Severance in Korea: the one-year rule and how to make sure you get it
Finish a full year with the same employer and you are generally owed severance worth about a month of pay. The rule is simple; the ways teachers end up outside it are not, and almost all of them are avoidable.
Park English2026-09-263 min read
Severance is the single largest piece of money in a teaching year that people do not plan for, and the one we field the most panicked messages about, usually in month eleven.
Here is the shape of it, and then the traps.
The baseline
An employee who completes one year of continuous service with the same employer is generally entitled to severance pay. For a teacher on a standard twelve-month hagwon contract, that works out to roughly one month of average pay. Your contract should say so; if it does not mention severance at all, that is a question to ask before signing, not a reason to assume you are not covered.
Confirm the specifics against your own contract and, if anything is unclear, with the Ministry of Employment and Labor. We are not your lawyer and the details of an individual case can turn on wording.
Where it goes wrong
Leaving early, even by days. This is the big one. A teacher who finishes on day 360 because a flight was cheaper has, in most readings, not completed the year. If you are negotiating a departure date, negotiate it around your contract end date and not around an airline.
Not keeping records. Whatever happens, it helps to keep your own records from month one. Save your contract, your payslips, and any message where hours or duties changed.
Changing employer mid-year. Two six-month contracts at two schools are not one year at one employer. If you transfer, ask in writing how the clock is treated.
Unpaid leave that breaks continuity. A long unpaid absence can affect the calculation. Ask before you take it, not after.
What to keep, starting now
| Keep | Why |
|---|---|
| Signed contract, all pages | The end date and the severance clause |
| Every payslip | Average pay is calculated from your recent pay |
| Any message changing hours or pay | Shows what you were actually working |
| Your ARC and visa dates | Ties your employment period together |
Put them in one folder in cloud storage on your first week. It takes ten minutes and it is the difference between a conversation and an argument.
Timing
By law, an employer must pay wages, compensation, and all other money owed within 14 days from the date the payment obligation arises when an employee retires, unless the parties agree otherwise for special circumstances. That same 14-day window covers your final paycheck and your severance together. So if your last working day is the 15th, the 29th is the date to have money in hand, not the date to start asking about it.
If you are close to your end date and the topic has not come up, raise it politely in writing about a month out. A short message asking when severance and your final pay will be processed creates a record and usually settles it. Most schools handle it inside that 14-day window without anyone having to ask twice, but it is worth knowing the number so you recognize whether you are on schedule or just waiting.
If you were placed through us, tell us at that point rather than after you have left the country. We can do a great deal while you are still here and very little once you are not.