Googlearrow_forwardCommon questions about South Korean won
Something we have not covered? Ring (02) 8014 4222 during trading hours and we will answer it.
Today's rate sits in the calculator at the top of this page and is quoted both ways - one figure for buying won with Australian dollars, another for the A$ we pay when you sell won back. It is refreshed during trading hours and carries the time it was last set. Whatever the counter confirms when you actually exchange is the rate you receive.
Upstairs at Currency Wise Exchange, Suite 202A, Level 2, 60 York Street, NSW 2000, in the Sydney CBD - Wynyard station is about four minutes away on foot. We trade Monday to Friday between 9:30am and 5pm; bring photo ID and there is no need to book. If you would rather the won were waiting, call (02) 8014 4222 before you set out.
The conversion table on this page answers that at the counter's live rate: A$1,000 is listed with the other common amounts, and every line moves with the calculator as the won shifts through the day. Use it to plan, then treat the rate confirmed at the counter as the final word - that is the figure your exchange is settled at.
None. Won are bought and sold at 0% commission, and nothing is added at the counter afterwards - no service fee, no handling charge. The rate you see is the whole of the price, in both directions: the won your A$ buy, and the A$ we pay for won you bring back.
Won are among the 22 currencies on our board, and as one of the major Asian currencies they are normally available to walk-in customers on any weekday. For a large sum, or if you want the notes weighted towards ₩10,000s rather than ₩50,000s, ring (02) 8014 4222 first and we will confirm and set it aside for you.
A mix that leans on ₩10,000 notes, with some ₩5,000s and ₩1,000s, and only a few ₩50,000s. Korea's biggest note is fine at hotels, restaurants and shops, but a market stall or a street-food cart would rather not break one, and topping up a T-money card at a convenience store is easier with smaller notes. Say the mix you want when you call ahead or reach the counter.
Yes - bring them to the same counter and we buy them at the live buy-back rate in the calculator, paying Australian dollars as soon as the count is agreed. The notes need to be in good, resaleable condition: anything torn, taped, heavily marked or water-damaged may be declined, because each note we take is sold on to another traveller.
Less than in most countries, but not none. Cards cover hotels, restaurants, shops, taxis and the subway, yet the places that make a Korea trip memorable - Gwangjang and other traditional markets, street-food carts, small family eateries - run on cash, and a T-money transport card is loaded with notes at convenience stores. A float of ₩50,000-100,000 covers those gaps; anything above the equivalent of US$10,000 must be declared to Korean customs on arrival or departure.
Yes. Please bring current photo identification. Currency exchange is a designated service under Australia's AML/CTF laws, we are AUSTRAC registered, and identification is required for certain transactions - the rule applies equally whether you are buying won or selling them back.
Need a different currency?
The won is one of 22 currencies we deal in - see the full rate board for today's buying and selling rate on each.
