USD to KRW Exchange Rate History — 10 Year Analysis

The US Dollar to South Korean Won exchange rate is one of the most closely watched currency pairs in East Asia. Over the past decade, USD/KRW has swung from a post-crisis low near 1,060 to a multi-decade high above 1,480, driven by Federal Reserve policy cycles, geopolitical shocks, South Korea's trade balance, and structural capital outflows. Whether you are sending money abroad, managing FX exposure in a Korean business, or simply trying to understand why your dollar buys more Won than it did five years ago, this 10-year breakdown gives you the full picture.

Use the Currency Converter to check today's live USD/KRW rate before reading on.

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Key Takeaway

Between 2016 and 2026, the USD/KRW rate climbed roughly 30%, from an annual average near 1,160 to levels above 1,450. The primary drivers were the Fed's aggressive 2022–2023 rate hike cycle, South Korea's temporary trade deficit in 2022, and growing structural outflows from Korean institutional investors into US assets. The Won briefly traded near 1,480 in late 2024 and again in early 2026. Most major investment banks forecast a gradual drift back toward 1,380–1,440 over the course of 2026 as the US dollar weakens moderately against global peers.

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What Does a Decade of USD/KRW Data Actually Look Like?

The table below shows approximate annual average exchange rates from 2016 through 2025, followed by the early 2026 trading range.

Several distinct phases emerge from this data, each with its own macro driver.

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Phase 1: The Strong Won Era (2016–2018)

The first three years of our analysis represent the most favorable period for the Korean Won in over a decade. From a 2016 average of 1,161 KRW per dollar, the rate fell steadily to a multi-year low average of 1,102 in 2018 — meaning each dollar bought fewer Won, reflecting a stronger Won.

Two forces drove this appreciation. First, South Korea's technology sector was in the middle of an extraordinary export supercycle. Global demand for DRAM memory chips and OLED displays, both dominated by Samsung and SK Hynix, generated massive dollar inflows into South Korea. When exporters convert those dollars into Won to pay domestic wages and taxes, the Won naturally strengthens.

Second, the Federal Reserve was raising rates only gradually during this period — a total of 225 basis points between December 2015 and December 2018 — meaning the rate differential between US Treasuries and Korean government bonds remained modest. Capital did not rush out of Korea in search of higher US yields.

The one geopolitical wildcard was the deployment of the US THAAD missile defense system in 2016–2017, which triggered a Chinese consumer boycott of Korean goods. This created brief Won volatility but did not reverse the overall appreciation trend, as the semiconductor cycle proved far more powerful.

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Phase 2: Trade War and Pandemic Turbulence (2019–2020)

The US–China trade war fundamentally changed the risk calculus for emerging market currencies. South Korea, deeply embedded in global supply chains connecting China to the US, found itself caught in the crossfire. The Won weakened from its 2018 average of 1,102 back to 1,165 in 2019 as global trade volumes slowed and investors moved toward safe-haven assets.

Then came COVID-19. The initial market shock in February–March 2020 sent the Won as weak as 1,280 intraday as global investors fled to dollar liquidity. The Bank of Korea (BOK) cut its benchmark rate from 1.25% to a record low of 0.5% in May 2020 to cushion the blow. By year-end, the annual average settled at 1,184, but the seeds of a longer period of won weakness had been planted through the BOK's ultra-loose monetary stance.

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Phase 3: Recovery, Then the Fed's Wrecking Ball (2021–2022)

The year 2021 offered a temporary reprieve. South Korea's strong vaccination program, surging chip exports, and recovering global trade helped the Won recover to an annual average of 1,145 — nearly back to 2018 levels. The BOK began raising rates in August 2021, becoming one of the first major central banks to start tightening — a move that initially supported the Won.

But 2022 was a different story entirely. The US Federal Reserve launched one of the most aggressive tightening cycles in its modern history, raising the federal funds rate by 425 basis points across the year, from near zero to 4.25–4.50%. This created a rapidly widening interest rate gap between US and Korean assets, triggering capital outflows from Korea and pushing USD/KRW from around 1,190 in January to as high as 1,445 by September — levels last seen during the 2009 global financial crisis.

Compounding the currency pressure was South Korea's trade balance. For the first time since 2008, the country recorded an annual trade deficit in 2022, as surging global energy prices dramatically inflated the country's import bill for crude oil and liquefied natural gas. When a current account surplus disappears, one of the structural anchors supporting the Won evaporates with it.

The BOK raised its own policy rate to 3.50% by January 2023, but this remained below the Fed's terminal rate, preserving a negative interest rate differential that

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참고: 한국은행 경제통계