Your first weeks in Korea

Start Here: First 30 Days Money Checklist in Korea

What to sort out — in roughly the right order — before you open a bank account, sign a lease, take a salary, send money, or answer a suspicious message.

Step 1

Sort out your phone and contact details

Read banking basics

What to understand

A Korean number — or a reliable way to be reached — touches almost everything: bank apps, ID checks, payroll, your landlord, and official notices.

What to prepare or check

Note your phone setup, email, address, and an emergency contact, and which services spell your name exactly as it appears on your ID.

What to ask

Ask your school, employer, or bank what phone and contact details people in your situation usually need.

Safety note: Never share one-time codes, app or certificate passwords, or photos of your ID through a link or chat you don't fully trust.

Step 2

Get your ID and residence documents ready

Translate ID terms

What to understand

Banks, phone shops, employers, landlords, and government offices all cross-check the same things: passport, residence card, address, phone, and how your name is spelled.

What to prepare or check

Have your passport, Residence Card (if you have it), Korean address, visa details, employer or school papers, and anything that explains why you need the account.

What to ask

Ask which spelling of your name to use — passport, Residence Card, Korean records, or an employer or school document — so they all match.

Safety note: Keep your originals on you. Only send copies through a channel you've verified, and only once you know why they're needed.

Step 3

Plan your bank visit

Open banking hub

What to understand

A branch visit can cover a lot at once: documents, why you want the account, setting up mobile banking, ID checks, and how your transfer limits work.

What to prepare or check

Bring your passport, Residence Card and Korean number if you have them, your address, and documents showing your employer, school, or account purpose.

What to ask

Ask which documents they accept, whether mobile banking works with your current phone and ID, and where to check if the rules change.

Safety note: We can't decide whether your account gets opened — that's up to the bank, and it varies by branch, your status, your documents, and your situation.

Step 4

Understand transfer limits and restricted accounts

Use banking translator

What to understand

A brand-new account often comes locked down: lower transfer limits, OTP or certificate steps, and a review before it'll let you move large amounts.

What to prepare or check

Watch for these words before you send money: 한도제한계좌, 이체한도, 본인인증, OTP, 공동인증서, 예금주, and 수취인.

What to ask

Ask what your daily and monthly limits are, how to get them raised later, and whose name shows up when you transfer.

Safety note: Don't assume a limit can be lifted the day before rent, tuition, or a deposit is due. Check the timing with the bank first.

Step 5

Don't wire a big deposit before you've checked

Open housing hub

What to understand

Wolse, jeonse, semi-jeonse, the deposit, maintenance fees, loan interest, move-in costs — each is its own question, not one lump.

What to prepare or check

Write down the deposit, rent, maintenance fee, payment dates, account-holder name, contract address, how the deposit comes back, and any loan interest.

What to ask

Ask what's included, when each payment is due, how to confirm the payment details, and who to turn to for qualified help.

Safety note: Never act on payment instructions from a chat alone. We can't verify a property, a landlord, or whether a contract is legal.

Step 6

Estimate salary, rent, and remittance

Open salary hub

What to understand

Annual salary, monthly take-home, rent cash flow, exchange rates, transfer fees, and what actually arrives are all different numbers — don't treat them as one.

What to prepare or check

Run the numbers: take-home estimate, payslip terms, deposit burden, monthly housing cost, KRW conversion, and a real remittance quote.

What to ask

Ask HR about deductions, your landlord about the payment schedule, and your bank or provider how they show rates, fees, and limits.

Safety note: The calculators give estimates, nothing more. Check the official payroll, contract, and transfer details before you decide.

Step 7

Know who to call if something goes wrong

Open scam safety

What to understand

The warning signs repeat: urgency, a request to install an app, shortened links, and demands for money, your ID, your OTP, or passwords — usually with pressure to keep it secret.

What to prepare or check

Stop before you tap a link, install anything, send money, share your ID, or type in a password, certificate, or one-time code.

What to ask

Check it through an official app, website, branch, or number you look up yourself — never the link in the message.

Safety note: If you need help fast, the official lines are 112 for police, 1332 for financial consumer counseling, and 118 for cyber, spam, or smishing.

Tools to reach for first

Start with the ones that explain Korean terms and rough numbers. They're planning aids — not the final word on anything financial, legal, tax, banking, or contract-related.

Live tool

Korean Banking Terms Translator

Look up the Korean words you'll meet in a bank app — transfers, verification, loans — before you tap through.

Use translator

Live tool

Korean Rent Deposit Calculator

See the deposit burden and monthly cost side by side before you weigh a wolse, jeonse, or semi-jeonse place.

Calculate rent burden

Live tool

Korean Salary After-Tax Estimator

Turn an annual offer into a rough monthly take-home you can budget around.

Estimate take-home pay

Live tool

Korean Payslip Decoder

Decode the lines on your Korean payslip so you know what to ask HR.

Decode payslip terms

Live tool

KRW Exchange Rate Helper

Convert KRW using a rate you've already pulled from your bank, card, or transfer app.

Convert KRW

Live tool

Remittance Cost Calculator

See how the fee and the exchange rate together change what really arrives.

Compare quotes

Live tool

Suspicious Message Checklist

Tick off the warning signs in a Korean text, chat, email, or call.

Check warning signs

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