Summer Part-Time Job in Korea: How Much Can You Earn in a Month?
Summer break is almost here. If you've been scrolling through part-time job listings in Korea, you've probably caught yourself thinking: "KRW 10,320 an hour… okay, but what does that come to in a month?" Some listings quote an hourly rate, some a monthly salary, and short-term gigs a daily rate — so the moment you try to map it onto your own schedule, things get messy.
And this is peak season. According to a survey by Alba Heaven, a major Korean part-time job platform, 78.8% of university students plan to work part-time this year, and a striking 68.5% prefer short schedules of 20 hours a week or less. So in this post we do the math for everything from a "light" part-time gig to a full-time schedule, scenario by scenario.
Monthly pay comes down to one formula
For hourly part-time work, one formula covers your entire monthly income.
A month isn't 4 weeks — it averages 4.345 weeks (52.14 weeks a year ÷ 12 months). Calculate with 4 and your estimate comes out lower than reality.
South Korea's minimum wage for 2026 is KRW 10,320 per hour (up KRW 290, or 2.9%, from last year). For a full-time 40-hour week, the official monthly equivalent is KRW 2,156,880 (based on 209 hours). But there's one unfamiliar item in that formula: weekly holiday hours. That's the real key to part-time pay in Korea.
Weekly holiday pay — cross 15 hours a week and you get an extra "day's worth"
Weekly holiday pay (juhyu sudang) is pay for a paid day off you don't actually work. There are exactly two conditions.
The amount is (weekly contracted hours ÷ 40) × 8 hours × hourly wage, capped at 8 hours. At 30 hours a week, for instance, you get 6 extra hours' worth (KRW 61,920) every week — without working them. That's roughly KRW 269,000 a month. Not pocket change.
Monthly income by scenario — from weekend shifts to full-time
Using the 2026 minimum wage of KRW 10,320, here are three schedules common in summer (weekly holiday pay included, pre-tax).
| Schedule | Weekly hours | Holiday hours | Monthly income (gross) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weekend job (2 days × 8h) | 16h | 3.2h | approx. KRW 860,936 |
| Weekday afternoons (5 days × 6h) | 30h | 6h | approx. KRW 1,614,254 |
| Full-time (5 days × 8h) | 40h | 8h | approx. KRW 2,152,339 |
How much gets withheld — 3.3% vs. the four major insurances
Some listings say "3.3% withheld," others say "four major insurances provided." Same gross pay, but the method determines what actually hits your account. Let's compare using the weekday-afternoon schedule (KRW 1,614,254 a month).
| Social insurance deductions (employee share) | Amount |
|---|---|
| National pension (4.75%) | − KRW 76,677 |
| Health insurance (3.595%) | − KRW 58,032 |
| Long-term care insurance (13.14% of health premium) | − KRW 7,625 |
| Employment insurance (0.9%) | − KRW 14,528 |
| Take-home pay | approx. KRW 1,457,392 |
Four things people miss
- Probation doesn't automatically mean 90% pay — the probation reduction (90% of minimum wage) is only allowed with a contract of one year or longer, for the first 3 months. And for simple-labor jobs like convenience stores, cafés, and serving, the reduction is illegal outright.
- Workplaces with fewer than 5 employees owe no overtime premium (1.5×) — late hours are paid at the normal rate. Check the workplace size in advance.
- Short-term daily work is tax-free up to KRW 150,000 a day — for daily gigs like event staffing, income up to KRW 150,000 per day is untaxed, and only the excess is taxed at roughly 2.7%.
- Ultra-short-hour work under 15 hours a week is exempt from workplace enrollment in the national pension and health insurance, so pay often arrives with no deductions. The flip side: no weekly holiday pay either.
Run the numbers on your own schedule
The scenarios above are just examples — your hourly wage, your hours, and your workplace's conditions all change the outcome. Drop your hourly rate, daily hours, and days per week into the part-time payroll calculator (the tool interface is in Korean) and you'll instantly get your monthly pay including weekly holiday pay and overtime, plus take-home figures under both the social insurance and 3.3% methods with a single toggle.
- Two-way hourly ↔ monthly conversion (weekly holiday pay included automatically)
- Take-home comparison across social insurance vs. 3.3% freelancer withholding
- Overtime premium handling for workplaces with 5+ or fewer than 5 employees
- Probation-period 90% reduction simulation
If you only want to check weekly holiday pay, the weekly holiday pay calculator (also in Korean) is even simpler. Curious about this year's part-time job trends? See this Korean-language news article covering the university student survey.