Pay & work
- 연봉 yeonbong
- Annual salary, always quoted before tax. Check whether it includes severance (퇴직금 포함) — if it does, your real pay is 12/13 of the figure. Take-home pay calculator
- 월급 wolgeup
- Monthly pay. Most Korean employers pay once a month on a fixed payday.
- 실수령액 silsuryeongaek
- Take-home pay: what reaches your account after social insurance and income tax. Take-home pay calculator
- 기본급 gibongeup
- Base pay, before allowances, overtime and bonuses.
- 식대 sikdae
- Meal allowance. Tax-free up to ₩200,000 a month, so it raises take-home pay. Take-home pay calculator
- 수당 sudang
- Allowance. 연장근로수당 is overtime pay, 야간근로수당 night-work pay, 휴일근로수당 holiday-work pay.
- 상여금 sangyeogeum
- Bonus. Regular bonuses count toward severance (3/12 of the last year’s total). Severance calculator
- 근로계약서 geullo gyeyakseo
- Employment contract. Your employer must give you a written copy showing pay, hours, holidays and leave.
- 수습 suseup
- Probation. For up to three months, pay can be 90% of the minimum wage — only on contracts of a year or more, and never for simple manual work. Minimum wage calculator
- 최저임금 choejeo imgeum
- Minimum wage: ₩10,320 an hour in 2026, ₩10,700 from 2027. Applies regardless of nationality. Minimum wage calculator
- 주휴수당 juhyu sudang
- Weekly holiday pay: an extra paid day each week if you work 15 hours or more and attend all scheduled days. Holiday pay calculator
- 통상임금 tongsang imgeum
- Ordinary wage: your regular, fixed pay. Overtime premiums and unused leave pay are calculated from it. Annual leave calculator
- 평균임금 pyeonggyun imgeum
- Average wage: everything you were paid in the last three months, divided by the days in that period. Severance is calculated from it. Severance calculator
- 연차 yeoncha
- Paid annual leave: up to 11 days in your first year, 15 after a year, rising to 25. Only at workplaces with 5 or more employees. Annual leave calculator
- 퇴직금 toejikgeum
- Severance pay: about 30 days’ average wage for each year worked, owed to anyone who leaves after a year or more. Severance calculator
- 사직서 sajikseo
- Resignation letter. Giving about a month’s notice is customary. Leaving a job checklist
- 경력증명서 gyeongnyeok jeungmyeongseo
- Certificate of employment. Your employer must issue one when you ask, even after you leave.
- 실업급여 sireop geupyeo
- Unemployment benefit. Only for people insured under employment insurance who lost their job involuntarily (or quit for a recognized reason).
- 고용센터 goyong senteo
- Employment center. Handles unemployment benefits and, for E-9 workers, job changes under the Employment Permit System.
Social insurance
- 4대보험 sadae boheom
- The four social insurances: national pension, health insurance (with long-term care), employment insurance and industrial accident insurance. Take-home pay calculator
- 국민연금 gungmin yeongeum
- National Pension. You pay 4.75% of monthly income; your employer pays the same. Depending on nationality or visa, you can claim it back when you leave Korea. Take-home pay calculator
- 반환일시금 banhwan ilsigeum
- Lump-sum refund of National Pension contributions, available to some foreign nationals and to E-8, E-9 and H-2 visa holders when they leave Korea. Leaving a job checklist
- 건강보험 geongang boheom
- National Health Insurance. Employees pay 3.595% of taxable pay; foreign employees join on the same terms.
- 장기요양보험 janggi yoyang boheom
- Long-term care insurance, collected with health insurance at 13.14% of the health premium.
- 고용보험 goyong boheom
- Employment insurance (0.9% from your pay). Compulsory for F-2, F-5 and F-6 visas; for most other visas only if you opt in. Take-home pay calculator
- 산재보험 sanjae boheom
- Industrial accident insurance. Paid entirely by your employer and covers work injuries, whatever your hours.
- 출국만기보험 chulguk mangi boheom
- Departure Guarantee Insurance. For E-9 workers it pays out your severance after you leave Korea; the employer covers any shortfall. Severance calculator
Tax
- 소득세 sodeukse
- Income tax, charged at progressive rates on income after deductions. Take-home pay calculator
- 지방소득세 jibang sodeukse
- Local income tax: 10% of your income tax, collected with it.
- 원천징수 woncheon jingsu
- Withholding: your employer deducts tax from your pay and pays it for you. Freelance payments usually have 3.3% withheld.
- 연말정산 yeonmal jeongsan
- Year-end tax settlement. Each February your employer compares the tax withheld with the tax actually due, and refunds or collects the difference.
- 원천징수영수증 woncheon jingsu yeongsujeung
- Withholding receipt: a yearly statement of your pay and the tax withheld. Ask for it when you change jobs.
- 비과세 bigwase
- Tax-free, such as the meal allowance. Tax-free pay is also left out of the social insurance base.
- 단일세율 danil seyul
- The flat tax option for foreign employees: 19% of total pay (20.9% with local tax) instead of progressive rates, with no deductions. Take-home pay calculator
- 현금영수증 hyeongeum yeongsujeung
- Cash receipt. Registering cash spending to your number counts it toward year-end deductions.
- 홈택스 Hometax
- The National Tax Service’s online tax portal, where you can see your tax records and file returns.
Housing
- 전세 jeonse
- A lease with one large deposit and no monthly rent. The whole deposit is returned when you move out. Jeonse ↔ wolse calculator
- 월세 wolse
- A lease with a smaller deposit plus monthly rent. Jeonse ↔ wolse calculator
- 반전세 banjeonse
- Something in between: a large deposit with a smaller monthly rent. Jeonse ↔ wolse calculator
- 보증금 bojeunggeum
- Deposit. Returned at the end of the lease, minus anything you owe. Jeonse checklist
- 전월세 전환율 jeonwolse jeonhwanyul
- Conversion rate between deposit and rent. During an existing lease it can’t exceed the legal cap (currently 5.0%). Jeonse ↔ wolse calculator
- 관리비 gwallibi
- Monthly maintenance fee for shared building costs, sometimes including some utilities. Ask what it covers.
- 공인중개사 gongin junggaesa
- Licensed real estate agent. Check the license and get the liability insurance certificate when you sign. Agent fee calculator
- 중개보수 (복비) junggae bosu (bokbi)
- Agent fee. The law sets a maximum by deal size; anything below it is negotiable. Each side pays separately. Agent fee calculator
- 등기부등본 deunggibu deungbon
- Property register: shows the owner and any mortgages or seizures. Check it before signing and again before paying the balance. Jeonse checklist
- 근저당 geunjeodang
- A registered mortgage. If the home is auctioned, it is paid before your deposit. Jeonse checklist
- 확정일자 hwakjeong ilja
- Fixed-date stamp on your lease. With your address report, it gives your deposit priority if the home is auctioned. Jeonse checklist
- 대항력 daehangnyeok
- A tenant’s right to stay and get the deposit back even if the home is sold. It starts the day after you move in and report your address.
- 계약갱신청구권 gyeyak gaengsin cheonggugwon
- The right to renew once for two more years. Rent or deposit increases are then capped at 5%.
- 임차권등기명령 imchagwon deunggi myeongnyeong
- A court-ordered lease registration that keeps your protection if you must move out before getting your deposit back. Jeonse checklist
- 원룸 · 오피스텔 · 빌라 one-room · officetel · villa
- Studio flat · a studio-style unit in a mixed-use building · a low-rise apartment building (not a detached villa). Pyeong converter
- 평 pyeong
- Unit of floor area: 3.3058 m², about 35.58 sq ft. Pyeong converter
- 전용면적 · 공급면적 jeonyong · gonggeup myeonjeok
- Exclusive area (inside your door) · supply area (plus shared stairs and corridors). Listings show exclusive area in m². Pyeong converter
Living in Korea
- 외국인등록증 oegugin deungnokjeung
- Residence card (alien registration card). Keep it with you, and return it when you leave Korea for good.
- 체류지 변경신고 cheryuji byeongyeong singo
- Address change report for foreign residents, due within 15 days of moving. It also counts as the move-in report that protects a deposit. Jeonse checklist
- 주민센터 jumin senteo
- Community service center: the local office for address reports, fixed-date stamps and certificates.
- 하이코리아 HiKorea
- The immigration e-government site for visa extensions, address changes and reservations.
- 공동인증서 gongdong injeungseo
- Digital certificate (formerly 공인인증서) used to log in to banks and government sites.
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Figures in the explanations are 2026 values and come from the same tables as the calculators. Romanization follows common usage and may differ from official spellings.