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Part-time Work Income in Korea

Estimate your legal weekly limit and what it pays, from the course you are on and the Korean-language standard you meet.

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Course level
Meets the Korean-language standard

The level depends on your course: TOPIK 3 for an associate degree and bachelor years 1–2, TOPIK 4 for bachelor years 3–4 and postgraduates.

Preferential treatment

Ignored unless the language standard is met.

A certified university, an A average last semester, or TOPIK 5 (or KIIP stage 5, or a pass in its comprehensive assessment) — any one of the three adds 5 weekday hours.

2026 minimum wage: ₩10,320 per hour.

A warning appears if this is above your legal limit.

optionalPublished range: ₩750,000–₩1,000,000 a month.

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Published weekly hour limits

〈한국어 능력별, 학위과정별 허용시간〉 — in force since July 2023.

CourseKorean-language standard metNot met
Base limitWith preferential (+5)
Associate / Bachelor25 hours30 hours10 hours
Master's / Doctorate30 hours35 hours15 hours
Weekends, public holidays and vacationsNo limit, for a degree student who meets the standard

English-taught programmes: TOEFL 530 (CBT 197, iBT 71), IELTS 5.5, CEFR B2 or TEPS 601 (New TEPS 327) counts as meeting the standard at any year of study. Students from countries where English is an official language do not submit evidence.

The manual prints the language criteria once for an adjacent pair of rows and merges the cell downwards; postgraduate criteria are read off the bachelor year 3–4 row, which the same manual states outright in its regional-visa chapter.

Source: Ministry of Justice — 체류민원 자격별 안내 매뉴얼 (Korea Immigration Service), 2026-07-09 edition.

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Who, and from when

  • D-2-1 to D-2-4, D-2-6 and D-2-7: from the start, with no waiting period.
  • Language training (D-4-1, D-4-7) and visiting students (D-2-8): six months after the date your status changed, or after your entry date if you arrived on the visa.
  • Excluded: students given exceptional permission to stay after missing their graduation requirements.
  • Thesis-stage postgraduates can be allowed, but at 30 hours a week in total and without the unlimited weekend and vacation rule.
  • Refused if your last semester average was below C (2.0), or if your attendance on a language course was under 90%.
  • A permit runs up to one year and two workplaces on D-2, and up to six months and one workplace on D-4.

Getting the permit

  1. Employment contract on the standard form, with the hourly rate written in.
  2. Part-time work confirmation on the prescribed form, completed by your university's international office.
  3. Apply online or in person with the attachments.
  4. A permit sticker in your passport, or an online permit you print.

A different employer means a new permit, applied for before you start.

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Work the permit does not cover

  • Anything against public morals or social order.
  • Professional-category work (E-1 to E-7), including conversation teaching to minors.
  • Manufacturing, construction and ship crew — manufacturing only opens up at TOPIK 4 or above.
  • Special-form work: parcel delivery, delivery riders, substitute drivers, insurance agents, tutoring-paper teachers, door-to-door sales.
  • Jobs held through dispatch, subcontracting or a placement agency.
  • Work far enough away that it cannot run alongside your studies.
  • Employers barred for a record of illegal hiring.

Allowed as exceptions

  • Manufacturing, at TOPIK 4 or the equivalent.
  • Safety and play assistant roles at English kids' cafés and English camps.
  • Seasonal work, part-time or full-time.
  • Assistant work or an internship in the professional categories (E-1 to E-7, except E-6-2).

Working without the permit

  • First time: a notice of disposition, and your stay continues if the breach was minor.
  • Second time: deportation.
  • Construction work: a departure order every time, with no exception.
  • Breaking the conditions of a permit you hold: a warning, then no part-time work for the rest of your studies, then loss of your student status.

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Minimum wage (2026)

₩10,320per hour+2.9% on 2025

₩2,156,880per month at 209 hours

₩82,560per 8-hour day

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The monthly figure is the statutory 209-hour conversion for a full-time week. A student capped at 10 to 35 weekday hours never reaches it.

Sources

  • Ministry of Justice — 체류민원 자격별 안내 매뉴얼 (Korea Immigration Service)Edition 2026-07-09 · Last verified The hour table is captioned 〈한국어 능력별, 학위과정별 허용시간 ('23. 7. 시행)〉 — in force since July 2023 and unchanged in this edition. HiKorea posts it as a HWP download and states that guideline changes can take time to appear, so the manual is the published rule rather than a live feed; the page also names 1345 (the immigration call centre) as the authority for a current answer.
  • Minimum Wage Council — 연도별 최저임금 결정현황Edition 2026 rate, decided 2025-07-10, published 2025-08-05 · Last verified The monthly figure on that table is the statutory 209-hour conversion for a full-time 40-hour week. A student on a 10–35 hour cap never reaches it; it is quoted here only as the reference the rate itself is published against.

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This page is for planning. It is not legal advice, not a work permit, and not a visa financial-proof standard. A legal limit is a ceiling, not a right — the permit still has to be granted. Rules change: check with your university's international office or the immigration call centre on 1345 before you decide anything.