Why your first hagwon paycheck may not match the number in your contract
Your first paycheck lands short for boring, legal reasons: a partial first month, a pension and health insurance start-up lag, and a teacher tax treaty that almost never covers hagwon staff at all.
Park English2026-08-312 min read
Every intake month we get some version of the same message: "my contract says 2.5 million won and I got 1.4 million, is my school shorting me?" Almost never. What's actually happened is three or four ordinary administrative things landing on the same payslip, and nobody walked you through any of them beforehand.
1. Your first month is a partial month. If you started on the 19th, you get paid for the days you worked, not the whole month. Schools prorate: monthly salary divided by calendar days in that month, times the days you actually worked. Start on the 19th of a 30-day month and you're paid for 12 days: on a 2.5 million won salary that's roughly 1 million won before any deduction touches it. That's not theft, it's arithmetic. Every school rounds it slightly differently around weekends and public holidays, so ask exactly how yours counts a partial day.
2. Pension and health insurance sometimes start a month late, then double up. National Pension (국민연금) and National Health Insurance (건강보험) registration has to be filed by your school once you're officially on payroll. Some schools deduct from day one. Others wait until your second paycheck, then take a double bite to catch up. Both are legal, and it's the single biggest source of "why did my deduction change" messages we get.
The real 2026 numbers, for reference: The total National Pension contribution rate increased from 9.0% to 9.5%, split equally between employer and employee at 4.75% each, up from 4.5% each. On the health side, the health insurance rate increased from 7.09% to 7.19%, while long-term care insurance premiums were adjusted upward from 12.95% to 13.14% of health insurance contributions. So your health insurance line is roughly 3.6% of salary, plus a small long-term care add-on calculated on that premium, not your salary directly.
3. The teacher tax treaty usually doesn't apply at a hagwon. Some of Korea's tax treaties include a teachers' article that can exempt teaching income for up to two years, but the wording usually refers to universities or recognised educational institutions, and hagwon claims are often not accepted. As an E-2 employee, expect standard monthly withholding unless your school's tax agent confirms otherwise.
If a number on your first payslip doesn't make sense, send it to us and we'll go through it line by line with you.