First-Month Money Planner
The first salary lands weeks after you do — and the deposits land first. Add up your real numbers to see how much to have when you arrive.
Every number here is yours — the tool just adds them up with a safety buffer. If you don’t know a number yet, that’s your cue to go get a real quote.
| One-time cash (move-in + setup) | 300,000 KRW |
| Living until first pay | 2,071,346 KRW |
| Safety buffer (15%) | 355,702 KRW |
| Recommended landing money | 2,727,048 KRW |
A planning estimate from the numbers you enter — no cost-of-living averages are baked in, and nothing you type is stored. Prices and deposits vary hugely by city and situation; replace the defaults with real quotes.
How it works
How much money to have available when you arrive in Korea, before your first salary lands. It adds three things you enter — housing move-in cash, one-time setup costs, and living costs for the weeks until you’re paid — and puts a 15% safety buffer on top.
Because averages mislead exactly the people who need this: deposits range from a few hundred thousand won for a goshiwon to tens of millions for jeonse, and living costs differ wildly by city and habits. Real quotes beat averages — the empty field is telling you what to research.
Salaries in Korea are usually paid monthly, often around the 10th or 25th — so if you start mid-month, the first payday can land six or more weeks after you arrive. The gap you have to survive is measured in weeks, not “a month.”
No. There’s no login, and the math runs in your browser. Nothing you type is stored — it’s a planning estimate, not a record.
Read next
Questions new arrivals ask
No — carrying everything as cash is a risk, and amounts over USD 10,000 must be declared at customs. A common pattern: a modest amount of cash for the first days, a foreign card that works in Korea for the rest, then move money properly once your Korean account is open.
The one-time costs stacking in week one: the housing deposit and first rent land together, a phone line and household basics follow, and some of it is cash-preferred. The second surprise is how long the wait for that first payday feels.
Then treat housing as your research homework, not a guess: browse listings for your city and put a realistic move-in figure here before you fly. The guide’s housing section explains deposits, and the jeonse/wolse calculator compares contract types.