Contracts & pay
What a Korean hagwon contract actually says and what lands in your account — severance, pension, health insurance, tax, overtime and housing.
15 articles — newest first
How Overtime Pay Actually Works at a Korean Hagwon
Most hagwons pay overtime as a flat per-hour rate for classes beyond your contracted hours, worked out from your monthly salary — but the formula, the camp rate, and what even counts as "extra" differ by school, so check the actual clause before you sign.
09-15How a Split Pay Structure Quietly Shrinks Your Hagwon Severance
When a hagwon lists your salary as a base amount plus separate allowances, only the base usually counts toward severance and pension, so your payout at the end of a year can be smaller than the total monthly figure suggests.
09-12Comparing Two Hagwon Job Offers That Don't Use the Same Pay Structure
You compare two hagwon offers by putting the same categories side by side for each one: base salary, housing arrangement, overtime rate, pension contribution, and severance, because schools quote pay differently and a bigger monthly number does not always mean more take-home money.
09-10The Year-End Tax Refund Most Hagwon Teachers Never Claim
Yeonmal jeongsan is Korea's annual payroll tax settlement, done every January and February, and it applies to E-2 teachers the same as it applies to Korean staff — but many hagwons never process it for foreign employees, quietly leaving a refund unclaimed.
09-06Housing Allowance or Provided Apartment: Which One Actually Leaves You With More Money
A provided apartment usually leaves you with more money than a housing allowance, because most Korean housing allowances (often 300,000–500,000 won a month) don't fully cover rent in Seoul or Gyeonggi, and the gap comes out of your salary.
09-04The Tax Treaty That Can Wipe Out Your Korean Income Tax for Two Years
Teachers from certain countries, most notably the US, can claim a tax treaty exemption on Korean teaching income for up to two years — but hagwon eligibility is murkier than university eligibility, and you have to ask for it in writing, in time.
09-02Why your first hagwon paycheck never matches the number in your contract
Your first paycheck in Korea is almost always smaller than your contract salary because of a partial first month, delayed pension enrollment, and deductions that don't show up until your school actually processes your paperwork with the tax office.
08-31Pension opt-out in Korean hagwons: what you're offered, what you actually lose, and why most teachers regret it
Some hagwons let new teachers skip National Pension deductions in exchange for higher monthly pay. You keep an extra 4.5% now but lose the employer's matching 4.5%, the lump-sum refund when you leave, and any future claim if you return to Korea long-term.
08-29Hagwon health insurance on paper vs. health insurance that actually works
Your hagwon pays into the National Health Insurance scheme, but the card they give you covers 60% at most clinics and nothing at all at some. Here's what the gap costs and how teachers fill it.
08-27Hagwon monthly deductions: what actually disappears before the money hits your account
Korean hagwons withhold four things every month—income tax, pension, health insurance, and employment insurance. Here's what each costs, what you get back, and the one deduction half of new teachers miscalculate.
08-26National Pension refund when you leave Korea: the form, the timeline, and why half the money disappears
Teachers who paid into Korea's National Pension for under ten years can claim a lump-sum refund after leaving, but the 11 percent withholding tax and six-month wait catch most people off guard.
08-13What actually comes out of your paycheque in Korea, month by month
Korean hagwons deduct pension, health insurance and income tax from your stated salary. The amounts change in your second year, and most teachers only find out when the number hits their account.
08-10Severance in Korea: the one-year rule and the ways people lose 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.
07-28How English teacher pay actually works in Korea
A hagwon offer in Korea is rarely just a monthly salary. It is a base figure plus housing, plus a flight, plus severance after a full year, plus the employer half of pension and health insurance. Two offers with the same headline number can be worth very different amounts once those five pieces are counted.
07-03Reading a hagwon contract: 12 clauses to check before you sign
Before signing a hagwon contract, check twelve things: teaching hours vs office hours, overtime rate, class size, vacation days, housing terms, the deposit, severance, pension and health insurance, the end date, the probation clause, the release letter, and who pays for the visa. A contract that is vague on any of these is not ready to sign.
07-02