Working in Korea

Housing - What to Expect

* Please note that the actual appearance of each housing building may vary.

Full-time Native English-speaking Teachers at DYB receive rent-free accommodation for the duration of the contract. Housing is usually near the school and is always within an easy walk of supermarkets, department stores, restaurants, banks, and other services. The housing is usually a studio apartment in a fully furnished officetel. All of the housing is conveniently located near parks or mountains for nature lovers.


Korean apartments are measured in pyeong. One pyeong is equal to about 4 square meters, or 35 square feet. A typical single studio apartment is usually around 10 or 15 pyeong.


Apartments are simple by nature and comfortable in reality. While simple apartments such as these are not accommodating to families, they are normally modest in size for a single person. Cleaning and organizing is therefore much easier with these open plan rooms.


DYB apartments include western-style toilets, a western-style bed, a stand-alone or built-in wardrobe, a stove, a refrigerator, and a washing machine. An air conditioner and under-floor heating is also included in the housing. Ovens are very uncommon in Korea, as are clothes dryers. Electricity is expensive and not so easy to produce in such densely populated country.


Your kitchen is likely to be pretty small, yet functional. It’s extremely unlikely that you’ll have a conventional oven, but you can usually pick up a reasonably priced toaster oven. Basic cutlery and crockery will be provided for a single person if you choose to purchase one of our housing essential packages. and you can always purchase more if needed.



The two biggest differences between the Western and Korean apartments are the way they are heated and the bathrooms. Traditionally, Korean homes were heated by means of channeling hot air through pipes under the floor. Today, most apartments are heated by running hot water through pipes under a raised floor. This is great in winter as the heat from the floor actually moves up through furniture like beds and sofas. If you're cold when you come in from a windy -14C night, it's nice to lie down on the floor for a few minutes. It's also very handy for drying things like jeans and towels.


Bathrooms are almost always without a separate shower stall or bathtub. A shower hose is usually attached to the wall, often above the bathroom sink. The entire bathroom gets wet, though there is special cover for the roll of toilet paper. Water runs out through a drain in the floor.


Recycling in Korea is taken much more seriously than in the west, and rightly so. If you bring your trash bag down and it is full of recyclables, be prepared to be lectured by the housing guard if you get caught. Food, paper, plastic, cans, tin/metal, and glass is all recycled. Trash is not normally put into any old bag but rather special bags that are purchased at local shopping markets; 종량제 봉투 (plastic garbage bag).


Tip: Put the food recycle bags in the freezer if they smell. Most trash sites are located in or near the parking lot of the building and are well organized and allow you to remove trash on any day.

Korean Medical Insurance Scheme

Private school employees and their family members are covered by Korean national health insurance. Full-time foreigner workers that have full coverage national health insurance (4대보험) can covered as employees through individual application.

What is National Health Insurance?

The National Health Insurance Corporation (NHIC) is the only public insurer managing the National Health Insurance under the supervision of the Korean Ministry of Health & Welfare. The insured of NHI can be categorized into employee insured and the self-employed insured. The NHI is a system where contributions made by the insured are consolidated into a fund and insurance benefits are provided upon their need. The system aims to share the burden among the insured persons and provide medical services.

The contribution of insured employees including the government and private school employees is based on the income of the insured; the scope and items of income and the contribution rates are the same.

Foreign Citizens

Those who have correctly completed their alien registration as a foreign worker at Korean Immigration Bureau can make an application for the enrolment of national health insurance at the NHIC.

The foreign workers should make an application for enrolment to their employer who is then responsible for remitting the application to the office with the required documents. The enrolment is retroactive to the date of employment.

Contribution Rate

According to the Health Insurance Act, the Insurance Finance Committee established that the National Health Insurance Corporation was allowed to set the contribution rate for the employed insured at less than 8% of monthly wages and salaries. The contribution rate of the employed insured is 3.94% for ordinary employees and for government and private school employees. The contribution of the employed insured is borne by both employee and employer.


For ordinary employees, the employer pays 50% of the contribution and the employee pays the other 50%.


For private school employees, the owner of the private school pays only 30% of the contribution; the government subsidizes 20% of the contribution and the employee pays the other 50%.

The payment of contributions is the responsibility of employers and all members of households by the 10th day of the following month on a monthly basis. In the case of non-payment, the insurer (NHIC) has the authority to carry out coercive collection. The contribution amount shall be calculated by the monthly salary contribution rate and be deducted from the monthly salary (50% of which are paid by the employer). The duty of the payment is retroactive to the date of employment.

Health Care Benefits and Costs

The benefit package for foreigner is the same as for Korean nationals. When the insured person and qualifying dependents, no matter whether they are foreigners or Korean nationals, get health care service at the health care facilities, they have to pay as follows;

For treatment at the hospitals and medical clinics: 20%-50% of the total charges applicable by NHI

For prescription drugs filled at the pharmacy: 30% of the total charges applicable by NHI

Treatments of diseases that do not hinder work or daily living, and the cost of drugs and medical materials for simple fatigue, hair loss, freckles, warts, hirsutism, acne, impotence, hereditary deformity of genitals, simple snoring, plastic surgery, cure of sequela, and operation to correct eyesight are not covered by the health insurance.


More information about NHIC benefits can be found at


http://www.nhic.or.kr/wbe/wbeb/2002/11/19/207,257,6,0,0.html

Taxes and Deductions

Local income taxes will be deducted from your paycheck on a monthly basis. Most employers will withhold income tax (3-4% of salary), resident tax (10% of the income tax), national pension-plan contributions (4.5% of salary) and national health insurance premiums (2% of salary) from monthly pay. In many cases employers will only deduct around 4-7% from your total salary and will exclude deductions for the national pension plan.

USA - Tax Implications for Americans

If you are an American citizen living and working in another country, and if you pay tax in that country, and if you meet the “bona fide residence test” or the “physical presence test” you can file for tax exemption if you make less than $80,000 US/year.

“Bona fide residence test”

  • bank account
  • phone bill
  • cell phone bills
  • utility bills in your name

“Physical Presence Test”

Were you physically in a foreign country for 330 days in a consecutive 12 month period? You should still fill out and submit a 1040 form to the IRS found here: 1040 Form and you should also attach the 2555-EZ form. Thus, although you will be filing with the IRS during your year abroad, you won’t have to pay income tax in both countries.

Canada - Tax Implications for Canadians

The main question for Canadians is whether to file as a resident or a non-resident.


This information can be found on this website



  • A home.
  • A spouse or common-law partner and dependants who stay in Canada while you are living abroad.
  • Personal property, such as a car or furniture, and social ties.
  • Credit cards or driver’s licenses can also be included as can bank accounts and health insurance.

There is usually enough grounds to be considered a resident of Canada if you so choose- check out this website for further information: Click here to see if you are considered a resident.

Canada has a tax treaty with South Korea , thus by working there with a legal visa, you are considered a resident of that country and therefore are required to pay tax there and NOT in Canada - qualifying you as a “deemed non-resident”.

If you have an extenuating circumstance, for example a pension, revenue from rental property, child benefits under CCTB, mutual funds or RRSPs that you decide to cash in while you’re in Korea, there are other factors to consider and you’re going to have to do your own research.


Contact Revenue Canada or the IRS for more information and a barrel of laughs.


Once you are in Korea, here is the information you need in order to get your Canadian Pension refunded at the end of your contract. Contact (031-424-9731). The Anyang office is located near Indeogwan Station on the blue line- it is a fifteen minute walk to the Cambridge Building. You can also e-mail npcblooo@npc.or.kr

In Jamsil, Seoul you can call 2-2240-1083.

Things you need to bring with you:


  • Sin #
  • Passport
  • Canadian Bank Account Info
  • Copy of statement from Korean bank after you have sent money home
  • Alien Registration Card
  • Proof of flight (ticket) out of Korea
    Go to the office in your last week.

General Pension Information

All foreign employees aged between 18 and 60 are obligated to pay into National Pension Scheme, with the following exceptions:


  • Those whose country does not mandatorily cover Korean citizens under its pension scheme.
  • Foreigners who are not registered under the Immigration Act, or to whom the forced deportation order has been issued under the same Act, or who are staying in Korea without being permitted to extend their term of stay.
  • Among the registered foreigners under Immigration Act, those whose stay status falls under any of the followings; culture & art, studying abroad, industrial training, general training, religion, visiting & living together and others.
  • People excluded from the mandatory coverage of National Pension Scheme, by the social security agreement.

Foreign Insured Persons and National (Korean citizens) Insured Persons are treated equally under the National Pension Scheme For example, there is no discrimination in terms of the benefit amount and remitting benefit abroad, etc. But there is a certain distinction in regarding Lump-sum Refund. Foreign employees, with the exception of those listed below, are not refunded their pension contributions when they leave the country. However, those falling in the following categories will be paid a lump-sum refund:


  • People whose country grants Koreans a benefit corresponding to Lump-sum Refund under the National Pension Scheme.
  • People whose country concludes a social security agreement with Korea to secure benefit right by totaling Insured period in each country.

For a list of the specific countries excluded from paying into the pension scheme or eligible for the lump-sum refund, click on the NPS site. NPS Central Information Line: 'dial' 1355 (English-speaker usually).

Pension Obligations and Rights

Mandatory Pension Contributions:

Since 1999, all foreign workers between the ages of 18 and 60, regardless of the size of the workplace or the number of employees, have been included in the mandatory Korean National Pension Scheme with only a few exceptions. If you fall within one of the following categories, you do not have to be enrolled in the NPS and you do not have to pay the contributions:


  1. You are a citizen of one of the 17 nations that do not mandate Korean citizens working in your country to pay into its pension plan: Armenia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Fiji, Iran, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Tonga, and Vietnam.
  2. You are in one of the following categories: culture & art, study abroad, industrial training, general training, religion, etc.
  3. You are over 60 years of age.

Calculation of Pension Contribution:

The law requires that Korean and Foreign workers be treated equally. According to the NPS, “…there is no discrimination in terms of the benefit amount and remitting benefit abroad, etc.” The contribution is calculated by multiplying the worker’s reported (by the employer) monthly income by the 9% rate (between minimum W220,000 and maximum W3,890,000 as of 2012. This increases each year). Both the employer and the employee each pay an equal amount of the required 9% contribution. The employer deducts 4.5% from the employee’s wage and must make the matching 4.5% contribution payment at the same time.


Pension Contribution Refund:

You are eligible for a lump sum refund if your country:


  • grants Koreans a benefit corresponding to Lump-sum Refund under the National Pension Scheme.
  • concludes a social security agreement with Korea to secure benefit right by totaling Insured period in each country.

For information on International Social Security Agreements click on http://www.nps.or.kr/ then click on English. Near the bottom of the English page, you'll see Social Security Agreement/Contracting Countries. Click on your country (if it's there).

Refund Procedure:

If you are a national from one of the countries listed and have met the requirements, you may be entitled to receive both your and your employer’s NPS contributions. (Conditions do apply so check with the Korean National Pension Scheme website and visit your own Embassy in Seoul’s website).


Documents required when you visit your regional NPS office**:


  1. Passport
  2. Residence Card
  3. A copy of your bank book (Korean or home country bank - but unless the payment is made prior to your departure, you may want to give a home bank or ensure that you can access your Korean account after you’ve left the country) and
  4. An airline ticket showing your one-way departure date (e-ticket should be OK).

Your employer will also have to report the termination of the contract to the National Pension Service (NPS) of Korea upon your departure from the country. The NPS will deposit the refund in your bank account after it confirms your departure.


Note: It is also possible to apply for your refund either through an attorney in your home country and on your own, by mail, In both cases, you will have to provide a copy of your passport, a copy of your local bank book, and likely documents proving that you’ve made the payments and that you’re entitled to receive the refund (keep a copy of your alien registration card/number and receive a copy of the necessary documentation from your employer prior to your departure.

Korean Pension Benefits:

Foreign contributors to the Korean National Pension Scheme may also choose to receive their benefits (if/when eligible) rather than take the lump-sum refund. The benefits can be remitted overseas if they have left Korea. However, those who have taken the lump-sum refund are no longer eligible to claim benefits.


**Addresses and Contact Details for the Seoul and Regional NPS offices can be found on the National Pension Scheme website http://www.nps.or.kr/. Click on English - on the English Page look to the right to the map of Korea, click on Go>> and the list of offices will appear. Click on the one you want and all the contact details will appear.


When visiting the NPS office look for the sign that says "Kuk min yeon geum(국민연금)


NPS Central Information Line: 'dial' 1355 (English-speaker usually)


Please Note: At the time of writing, this information was accurate to the best of the author’s knowledge. As it is often difficult to receive unambiguous and accurate information, and the rules applying to rules change frequently, it is recommended that you check the specific requirements for your country by telephoning the National Pension Office. The telephone directory for specific countries is:


http://english.nps.or.kr/jsppage/english/contact/telePhone.jsp