Hagwon contract end date and the notice period: how to exit without losing your deposit
Your employment contract and your housing lease run on two different clocks. Miss either notice window and you can lose weeks of rent or watch your deposit sit with the landlord for months.
Park English2026-10-243 min read
Two dates matter when your first year wraps up: the last day of your teaching contract, and the last day of your housing lease. They are rarely the same date, and they are definitely not the same piece of paper. Treating them as one thing is how teachers end up waiting on a deposit that should already be in their account.
Your teaching contract's notice clause
Korean labor law does not set a fixed resignation notice period for employees. The LSA does not mandate a specific employee resignation notice period. Most hagwon contracts set 30 to 60 days. That clause is why you read your own contract rather than someone else's: it tells you the exact date by which you must put your non-renewal in writing.
Your director, in turn, owes you notice if the school is the one ending things. LSA Article 26 requires employers to give 30 days' written advance notice before terminating an employee who has worked for more than three months. If the employer cannot provide 30 days' notice, they must pay 30 days' ordinary wages instead. Whoever is initiating the end of the relationship, put it in writing. An email with a timestamp is enough.
Your housing lease's notice clock runs separately
This is the part that catches people. If your apartment lease is covered by the Housing Lease Protection Act, you (or your school, if the lease is in the school's name) have to notify the landlord by a specific date, not just "sometime before you leave." Under Korean tenancy law, if you don't notify your landlord at least 2 months before the lease end date that you won't be renewing, your lease automatically renews for another 2 years on the same terms. This is called 묵시적 갱신 (implied renewal).
If that window closes before anyone acts, you don't just lose convenience. If the lease has already auto-renewed, you can still terminate, but you must give 3 months' written notice from that point. That can push your actual move-out date, and your deposit return, well past your flight home.
| Clock | Who sends notice | When | What happens if you miss it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teaching contract | You, to your director | Per your contract (often 30 to 60 days before end date) | Varies by contract; check any penalty clause |
| Housing lease | Whoever signed the lease (you or the school) | At least 2 months before lease end | Lease auto-renews 2 years; now needs 3 months' notice to exit |
What to send, and when
- Confirm two dates the week you start thinking about leaving: your contract's required notice date, and your lease's end date. They are usually different.
- Send your director written non-renewal notice by your contract's deadline. Email is fine. Keep it.
- Separately, confirm who is responsible for notifying the landlord, you or the school, and send it yourself if there's any doubt. Write it in: KakaoTalk message, email, or text, keep a clear record of the date sent, and state explicitly that you will not be renewing.
- Ask your director to confirm the move-out date and the day the deposit will be returned, since landlords must return the deposit on the day you hand back the keys, though in practice many time it around the new tenant's move-in.
- Your final pay and any severance are due quickly after your last day: final salary and severance due within 14 days of leaving (§36).
The annoying part, honestly, is that nobody sends you a reminder for either clock. Your contract's notice date and your lease's two-month window are both on you to track, and they rarely line up with the same calendar reminder. Set two separate ones.
Finishing a contract well is also the best way to open your next one. Once your notice is in and your dates are confirmed, talk to your placement coordinator about what year two looks like, a new city, a different age group, a schedule that suits you better, instead of starting that search cold.