On Bank Accounts

So yesterday I opened a bank account in Korea. It was *ridiculously* easy.

All you need is a passport. That's it. Show them a passport; give them an address. Pick some secret numbers. Oh! Decide whether you want your account to be in Korean Won or American Dollars (craaazy) aaaaaand you're done!

Ok. so maybe this isn't so surprising for some. (Maybe it's this easy in the US?)

But in Japan, there is NO way you can walk into a bank with just a passport (and especially with just the tourist visa stamp on it) and expect them to let you open an account. If you don't have your 'Alien Registration Card' (and getting one of these sometimes requires selling off your first born child) and all the correct visa stuff in order, you cannot open an account.

interesting.

Oh! So I am now in possession of a Korean cell phone. However it has died, and the charger I have doesn't seem to connect to it in any way possible. ... Perhaps I should have paid more attention to what she was doing in the cell phone store? Perhaps I should have made sure he sold me the correct charger. ...