What can I claim in Korea?
Foreign residents in Korea miss billions of won every year because the benefits are not advertised in English. Tell us your situation and we will tell you what to ask for.
Step 1 of 4
Takes about 2 minutes
Your housing
We do not save your name. Inputs are stored anonymously so we can improve this tool.
How this tool works
We ask 12 to 15 short questions about your visa, time in Korea, income, housing, and family. We then run your answers against a library of 23 fact-checked Korean benefits where foreign residents are commonly eligible but rarely claim. Each benefit is verified against a Korean government source: the National Pension Service (국민연금공단), Ministry of Employment and Labor (고용노동부), National Tax Service (국세청), and partner agencies.
Three things to know:
- The list is not exhaustive. We are starting with the highest-impact benefits and adding more as we verify them. If a benefit you expect is missing, that is why.
- Eligibility rules in Korea change. We update the tool when the law changes, but always verify with the official source before acting.
- This tool is free and we plan to keep it free. We build it to learn which benefits foreign residents want help claiming, and to point you to the right ministry.
What kinds of benefits we cover
The checker currently runs your answers against 23 fact-checked benefits across eight areas: tax, family, work, housing, healthcare, departure, language, and telecom. A few of the higher-value ones:
- National Pension lump-sum refund (국민연금 반환일시금). If you paid into Korea's National Pension and are about to leave (or already left), you can claim a refund. Around ₩8.75M on average, and Thai, Indonesian, and Sri Lankan workers average ₩12M to ₩14M.
- EPS Departure Guarantee Insurance (출국만기보험). If you worked on an E-9 or H-2 visa, your employer funded an insurance policy for you. You claim the accumulated amount when you leave, around ₩3.8M on average.
- Monthly rent tax credit (월세 세액공제). If you rent on a wolse (월세) contract, earn ₩80M or less, and your ARC address matches your lease, you can claim up to ₩1.7M back per year through year-end tax settlement.
Also covered, among others: severance pay (퇴직금), the freelancer 3.3% withholding refund, year-end settlement deductions, childcare and parental allowances, the First Encounter voucher (첫만남이용권, ₩2M for a first child), housing benefit (주거급여), multicultural family programs, and KIIP language program support. We keep adding and re-verifying benefits over time.
Related tools
- NPS pension refund estimator
Estimate the specific KRW amount you can claim back when you leave Korea.
- Year-end tax settlement estimator
Compare the 19% flat rate vs progressive brackets and estimate your refund.
- Severance pay calculator
Calculate Korean statutory severance (퇴직금) under the 30-days-per-year formula.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Korea benefits checker?
It is a free tool that asks about your visa, income, housing, and family situation in Korea, then lists the benefits you may be eligible to claim. We cover government payments, tax credits, and insurance refunds that foreign residents often miss because they are not advertised in English. Each benefit links to the official source so you can verify the rules yourself.
Does this tool save my personal information?
No. We do not collect your name. We store your form answers anonymously in our database so we can improve which benefits we cover and which questions to ask. If you choose to enter your email at the results step, we save the email so we can send you the list. We do not link it to a name or identity.
Are the benefits in this checker verified?
Yes. Every benefit shown is verified against a Korean government primary source: the National Pension Service, Ministry of Employment and Labor, National Tax Service, or the corresponding ministry. The source link is shown next to each benefit. We update the rules when the law changes.
What if my situation is unusual?
The checker uses general eligibility rules. If your case is borderline (a different visa subtype, unusual income mix, mid-year status change), the result will be marked as Worth checking, and the next-step text will tell you which office to call to confirm. Always verify with the issuing body before relying on a benefit.
Will you help me claim a benefit?
Right now, no. The checker is a free tool that tells you what you are owed and points you to the official source to claim it. Once we see which benefits foreign residents most want help with, we plan to offer a paid concierge service for a few of them. The checker is how we figure out which to build first.