Living in Korea
The practical first-month list for a foreign teacher in Korea — bank account, phone plan, hospitals, delivery apps, and roughly what the first month costs.
30 articles — newest first
Setting up Korean tax withholding as a foreign teacher: what to file and when
Before your first paycheck lands, your school needs a few signed forms to start withholding your income tax correctly. Here is which forms matter, what order they go in, and the one election you only get to make once.
11-07Where English teachers actually meet people in Korea
English teachers in Korea meet mostly through Meetup groups, hiking clubs and the city's own Global Village Centers, not through their hagwon. Here's exactly how to find one and show up to your first event this week.
11-04Renting a Korean apartment's first utility setup: gas, electricity, water, and who to call
On move-in day you call three different companies, not one. Here's who to call for electricity, gas, and water, and the exact English phrases to get your name on the account.
10-29Reporting a change of address to Immigration within 14 days in Korea
Once you sign a new lease and get your Residence Card, Korean immigration wants your new address on file within 14 days. Here is the HiKorea form, the documents to upload, and why this step saves you trouble at renewal time.
10-26The $5,000 rule that kicks in when you wire money home from Korea
As a foreign resident you can send up to $50,000 a year out of Korea without paperwork, but any single transfer over $5,000 needs a designated bank and proof of where the money came from.
10-25Save 1588-5644 before you need a translator in Korea
Dial 1588-5644 from any phone in Korea and a volunteer interpreter joins your call for free, so you're never stuck mid-sentence at a bank counter, a pharmacy, or your phone store.
10-23Load your ARC onto your phone with Korea's Mobile ID app
Since January 10, 2025, registered foreigners can carry a digital copy of their Alien Registration Card inside a free government app, valid everywhere the plastic card is, from bank counters to hospital check-in desks.
10-20Renting a Korean apartment on jeonse versus wolse: what a new teacher must check
Jeonse means one lump deposit and no monthly rent; wolse means a smaller deposit plus rent each month. Before you sign either one, here is exactly what to check on the contract and at the district office.
10-11Getting your first Korean health insurance as a foreign teacher
Most hagwon teachers are enrolled in National Health Insurance by their employer within weeks of landing. Here is exactly what your school submits, what you need to hand over, and how to use your coverage at a clinic.
10-05Getting your Korean phone number and SIM card: what to say at the store
After your bank account, the phone store is next. Here is exactly what to hand over, what to say in English, and what the staff will ask you, so a 15-minute errand doesn't turn into an hour of guessing.
10-01Get PASS app verification right on your first try in Korea
PASS verification opens banking, delivery and government apps in Korea, but only once your name is typed exactly as it appears on your ARC. Here's the order to do it in, and the fix when it still fails.
09-28Your first two weeks in Korea, in the right order: Residence Card to KakaoTalk
The first two weeks in Korea run in a fixed order because each step unlocks the next: a prepaid SIM and KakaoTalk get you reachable, the Residence Card (the old ARC) makes you a resident, that card opens a proper bank account and check card, and those give you a phone contract and the apps everything else runs on.
09-25T-money cards, transfers, and the 30-minute rule every foreign teacher should know
A T-money card is a rechargeable transit card that works on every bus and subway system in Korea, cuts your fare when you transfer, and can be bought at any convenience store, where the cashier can tell you the current card price before you load cash onto it.
09-25Taxis in Korea made easy: Kakao T, Uber, and paying the driver
Most people in Korea call taxis with Kakao T, which now takes sign-ups with an overseas phone number and has an English screen. Uber also works in the big cities, but it books the same local taxis. If your foreign card won't go through in the app, you pay the driver directly.
09-25KakaoTalk in Korea: the app to install before your plane lands
KakaoTalk is Korea's default messaging app. Your school, your co-teachers, your landlord and many shops will reach you there, not by text or WhatsApp. Install it before you fly with your home number, then switch to your Korean number once you have one.
09-25Skip Google Maps in Korea: the two free map apps that actually get you there
Google Maps still can't give reliable walking or driving directions in Korea, because Korean law kept detailed map data from leaving the country for years. Naver Map and KakaoMap fill the gap, both have English, and neither needs a Korean phone number.
09-25Your first month in Korea: a week-by-week checklist for new teachers
The first month runs in a rough order (prepaid SIM, then ARC, then bank account, then delivery apps, then a social life), and most of the frustration comes from trying to do them out of sequence.
09-22Everyday logistics in Korea: the small setup jobs to handle early
Daily life in Korea runs on a phone number, a bank account, and an ARC card, and none of the three exist until you've already dealt with the other two, so most new teachers spend their first two weeks improvising.
09-19What a normal week costs a foreign teacher in Korea
Real Seoul transit fares, real coffee-shop pricing, and a look at where a single teacher's food money actually goes each week, with sources you can check yourself instead of a made-up total.
09-16Cooking in a Korean apartment when there's no oven
Most Korean studio apartments have a two-burner electric or gas cooktop, a small fridge, and no oven at all. Teachers manage with a rice cooker, a toaster oven, and grocery apps like Coupang, plus a weekly trip to the local market or Homeplus.
09-13The 24-hour convenience store solves more problems than you'd expect in Korea
A CU, GS25, or Emart24 near your building can withdraw foreign cash, sell basic medicine after the pharmacy shuts, pay your bills, and hold your parcels. It functions as an informal branch office for banking, health, and mail when nothing else is open.
09-10What shows up on your Korean apartment's monthly bill
Every apartment carries a building maintenance fee, an electricity bill, and a gas bill each month, plus water every couple of months, and how much each one actually costs depends more on your building and district than any single number can tell you.
09-08Korea's trash bags, sorted: the quick guide for new teachers
Korean apartments sort waste into paid volume bags, a separate food-waste bin, and strict recycling categories. Here's how it works before your first collection day.
09-05What daily life in Korea looks like once your first paycheck clears
Once your first paycheck lands, usually in your second month, your daily-life systems shift: banking limits lift, you can switch phone plans, delivery apps start working properly, and you find out where the health insurance card actually gets you a discount.
09-04What happens when you get sick as a foreign teacher in Korea
You go to a local clinic (의원, uiwon), not the ER, pay a small co-pay if your National Health Insurance is active, and get medicine at the pharmacy next door, usually all in under an hour, for less than a cheap dinner.
09-02How foreign teachers in Korea actually find a social life outside work
Most foreign teachers build a life outside the hagwon through a small set of repeatable channels: specific Facebook groups, hiking and language exchange meetups, and a handful of neighborhoods like Haebangchon and Itaewon, not through luck or waiting to be invited.
09-01Carry your ARC and install three apps: Korea basics for new teachers
Korean law says carry your ARC or passport at all times, with a real fine if you don't. Here's what that actually means day to day, plus the apps, cards and hospital habits that make Korean life work.
08-29Delivery apps, cash and the pharmacy: daily life once you live in Korea
Korean daily life runs on apps and systems that look simple until you need them at 9pm on a Tuesday. Here's what foreign teachers figure out the hard way, and the sequence that saves you the trouble.
08-25What foreign English teachers in Korea actually spend in the first month
Most hagwon contracts cover the flight and housing. It doesn't cover the residence card, the transit card, groceries, or the month you wait for your first paycheck. Here's what we've actually seen teachers pay, sourced where a real number exists.
07-31Bank account and phone in Korea on an E-2: the easy setup order
You can open both once your ARC arrives. The card fee itself is now ₩35,000, and processing time is genuinely inconsistent: anywhere from two weeks to well over a month, depending on your office.
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