Your 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.
Park English2026-09-223 min read
Nobody hands you a schedule when you land. Your school tells you where the apartment is and when to show up Monday. Everything else (the phone, the bank, the hospital you'll eventually need, the group chat where other foreign teachers actually hang out) you piece together on your own, usually slower than you'd like.
Here's roughly how it goes, and why the order matters.
Week 1: you're a tourist with a job
Until your Alien Registration Card (ARC) comes through, you can't open a Korean bank account or sign a postpaid phone contract in your own name. So week one runs on cash and a prepaid SIM.
KT sells a foreigner-only prepaid line called Welcome, and you can see the actual numbers on their own site rather than guessing: the postpaid Welcome plan starts around 39,000 won a month, while the prepaid recharge packages run 55,000 won for 30 days on one tier and 45,000 won for 30 days on another. SKT and LG U+ run similar foreigner plans; compare before you commit, since the packages differ by data and call minutes, not just price.
Your school has usually already filed your ARC application. How long it takes depends on which immigration office covers your district; we've genuinely seen this run anywhere from about two weeks to well over a month, with no pattern we can promise you. Check your own status on hikorea.go.kr rather than trusting anyone's estimate, ours included.
Week 2: the ARC changes everything
Once the card arrives, go straight to a bank. KB Kookmin, Shinhan, and Woori all deal with foreign teachers constantly. Get the bank account first, then walk into a phone shop for a postpaid plan; pricing varies by carrier and by whatever promotion is running that month, so ask for the number in front of you rather than trusting an old blog post.
Your National Health Insurance card should also show up around now. The premium isn't flat; it's a percentage of your monthly wage. The Ministry of Health and Welfare set the 2026 health insurance rate at 7.19%, and employees pay half of that through payroll, with the employer covering the other half, so your own paycheck deduction is roughly 3.6% of your monthly wage, not the full rate. Your school's accountant handles the paperwork; you just see it come off your pay slip.
Week 3: apps and errands
With a Korean phone number, the delivery apps actually work. Coupang Eats, Baemin, and Yogiyo all need a Korean address entered in Korean characters, not English; ask a coworker to type it once and save it. This is also when most teachers register at the local 주민센터 (community center) if their school hasn't handled it, and find the nearest 내과 (general clinic) for anything short of an emergency.
Week 4: finding people
Nobody can speed this up for you. Facebook groups named after your city plus "foreigners" or "expats" are still where meetups get posted. Districts like Itaewon and Haebangchon in Seoul, or Gwangalli in Busan, have a visible foreign-teacher presence on weekends, but plenty of teachers find their people through their own school's other native teachers, a gym, or a language exchange app instead.
| Week | Main task | What we actually know |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prepaid SIM, cash for essentials | KT Welcome prepaid runs roughly ₩45,000–55,000 per 30 days on their own site |
| 2 | Bank account, phone plan, NHIS card | Your health insurance share is about 3.6% of monthly wage (2026 rate) |
| 3 | Delivery apps, clinic, community center | Costs vary by app and district |
| 4 | Gym, social groups, routine | Depends entirely on the gym and the neighborhood |
None of this is exact. Immigration office speed, your bank's branch policy, even which carrier plan is cheapest this quarter; check the source directly (hikorea.go.kr, your carrier's own page, NHIS) before you budget around it.