Money

Money guides

Tax, pension refund, sending money home

Building Korean Credit as a Foreign Resident

How Korean credit scores actually work for foreigners: which bureaus matter (KCB, NICE), how to check your score, how to build credit from scratch, why many banks reject foreigners with good home-country credit, and practical steps that move your score in 6 to 12 months.

Income Tax in Korea for Foreign Residents

What foreign residents in Korea need to know about Korean income tax: who files, what rates apply, double taxation treaties, the 19% flat rate option, and what to do before leaving Korea.

Korea Pension Refund Guide: Claiming Your NPS Lump Sum When Leaving

How to claim your National Pension Service (NPS) lump-sum refund when leaving Korea. Who qualifies, how to apply, and which countries have exemption treaties.

Severance Pay (퇴직금) in Korea for Foreign Workers

What foreign workers in Korea need to know about severance pay: who qualifies, how the 30-day formula works, DB vs DC vs IRP plans, the 14-day payment rule, common employer traps, and how to claim unpaid severance through the Ministry of Employment & Labor.

Year-End Tax Settlement (연말정산) for Foreign Residents in Korea

How Korea's year-end tax settlement works for foreign residents: the January-February timeline, the 19% flat rate vs. progressive brackets decision, deductions most foreigners miss (including overseas dependents), and what to do if you leave Korea mid-year.

Leaving Korea: The Complete Departure Checklist for Foreign Residents

A month-by-month timeline for leaving Korea: pension refund, severance, final taxes, bank accounts, lease termination, shipping, ARC cancellation, pets, and the order things must happen in to avoid costly mistakes.

Other topics

Scam prevention

Arrival

ARC Registration Guide: How to Get Your Alien Registration Card in Korea

How to apply for your Alien Registration Card (ARC) in Korea, which immigration office to visit, what documents to bring, and what to do while you wait.

How to Open a Korean Bank Account as a Foreigner

Step-by-step guide to opening a bank account in Korea as a foreigner. Which banks accept expats, what documents you need, and how to avoid common rejections.

Korea SIM Card Guide: Phone Plans for Expats

How to get a Korean phone plan as a foreigner, prepaid SIM cards, monthly contracts, name registration requirements, and which carrier to choose.

Visas

Korea's E-7-M (K-CORE) Visa: The Manufacturing Track from Junior College to Residence (2026)

Korea's new E-7-M (K-CORE) visa lets foreign graduates of 16 designated junior colleges work in manufacturing and qualify for long-term residence in 5 years. Full eligibility criteria, school list, application steps, and F-2 pathway.

E-9 Visa in Korea: The EPS Worker's Practical Guide

Your full guide to Korea's E-9 non-professional employment visa. The EPS process, your rights, wage protection, changing jobs, and claiming your pension refund on exit.

F-2 Korean Resident Visa: How to Upgrade From Your Work Visa

Your practical guide to Korea's F-2 resident visa: the points system, eligibility, rights, and the path to F-5 permanent residency.

Rental system

How to Get Your Rental Deposit Back in Korea

What happens at the end of a Korean lease, how to get your deposit returned, what landlords can deduct, and what to do if they refuse to pay.

How Jeonse Works: the Risks to Know Before Signing

Jeonse is Korea's unique deposit-only lease system. Learn how it works, what the risks are, and how to protect your deposit.

Korea Apartment Types Explained: Officetel, Villa, Apartment, Goshiwon

Korea has four main housing types foreigners encounter: officetels, villas, apartments, and goshiwon. Learn what each one is, who it suits, and what to watch for.

Scam prevention

Scam prevention

How to Avoid Jeonse and Deposit Scams in Korea

Jeonse and wolse deposit fraud is a real risk in Korea. Learn the most common scam types, the five checks to run before signing, and how to protect your deposit.

Scam prevention

What to Do When a Korean Landlord Won't Return Your Deposit (2026 Playbook)

Step-by-step legal escalation for foreign residents when a Korean landlord delays or refuses deposit return: certified mail, court filings, and insurance claims.

Healthcare

Finding English-Speaking Doctors in Korea

How to find English-speaking doctors and clinics in Korea. Seoul and outside Seoul. International clinics, how to navigate Korean hospitals, and what NHIS covers.

Emergency Rooms in Korea: What to Do in a Medical Emergency

How Korean emergency care actually works for foreign residents: 119 vs 1339, when to go to an ER versus an urgent care clinic, what NHIS covers, upfront costs, English-language hospitals, and what to bring.

Korean Pharmacies for Foreign Residents: Prescription Drugs, OTC, and English-Friendly Options

How Korean pharmacies work: what's OTC (over the counter) vs prescription, which medications are strictly controlled, finding English-labeled equivalents for common Western drugs, after-hours pharmacies, and NHIS pharmacy coverage.

Daily life

Finding Your Community as a Foreign Resident in Korea

How to build a social life in Korea as a foreigner: foreign-resident groups, meetups, language exchanges, apps, and local communities in Seoul and beyond.

K-beauty Brands by Tier: Korean Skincare and Cosmetics Decoded by Budget, Skin Type, and Where to Buy (2026)

Five tiers from Daiso to Sulwhasoo, who owns what, what's 30-40% cheaper in Korea than abroad, and where to actually buy it. Plain-language K-beauty decoder.

Getting a Korean Driver's License as a Foreign Resident

How to get a Korean driver's license: converting a foreign license (reciprocal countries vs written-test countries), the full test path for new drivers, IDP rules, required documents, costs, and the driver's license centres (운전면허시험장) foreigners can use.

Korea, decoded

Chaebol Families Decoded: The Korean Conglomerates Behind the Brands You Use Every Day (2026)

Samsung, LG, Lotte, Hyundai, SK: a plain-language guide to the chaebol families behind the brands foreign residents in Korea use every day, and why it matters.

KakaoTalk Culture Decoded: The Unwritten Rules Every Foreign Resident Hits Sooner or Later (2026)

A practical guide to KakaoTalk for foreign residents in Korea: profile signals, the 1-badge economy, ㅋㅋ vs ㅎㅎ, group chat dynamics, workplace messages, and how to set up KakaoPay.

What 'IMF' Means When Koreans Say It: The 1997 Crisis and Why It Still Echoes (2026)

A guide to the 1997 IMF crisis for foreign residents in Korea: what happened, what it changed, and why your Korean colleagues still date their lives by it.

Language

Konglish Decoded: The English-Sounding Words That Mean Something Else in Korean (2026)

A practical guide to Konglish (콩글리시) for foreign residents: pseudo-English coinages, shifted-meaning loanwords, Japanese pass-through, and the specific words that trip native English speakers up.

존댓말 vs 반말 Decoded: Korean Speech Levels and When to Switch (2026)

A plain-language guide to Korean speech levels for foreign residents: when to use 해요체, what 반말 really means, and how to handle the switch.

TOPIK: A Practical Guide for Foreign Residents in Korea

What TOPIK is, what the six levels mean, and how your score is actually used for visa points, university admission, and jobs in Korea.

Work

D-2 to E-7: The Visa Conversion Roadmap Foreign Graduates Actually Need (2026)

From D-2 student visa to E-7 work visa: the two-track decision tree, D-10 rules after the 2025 reform, salary thresholds, employer documents, and what to do if E-7 sponsorship fails.

E-7 Occupation Codes: Which Job Titles Qualify for Sponsorship and How to Find Yours (2026)

Korea's E-7 visa covers 94 official occupation codes across four sub-categories. This guide maps every code, explains the 2026 salary thresholds, and tells you exactly how to figure out which code matches your role.

E-8 Seasonal Worker Scam Prevention: The Pre-Departure Checklist (2026)

If someone is offering you agricultural work in Korea on an E-8 visa, this guide shows you how to tell if the offer is real before you pay anyone anything. Includes the pre-departure checklist, red flags, and contact numbers to save to your phone.