I'm currently living in South Korea and for the most part have been buying from Apmex and having it shipped to a trusted friend and stored. I wondered about buying gold here and went to Namdaemeun market (the largest outdoor market in SK) I find a market that has a lot of jewlers in it and found a beautiful brilliant uncirculated 1912 (1/2 ounce) gold eagle that I bought for $350. The going rate of gold is about W21,000 per gram right now. I also found out that most Koreans aren't interested in gold coins they usually buy them as jewelry, little items like golf balls and other nick-nacks (etc...) and in a small stamped hunk of gold they call a "dong." It's a traditional Korean weight that is about 37 1/2 grams. He quoted me a price of about $780 for it. I was wondering if anyone else who lives (or has lived) in Korea has bought gold or other PM's here and where the best place to buy was? Thanks!
Hugo, you will be terribly mistaken. Korean gold coins under the Japanese protectrate era are VERY VERY VERY expensive and you will never be afford to own one in your life time. Ever heard of 5, 10 and 20 won gold coins? (Let's not ask how expensive they are) And you have the 1970 gold coins that was first minted, but it wasn't too popular. Korea made the same mistake again in the 1988 Olympics and too many coins were minted, only to see the mint buying them back and remelting them.
