About Part-Time Pay, Taxes, and Insurance in Korea
If you are preparing to study in Korea, you have probably planned and checked not only your tuition but also the costs of living in Korea. If your budget is not enough, it is important to earn your living expenses by working part-time.
In fact, most international students work part-time in their free time after classes and on weekends. It is a chance to earn money, improve your Korean, and gain a variety of experiences through work.
Now, let's look at the part-time pay system in Korea and how much you can earn.
1. Minimum Hourly Wage
The minimum hourly wage is the minimum amount per hour that must be paid to workers, as set by law. It applies equally to Koreans and foreigners, and as of 2025 it is 10,030 KRW per hour. The minimum wage rises steadily every year.
Most part-time jobs pay the minimum wage. For important or difficult tasks, employers sometimes pay more than the minimum wage.
2. Weekly Holiday Allowance
This is a system in which a worker who works 15 hours or more per week and shows up on all scheduled workdays during the week receives an additional day's wage.
It is calculated by converting the total weekly working hours into the average hours of a weekday.
Weekly holiday allowance = Total weekly working hours / 5 * Minimum hourly wage
Example 1) Working 3 hours a day, 5 days a week = 15 / 5 * 10,030
Example 2) Working 5 hours a day, 3 days a week = 15 / 5 * 10,030
3. Severance Pay
Severance pay is given to workers who have worked for 1 year or more when they leave, and is guaranteed under Korea's Labor Standards Act. If the period of employment is less than 1 year, it cannot be received. The employer must pay it within 14 days after the worker leaves, and if it is not paid, the worker can report this to the Labor Office and receive support.
Severance pay = Average monthly wage for the last 3 months before leaving × (Months worked ÷ 12)
Example 1) 13 months of work, average monthly wage of 1,500,000 KRW
Severance pay = 1,500,000 * (13/12)
4. Deductions
When you work part-time, income tax and insurance premiums may be deducted from your pay, and the total including income tax and mandatory insurance comes to about 7% of your monthly pay.
[Income Tax]
Anyone who earns income is obliged to pay tax on it, and part-time workers generally pay income tax of 3.3% of their monthly income.
[Insurance]
International students holding D-2 or D-4 visas must enroll in health insurance and industrial accident insurance. The health insurance premium is 7.09% of monthly income, split equally between the worker and the employer, so the worker actually pays about 3.54% of their income. The industrial accident insurance premium is paid by the employer, and the worker has no obligation to pay it.
※ Workers working less than 15 hours per week are excluded from workplace health insurance enrollment, and their individually enrolled health insurance remains as it is.
Based on the above, if you work 80 hours a month during weekday daytime hours, you can earn about 900,000 KRW.
Monthly pay = ( Hourly wages 200,600 KRW + Weekly holiday allowance 40,120 KRW - 7%) * 4
Use the information introduced here to secure working hours that fit your schedule and reach your income goal.
[Related Links]
> Check D2 student work eligibility
> Check D4 student work eligibility
> Check permitted working hours for international students