Why would a bank have an area labeled as "Two Chairs", I wonder?
This is what I noticed as I sat and wait inside a Woori Bank branch in Chungnam on a Monday morning. Not only is it a bit odd as a signboard but the spelling doesn't look like English at all with the double dots above the CAPITALIZED letter "I." Maybe it's a bit of a German word? ^^ It's just weird.
I asked my husband about it when I got home and he said that maybe they just thought it was "cute" to have those two dots on top. Eh? Seriously? In a bank? @.@
posted from Bloggeroid
On a more serious note, I finally had to open my own bank account today. First stop, Shinhan Bank, followed by Woori Bank. I prepared my Foreigner's card and told the ajussis that I want to open a new account. (Dojang manduro juseyo, that's the best Korean I can muster.) It turns out, I got it mixed up again with the personal stamp called "dojang." It should have been, "TONGjang" I had to repeat it a couple of times before they understood my faulty Korean but I managed to get a queue number anyway. The queue slip reads "Sangdam jangu" - consultation window :D
Here is how it went..
Shinhan Bank
1. Got the queue slip with a staff's help. Sat and waited.
2. When my turn came up, I went the teller and told her what I want to do as I hand her my Alien Card.
3. She immediately called their in-house phone interpreter, spoke for a few minutes with her, then handed me the phone.
4. The call center agent verified that I want to open an account. Here's how the conversation went after the initial greetings and whatnots..
Agent: You wanted to make an account?
Me: Yes.
Agent: Why would you like to open an account?
Me: Just for savings. I just want deposit some cash. I just need a savings account.
Agent: Yes, it is for savings. What it is your purpose? Will you be sending money abroad?
Me: Not really. Not yet anyway. I just need a regular savings account.
Agent: What it is your purpose? Where will you be getting you money, is it from company salary?
Me: (starting to feel annoyed at this point) Not really. I just want to put my money in a bank.
She almost exhausted my reasoning skills. I only want to open an account, a regular savings account. Why does it have to be that complicated? And it doesn't end there.
Agent: Okay. I would like to speak to the branch manager please.
Me: (Silent, thinking why would she want to speak to the manager now. Did I do something bad that the Manager is needed?) What's that again?
Agent: Can I talk to the branch manager...teller please.
Me: Ah, ok. (Felt relieved.)
5. The teller spoke with the agent on the phone, and started giving me the paperworks.
6. I had to fill up and sign at least 4 pages.
7. At the end, I only got the bankbook and I have to wait for three months to get the card. Seriously? (My husband got his right away last time if I remember it right.)
This Shinhan Bank branch doesn't really make me feel good whenever I finish a transaction with them.
Woori Bank
1. Got the queue slip with a staff's help. He gave me the necessary forms to fill up.
2. I filled them up, sat and waited quite long but it's okay since I already got most of the paperwork done.
3. My turn came up, said my line in Korean, handed her my alien card along with the forms and the teller immediately started encoding into their system.
4. She verified with me that it isn't a credit card that I am applying for. She also asked me if I'd want phone banking and internet banking. She gave an additional paper when I told her that I want the internet banking.
5. I also asked for Gyotong Card and she showed me the T money logo on a debit card. She explained a bit about it but I really didn't understand. I almost felt that I will not get that card.
6. At the end, I got that same card, along with the PIN card (secret card) and a bank book.
Mission accomplished! I just need to deposit some cash on these new account to try out the cards and passbook next time. Note that I didn't need to have any amount for initial deposit to open an account, unlike in my home country.
Notes: It's better now that I am familiar with the typical terms in a form now. I just need to remember a couple of things:
1.TONGjang NOT dojang for an account
2. debit card is called Check Card
3. Sumyong is the name. Signature is usually a small area BESIDE it, not on top I think, since Koreans typically have short names and traditionally use small roundish Dojang. I signed it on top though, since my name is quite long.
I just feel a bit strange having to sign a lot of these forms without any idea what they are all about. "Never sign anything that you don't understand." really bugs me. If only there's a clue. Ah! That reminds me, one the papers from both banks had something to do with tax, I think. Go figure what exactly it is for.
That's it for tonight. It's already past twelve.
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