The short version
Before you start work or study, confirm two things: that your visa allows it, and that your contract and enrollment are in writing.
Right now
- 1First confirm your status of stay allows this work or study.
- 2Get the employment or enrollment terms in writing. Do not leave it verbal.
- 3Before you start, ask how pay, tax and insurance are handled.
What to have ready
- Passport and visa
- Alien Registration Card: Bring it if you have one.
- Contract and enrollment documents
Phrases you can copy and paste
Step by step
- 1
Confirm your visa allows it
Employment or part-time work can be restricted by your status of stay. Confirm it is allowed before you start.
- 2
Get the terms in writing
Hours, pay, duties and duration go in a contract. For study, confirm the enrollment terms in writing.
- 3
Check how pay, tax and insurance work
Ask how tax is deducted, whether you join the four major insurances, and when payday is, in advance.
- 4
If a problem comes up, rely on your records
Documents and records give you something to stand on if a dispute arises later. Keeping them from the start is the safe move.
Watch it happen
Videos other people made, picked because they show a part of this guide that words cannot. They are not our sources: the rules and figures above come from the official pages listed at the end.
외국인 직원 정착 가이드: 첫 출근부터 문화 적응까지
Channel: MCC리크루팅, Korean, no English subtitles. Auto-translated subtitles help here
Addressed to foreign employees rather than to Korean new hires, so it names the workplace habits that are never explained to you because everyone else already learned them at school.
The Korean words
- 근로계약geullo-gyeyak, employment contract
- The contract that sets your working terms. Get it in writing.
- 체류자격cheryu-jagyeok, status of stay
- The visa category that decides whether you can work.
- 4대보험sadae-boheom, four major insurances
- National pension, health, employment and industrial accident insurance.
- 원천징수woncheon-jingsu, withholding tax
- Tax taken out of your pay in advance.
Easy to miss
- Doing work your visa does not allow can put your stay at risk. Always confirm first.
- A verbal-only agreement leaves you nothing to stand on in a later pay or duties dispute. Put it in writing.
You can skip this if
- If a school or company handles all the procedures, follow their guidance first.
When it is time for a person
- If contract, visa and tax get tangled and are hard to judge alone, a person who can help with settling in more broadly may be worth it.
Don't Panic Companion
If you would rather not do this alone
A Korean companion can go with you for this: to the counter, the shop, the clinic or the viewing, and stay until it is sorted. It is paid help from the person who writes these guides, arranged by email.
One honest note. My English is limited, so this is not an interpreting service. A translation app can carry the words. What a companion adds is asking the clerk or the landlord again, reading what is actually going on, and being someone beside you who is not in a hurry.
Paid. The fee and the date are agreed by email before anything is booked. Asking costs nothing.
Where this comes from
Rules, fees and deadlines change and depend on your exact case. Please confirm the details with the official sources before you act.