Korean money words, in plain language

Where you’ll see it: Transfer confirmation screens before you send money.

What to do: Check that the account holder on screen is the person or company you meant to pay.

Where you’ll see it: Transfer screens, payroll forms, rent payment instructions, and invoices.

What to do: Check the account holder name before sending money.

Where you’ll see it: Rent, insurance, phone bills, utilities, and subscription payment settings.

What to do: Before you set it up, check the date, the amount, who receives it, and how to cancel.

Where you’ll see it: Account overview pages, ATM screens, and transaction history.

What to do: Check whether the whole balance is available, or whether part of it is tied up in pending transactions.

Where you’ll see it: Account-opening options and ATM-use explanations.

What to do: Ask whether it can make purchases or only ATM transactions.

Where you’ll see it: Seoul subway stations, recharge machines, and the official Seoul guide.

What to do: Worth it mainly if you ride often within the covered area; check the current coverage map and price before buying.

Where you’ll see it: Card applications, credit checks, and card payment settings.

What to do: Ask what you need to qualify, when the bill lands, which account it comes out of, the fees, and overseas use.

Where you’ll see it: Bank account opening, card application, and payment app setup.

What to do: Ask about the transport-card function, overseas use, fees, and how to report it lost.

Where you’ll see it: Loan articles, bank explanations, and housing-loan discussions.

What to do: Ask an official source or financial institution how rules apply to your situation.

Where you’ll see it: Loan policy explanations and housing-loan articles.

What to do: Check official or professional guidance for how it applies in a specific case.

Where you’ll see it: At card terminals and ATMs, right when you pay, as a “pay in your home currency?” prompt.

What to do: Pick KRW (Korean won) unless you have checked the terminal's DCC rate against your own card's foreign-transaction fee.

Where you’ll see it: Loan terms, repayment pages, and loan counseling documents.

What to do: Ask whether it applies, how it is calculated, and when it no longer applies.

Where you’ll see it: Loan repayment options and repayment schedules.

What to do: Ask how the first-month payment compares with later payments.

Where you’ll see it: Loan repayment method options and repayment schedules.

What to do: Ask for a repayment schedule and compare the total interest with other methods.

Where you’ll see it: Transfer screens, ATM notices, remittance forms, and card terms.

What to do: Ask if it is charged per transaction or per month, and whether it can be waived. Then check whether the receiving bank adds a fee of its own.

Where you’ll see it: At airports, convenience stores, subway stations, and bank branches.

What to do: Use a 4-digit PIN, expect a small machine fee, and choose KRW if asked.

Where you’ll see it: Bank visits, account opening, phone plans, and contracts.

What to do: Ask which ID documents are accepted for your status and transaction.

Where you’ll see it: Bank apps, phone verification, government services, and online signup flows.

What to do: Check whether verification requires a Korean phone number, certificate, ID, or app login.

Where you’ll see it: Savings accounts, loans, housing loans, and monthly repayment notices.

What to do: Ask whether interest is calculated monthly, annually, daily, or by another method.

Where you’ll see it: Savings products, loans, housing loans, and rate notices.

What to do: Ask whether the rate is fixed or variable and what conditions affect it.

Where you’ll see it: Prices, salaries, rent, transfers, bank statements, receipts, ATM screens, and the currency choice at card terminals.

What to do: At a terminal or ATM, pick KRW so your own bank handles the conversion. When you convert or send money, check the actual rate and fee that were applied.

Where you’ll see it: Loan contracts, loan app pages, and monthly repayment schedules.

What to do: Ask whether it is fixed or variable and what review or change dates apply.

Where you’ll see it: Loan contracts, repayment schedules, and bank app loan pages.

What to do: Ask what happens at maturity and whether renewal or full repayment is required.

Where you’ll see it: Housing loan discussions, policy explanations, and bank materials.

What to do: Ask how the official rules, the type of property, the area, and your own situation change the number.

Where you’ll see it: Housing listings, leases, monthly payment notices, and rent discussions.

What to do: Ask what the fee covers, what you pay separately, and whether utilities are in there.

Where you’ll see it: Bank app signup, certificate issuance, and online services.

What to do: Check that the name on your phone contract matches your ID and your bank records.

Where you’ll see it: Transaction history, rent payment confirmations, and bank app notifications.

What to do: Check the sender, amount, and memo if you need to confirm a payment.

Where you’ll see it: Bank app transfer menus and payment screens.

What to do: Before you send, check the account number, the account holder, the amount, the fee, and your transfer limit.

Where you’ll see it: Bank visits, hotel stays, immigration, phone service, and some contracts.

What to do: Ask whether a passport on its own is enough, or whether you also need a residence card or a Korean address.

Where you’ll see it: Card bills, loan schedules, lease terms, and app notifications.

What to do: Check whether it comes out automatically, and what happens if the balance is short that day.

Where you’ll see it: Savings and loan product explanations.

What to do: Ask which conditions are required and what happens if you stop meeting them.

Where you’ll see it: Airport kiosks, convenience stores, and travel-card machines.

What to do: Check the top-up method, any fees on the app/kiosk screen, and whether transit is a separate balance.

Where you’ll see it: Loan balances, repayment schedules, and investment/savings explanations.

What to do: Check whether a payment reduces principal or only covers interest.

Where you’ll see it: Account-opening forms, compliance questions, or remittance forms.

What to do: Have a plain answer ready: salary, rent, tuition, living expenses, or money for family.

Where you’ll see it: Mobile banking transfer screens.

What to do: Check the receiver shown before confirming a transfer.

Where you’ll see it: Transfer forms, remittance forms, and payment confirmations.

What to do: Check the recipient's name, the account number, and the purpose before you send.

Where you’ll see it: Bank forms, residence-card records, lease documents, and phone signup.

What to do: Check whether your current address should match your residence card or lease.

Where you’ll see it: Bank account opening, phone registration, housing contracts, and employer paperwork.

What to do: Ask whether the bank or service requires the physical card, issue date, address, or status details.

Where you’ll see it: New account opening, mobile banking limit screens, or account restriction notices.

What to do: Ask what documents are accepted and how to request a limit review later.

Where you’ll see it: Employer onboarding, bank questions, or payroll setup forms.

What to do: Ask your employer which account information they need and when payroll registration closes.

Where you’ll see it: Bank app transfer scheduling screens.

What to do: Confirm the scheduled date and whether you can cancel before it runs.

Where you’ll see it: Transfer forms and transaction history.

What to do: If the recipient needs to spot your payment, check that your name shows up the way they expect.

Where you’ll see it: Convenience stores (CU, GS25, 7-Eleven), subway station booths and recharge machines, and the airport.

What to do: Buy the card for about ₩3,000. That part is not refundable. Top it up with cash, and a convenience store will give back whatever balance is left, minus a small fee.

Where you’ll see it: Bank app history pages and downloadable statements.

What to do: Match a payment using the date, the amount, the other party's name, and the memo.

Where you’ll see it: Bus and subway card readers, fare guides, and your tap history.

What to do: Always tap when you get off a bus too, or you can lose the discount.

Where you’ll see it: Mobile transfer pages, limit setting menus, or account restriction notices.

What to do: Ask whether the limit is per transfer or per day, and whether an OTP or extra documents change it.

Where you’ll see it: Debit card applications, convenience stores, transit apps, and mobile wallet settings.

What to do: Ask whether your debit card has a transport-card function, and whether it is prepaid or postpaid.

Where you’ll see it: Transaction history, ATM screens, and account alerts.

What to do: If you do not recognize a withdrawal, contact the bank through official channels.

Where you’ll see it: Bank app exchange menus, airport counters, licensed money-changers, exchange kiosks, remittance screens, and rate notices.

What to do: Compare the rate you are offered against the mid-market rate. The gap is your real cost. Check the rate, the fee and the currency on the official app, the official page, or at the branch before you exchange.

Where you’ll see it: Exchange counters, bank apps, transfer apps, and card statements.

What to do: Check whether the rate is a live quote, posted rate, card rate, or estimated rate.

Where you’ll see it: Foreign-currency accounts, exchange counters, and remittance screens.

What to do: Ask which currency the recipient actually receives, and which fees come off along the way.

Where you’ll see it: Bank remittance menus, transfer apps, and foreign-exchange counters.

What to do: Check the exchange rate, the sending fee, the receiving fee, the limits, how long it takes, and the recipient's details.

Where you’ll see it: Bank rate boards, FX apps, and currency converters.

What to do: Use it as the yardstick: how far is the offered rate from this midpoint?

Where you’ll see it: Bank exchange promotions, app pre-order exchange, and airport-pickup offers.

What to do: A higher preferential rate means a customer rate closer to the mid-market rate.

Where you’ll see it: International transfer forms and bank app remittance menus.

What to do: Ask which limit applies to your status, your purpose, the documents you have, and where the money is going.

Where you’ll see it: The difference between the cash-buy and cash-sell rates on a rate board.

What to do: The smaller the spread, the more of your money you keep. Compare a few channels before changing a large amount.

Where you’ll see it: Real-estate agencies, the internet registry office (iros.go.kr), the 안심전세App.

What to do: Check the owner matches the person signing, and read 을구 for mortgages and any trust entry.

Where you’ll see it: Immigration offices, 주민센터 counters, HiKorea online services.

What to do: File at the district office (시·군·구) or 주민센터 covering your new address, or online via HiKorea within the 15-day window.

Where you’ll see it: Housing listings, lease contracts, and rent negotiations.

What to do: Check how you pay it, what has to happen for it to come back, which registrations you need, and who can review the contract for you.

Where you’ll see it: Lease protection guides, housing-center instructions, and contract checklists.

What to do: Get it stamped at the 주민센터 (community service center) as soon as the lease is signed; a residence card works as ID. The 우선변제권 entry explains what it protects.

Where you’ll see it: Housing listings, real-estate office discussions, and lease contracts.

What to do: Ask what protects the deposit, what the loan interest costs, what the maintenance fee is, and who can review the contract.

Where you’ll see it: Housing listings and lease contracts.

What to do: Ask whether the maintenance fee and utilities are separate, and which day the rent is due.

Where you’ll see it: 을구 of the 등기부등본, deposit-risk checklists, auction notices.

What to do: Add up every live senior 근저당권 and compare the total plus your deposit against the home's value.

Where you’ll see it: Housing guides, local office instructions, and lease-protection discussions.

What to do: As a registered foreign resident you file 체류지 변경신고 instead, and it protects your deposit the same way. See that entry.

Where you’ll see it: Auction distribution schedules, deposit-guarantee paperwork, legal advice on unpaid deposits.

What to do: Get 확정일자 as soon as the lease is signed. Any 주민센터 (community service center) accepts a residence card as ID.

Where you’ll see it: Housing listings and lease negotiations.

What to do: Compare the deposit, the monthly rent, the maintenance fee, and the loan interest one by one.

Where you’ll see it: District court filings when a deposit is not returned on time.

What to do: Apply before you move out, and confirm the entry actually appears on the register before you go.

Where you’ll see it: Lease contracts, deposit-protection guides, court and auction documents.

What to do: Register your address on the day you move in, and keep it registered until the deposit is returned.

Where you’ll see it: 등기부등본, and the separate 신탁원부 obtained from a registry office.

What to do: Read the 신탁원부 to see who holds the leasing authority, and get the trust company's written consent.

Where you’ll see it: News coverage of deposit fraud, tenant checklists, agency conversations.

What to do: Work out (senior 채권최고액 + your deposit) ÷ market value and decide your own comfort level.

Where you’ll see it: Salary comparisons, payslip discussions, and budgeting conversations.

What to do: Ask whether insurance, pension, and other deductions are included in the number.

Where you’ll see it: Severance calculations and labor office documents.

What to do: If your last three months were unusually low, check whether the ordinary-wage floor applies to you.

Where you’ll see it: The first line of the payments side of a payslip.

What to do: Compare it with your contract, and see how much of your pay sits outside it.

Where you’ll see it: Job offers, salary descriptions, and payslips.

What to do: Ask which deductions to expect before you compare it with take-home pay.

Where you’ll see it: The payments side, often quarterly or twice a year.

What to do: If you get a regular bonus, ask whether it is included in your 통상임금.

Where you’ll see it: Freelance contracts and withholding statements.

What to do: Check your visa actually permits the work before taking it.

Where you’ll see it: Payslips and payroll explanations.

What to do: Ask payroll what each deduction line means and whether it is required or optional.

Where you’ll see it: EPS paperwork and pre-departure reporting for E-9 and H-2 workers.

What to do: Apply before you fly (the window opens about a month ahead), and compare the payout with your statutory severance.

Where you’ll see it: Tax forms, the withholding receipt, loan applications.

What to do: Distinguish it from 사업소득 if you also freelance.

Where you’ll see it: Payslips and employer payroll explanations.

What to do: Ask payroll whether it applies to your employment type and status.

Where you’ll see it: Employment contracts and renewal notices.

What to do: Confirm the end date and whether renewal is expected in writing.

Where you’ll see it: Contracts described as 용역 or 위촉 rather than 근로계약.

What to do: Check whether the arrangement is really freelance or disguised employment.

Where you’ll see it: The subtotal at the bottom of the payments side.

What to do: Check it equals the sum of the individual pay lines.

Where you’ll see it: Payslips, insurance bills, and employer paperwork.

What to do: Check what it covers and what it deducts with an official source, or with payroll.

Where you’ll see it: The payments side, with the holiday hours shown.

What to do: Check whether hours past the eighth were paid at the higher rate.

Where you’ll see it: Checkout at Olive Young, department stores, and other Tax-Free stores when you show a passport.

What to do: Hand over your passport before paying and check the discounted total on the receipt.

Where you’ll see it: Payslips, tax forms, and payroll explanations.

What to do: Check official tax guidance or payroll for how it applies to your situation.

Where you’ll see it: It should not appear on the deductions side of your payslip at all.

What to do: If it is being deducted from your pay, query it immediately.

Where you’ll see it: Payslips and tax-related documents.

What to do: Ask payroll or check official tax guidance if the amount seems unclear.

Where you’ll see it: The deductions side, immediately after 건강보험.

What to do: Multiply your health premium by 13.14% and compare.

Where you’ll see it: NPS letters and the pension office when you report leaving Korea.

What to do: Check whether your nationality or your visa qualifies before you plan around the money, and claim within five years.

Where you’ll see it: The payments side, often marked 비과세.

What to do: Check it is inside the 200,000 won cap and marked non-taxable.

Where you’ll see it: Payslips, employer onboarding, and pension guidance.

What to do: Check official National Pension Service guidance and payroll handling for your case.

Where you’ll see it: The final line of a payslip.

What to do: Check it against your bank statement for the same date.

Where you’ll see it: The payments side, often at x0.5 because the hour itself is already paid elsewhere.

What to do: Check the night hours are counted separately from ordinary overtime.

Where you’ll see it: A column or marker on the payments side of a payslip.

What to do: Check each item is inside its own cap; the caps differ.

Where you’ll see it: Rarely printed as its own line. It is the base the premium lines were calculated from.

What to do: If premiums look low, ask payroll which figure they used as 통상임금.

Where you’ll see it: The deductions side, below tax and insurance.

What to do: Ask what the legal or agreement basis for it is.

Where you’ll see it: The payments side, usually with an hours figure next to it.

What to do: Check the hours shown match what you actually worked.

Where you’ll see it: Handed or e-mailed each payday; also via KakaoTalk or an intranet portal.

What to do: If you never receive one, ask in writing. Then call the Ministry of Employment and Labor (고용노동부) at 1350.

Where you’ll see it: The payments side, usually annual.

What to do: Ask what the measure is and when it is assessed.

Where you’ll see it: Employment contracts, HR retirement paperwork, and bank IRP account forms.

What to do: If you are leaving Korea, tell HR before your last day so the money is not locked in an account you cannot easily close.

Where you’ll see it: Job offers, payslips, payroll forms, and bank account-purpose questions.

What to do: Ask whether the number is annual, monthly, gross, or take-home.

Where you’ll see it: Employment contracts, the final payslip, and severance calculators.

What to do: Check it arrives within 14 days of your last day, and ask for cash instead of an IRP account if you are leaving Korea.

Where you’ll see it: Payslips, salary calculators, and budgeting discussions.

What to do: Compare it with gross pay and ask payroll about each deduction line.

Where you’ll see it: “Tax Free” / “Tax Refund” stickers at store entrances and checkout counters.

What to do: Show your passport at the register and keep the refund slip with the receipt.

Where you’ll see it: The payments side, or the header of the deductions calculation.

What to do: Confirm it equals your gross minus the non-taxable lines.

Where you’ll see it: The deductions side of every payslip.

What to do: Check each rate separately rather than only the total.

Where you’ll see it: Payslips near the final take-home pay line.

What to do: Compare this with individual deduction lines and ask payroll about any unfamiliar item.

Where you’ll see it: Receipts (VAT / 부가세 line), tax-refund slips, and refund kiosk screens.

What to do: Don't expect the full 10% back. The operator pays from its own refund table, after taking its fee.

Where you’ll see it: The deductions side, as 소득세 and 지방소득세.

What to do: Keep the withholding receipt (원천징수영수증). It gets asked for often.

Where you’ll see it: A February payslip that is unusually large or small.

What to do: Gather deduction receipts before your employer's cut-off.

Where you’ll see it: Bank app login settings and mobile device authentication.

What to do: Check your fallback login method in case biometric login fails.

Where you’ll see it: Bank app login, transfer confirmation, tax services, certificate menus, and government services.

What to do: Ask which type you need, and how to get it back if your phone, your ID, or your app setup changes.

Where you’ll see it: Bank app login, certificate menus, and online financial services.

What to do: Check how it is set up, when it expires, and how to restore it before you rely on it.

Where you’ll see it: Bank apps, government services, tax services, and certificate login screens.

What to do: Ask whether the service accepts simpler login methods or requires a certificate.

Where you’ll see it: Card support menus, bank hotline pages, and app emergency menus.

What to do: Call the bank's own support line, and ask what gets blocked once you report it.

Where you’ll see it: Transfer confirmation screens and security-device setup menus.

What to do: Ask whether a higher limit needs a physical OTP device, a mobile OTP, or something else.

Where you’ll see it: Bank app login, ATM, card, certificate, and transfer screens.

What to do: Never share passwords, certificate passwords, PINs, or one-time codes with callers or message senders.

Where you’ll see it: Signup forms, banking, support requests, and suspicious messages.

What to do: Share it only through official channels you have checked yourself. Don't send it through a link you don't know.

Where you’ll see it: Lost card support, certificate renewal, ID replacement, and app menus.

What to do: Ask what ID is needed, whether there is a fee, and whether the old item is blocked.

Where you’ll see it: Suspicious calls, SMS links, messenger chats, and fake support pages.

What to do: Do not install apps from message links. Verify through official app stores or official support channels.

Where you’ll see it: Older online banking flows or bank explanations about transfer security.

What to do: Ask whether your bank still uses it, or points you to a mobile OTP instead.

Where you’ll see it: Bank apps, government login pages, and private authentication apps.

What to do: Check whether it works with your phone number and your residence status.

Where you’ll see it: Suspicious SMS, messenger apps, and scam warning guides.

What to do: Don't tap a link you don't know. Check in the official app or on the official website instead.

Where you’ll see it: Texts, messenger chats, emails, and social posts.

What to do: Don't type personal information into it. Go to the official site yourself instead.

Where you’ll see it: Police, bank, and financial-supervision scam warnings.

What to do: Stop, and send nothing. Then check through official channels you look up yourself.