Data-driven insights on living, working, and navigating Korea.
Korea’s National Pension System (NPS / 국민연금) is mandatory for most foreign residents — meaning money comes out of your paycheck every month. What many expats don’t realize is that when you leave Korea, you may be able to claim a lump-sum refund of everything you paid in, plus interest. This guide covers exactly how … Read more
You’ve been living in Korea for six months. Life is good. Then a letter arrives from NHIS — and it’s not a welcome note. It’s a bill for months of back premiums you had no idea you owed. This is the so-called “NHIS Bomb,” and it hits thousands of expats every year. The good news: … Read more
Korean employment contracts look short. Many foreign workers receive a two- or three-page document and assume it’s comprehensive. It often isn’t. Korean labor law fills in many gaps automatically — but only if you know where the gaps are. This guide goes through each major section of a Korean employment contract, explains what it means … Read more
퇴직금 (退職金) is one of the most misunderstood parts of Korean employment — and one of the most valuable. A foreign worker who spent three years at a Korean company can walk away with the equivalent of an extra three months’ salary. Yet many foreigners leave Korea without ever claiming it, either because they didn’t … Read more
The 2023 jeonse fraud crisis — where thousands of tenants lost deposits to landlords who had over-leveraged their properties — prompted the most significant reform of Korea’s rental deposit protection system in decades. Two years on, the question is whether those changes have actually made jeonse safer, or whether the structural risks remain. The short … Read more
How Korean Renting Works — And Why It’s Unlike Anywhere Else Renting in Korea is not like renting in your home country. When most foreigners first encounter the Korean rental system, two things stand out immediately: the sheer size of the deposits required, and the fact that some leases involve no monthly payment at all. … Read more