Tool Guides
In-depth guides to Korean practical tools
How-to lives on the tool page. Background, real-world cases, and law citations live here. Guides, blog, and tools cross-link freely.
Tools — 6 categories
Payroll · Labor
Annual leave · weekly rest · severance · min wage
Finance · Tax
Income tax · loan · compound · VAT · foreign stock
Real Estate
Korean rent cap (5%) verification
Electric (KEC)
Wire size · breaker · voltage drop
Timber · Materials
Rafter · roof · stairs · insulation · materials
Convert · Daily
Pyeong↔m² · percent · JSON↔CSV
Guides — read tools deeper
Korea work visa by nationality — which country, which path
From India and China to Central Asia and English-speaking countries — work and residence visas mapped by nationality.
Read guideKorea EPS (E-9) work visa — full guide (2026)
17 sending countries, EPS-TOPIK, 2026 quota, stay length, and the E-7-4 skilled-worker path.
Read guideKorea E-7 professional work visa — full guide (2026)
Four subcategories, 2026 salary floors, the Top-Tier track, and the F-2-7 residence path.
Read guideKorea passport visa-free countries — US, Europe, Japan, China, Vietnam, Thailand, India
Where a Korean passport just goes, and where you need ESTA, ETIAS or an e-Visa — as of 2026.
Read guideWire size — selecting without the table
Estimate cross-section from current, distance, and voltage drop — without the KEC table.
Read guideKorean business registration number — what the checksum tells you
The 1-3-7 weighted checksum that catches fake Korean business numbers before a deal.
Read guideKorean 4-major insurance — 2026 rates and net pay
Pension, health, employment, accident — current rates and exact deductions.
Read guideInsulation R-value · U-value — Korean building code path
Korean zonal U-value limits and the thickness needed with real materials.
Read guideSpan tables — joist, rafter, header limits
Practical NDS-based span limits and the deflection-then-bending check order.
Read guideField Notes — practitioner view
2026-06-30 · ~10 min
Korean Units & Numbers for Foreigners: Pyeong, Age, Sizes, Distance & More
Every confusing Korean unit and number in one place — pyeong (area), Korean age & school grade, clothing/shoe sizes (US ↔ Korea), distance (ri/miles ↔ km), temperature (°F ↔ °C), and the business registration number. Each with a free instant-conversion tool.
2026-06-18 · ~12 min
Renting in Korea as a Foreigner: Jeonse, Wolse, Deposits & Your Rights
Jeonse vs wolse, the conversion rate, how to protect your deposit after the 2022–2023 fraud wave, and the change-of-residence-report trap every foreign tenant must know — with a step-by-step pre-signing checklist.
2026-06-17 · ~14 min
Living in Korea as a Foreigner: The Complete Money, Visa & Admin Guide (2026)
Arrival (ARC, banking) → settling (rent, health insurance) → work & tax (year-end, flat tax) → staying (F-2-7, D-8) → leaving (pension refund). The whole journey of living in Korea, step by step, with free calculators and checklists.
2026-06-16 · ~11 min
Essential Apps for Living in Korea as a Foreigner (2026)
Which Korean apps work without a Korean number, a foreign card, or an ARC — and how to clear the PASS identity-verification wall. Category by category, with sign-up tips.
2026-05-30 · ~7 min
Korean Pyeong, Explained — Why 84㎡ is Called 25-Pyeong
Why Korean real estate uses pyeong alongside m², how 84㎡ maps to 25-pyeong, and what exclusive vs supply vs contract area really mean.
2026-05-30 · ~6 min
Korean Business Registration Number — What the Checksum Tells You
The 1-3-7 weighted checksum that catches fake or mistyped Korean business numbers before you sign or wire money.
2026-05-23 · ~8 min
Korean Mortgage: 30-year vs 15-year — Is the longer term really a loss?
Total interest is much lower for 15-year. Yet most people choose 30-year. Once you factor cash flow, inflation, and reinvestment, the math changes.
2026-05-23 · ~7 min
5 most common confusions in Korean progressive income tax
“Crossing a bracket means you earned less in the end” and other myths — debunked with actual numbers.
2026-05-23 · ~6 min
Got a Korean rent increase over 5%? 7 things to do immediately
If your Korean landlord proposes a 6% renewal increase, here are the 7 steps a tenant should take, in order.