Compare job offers: salary and working hours (South Korea)
This article was created with artificial intelligence support.
Put both offers on one annual basis, subtract commuting costs, and divide by the hours each job takes. A higher salary can pay less per hour once longer hours and travel are counted.
Put both packages on the same annual basis
Start with the guaranteed annual cash salary, including fixed payments the employer confirms. Check whether a monthly figure is paid twelve times or on another schedule, and whether a package figure already includes employer pension contributions or other benefits.
List discretionary bonuses, commission and equity separately, with their conditions, timing and any clawback. Do not count a maximum bonus toward recurring costs, and leave a one-off signing bonus out of the ongoing annual comparison.
Calculate both salaries with the same assumptions
If both jobs are in the same country and your circumstances stay the same, use the same tax year and personal settings for both. The difference then comes from salary alone. If an offer changes your region, country or insurance, change that setting for that offer only and note it.
Compare annual net first, then divide by twelve for a monthly planning figure. Payroll timing and the final tax bill can differ from it. The model calculates salary only, so check the tax treatment of benefits, relocation payments and equity separately.
Compare the money and time behind both offers
In this South Korea example for 2026, offer A leaves ₩37,543,237.05 a year after ₩60,000 a month in commuting costs, and offer B leaves ₩40,514,102.9 after ₩130,000. The difference, B minus A, is ₩2,970,865.85 a year. The bars below divide each result by the paid hours and by the hours including travel; set the working weeks to match your leave.
Example assumptions
This illustrative resident employment scenario is neither an average salary nor an official payslip. Monthly figures divide the annual model by 12; they do not reproduce actual monthly withholding.
- Model year
- 2026
- Age
- 35
- Children
- 0
- Capital Gains
- ₩0
- Joint assessment (splitting)?
- No
Calculator estimate · 2026
Offer A
Gross salary ₩45,000,000
- Annual net after commute
- ₩37,543,237
- Contract hours per week
- 40
- Commute hours per week
- 3
- Monthly commute cost
- ₩60,000
Offer B
Gross salary ₩50,000,000
- Annual net after commute
- ₩40,514,103
- Contract hours per week
- 45
- Commute hours per week
- 8.33
- Monthly commute cost
- ₩130,000
Annual net after commute
Difference (Offer B): +₩2,970,866
- Offer A
- ₩37,543,237
- Offer B
- ₩40,514,103
Net per paid hour
Difference (Offer B): -₩736
- Offer A
- ₩18,050
- Offer B
- ₩17,314
Net per hour including commute
Difference (Offer B): -₩2,182
- Offer A
- ₩16,790
- Offer B
- ₩14,608
Set the working weeks to match your leave, then open both offers in the calculator and replace the example salaries and settings with your own.
How other countries compare
In the example, offer B pays 11.1% more gross than offer A. The table adds the same step to ₩34,560,000 a year, the salary the calculator starts from here, converted into the currencies of the countries most often compared with this one, and shows how much of the extra gross reaches take-home pay.
| Country | Salary in local currency | Take-home share of the extra gross |
|---|---|---|
| United States | $25,633 | 79% |
| Singapore | SGD 32,805 | 78.3% |
| South Korea | ₩34,560,000 | 77% |
| Japan | ¥4,041,637 | 75.4% |
| Germany | €22,835 | 54.9% |
Converted at the exchange rates of October 2, 2026. Each country uses the calculator’s default profile and its latest enacted tax year. Living costs are not compared.
Subtract the costs each job causes
Work out commuting, parking, extra meals, childcare and other costs that differ between the offers. Count a reimbursement only if the contract provides it, and do not subtract a cost that is already deducted from pay. The example subtracts commuting only, so its result is not your full household surplus.
Keep one-off costs such as moving, equipment or a period of paying for two homes apart from recurring costs. Subtract them once from the first year. Leave them out of the ongoing comparison, or the move will distort every later year.
Make the time commitment visible
Compare contract hours, expected overtime, commuting and on-call time. Remote days can cut both travel cost and travel time, but plan with the attendance pattern the contract states.
The example shows two hourly figures. Net per paid hour divides net pay after commuting by the contract hours; net per hour including commute adds the travel time to those hours. With 52 weeks the pay is spread over every week of the year, so enter the weeks you actually work after paid leave and public holidays. Neither figure is a statutory hourly wage.
Value benefits by their written terms
Check employer pension payments, insurance, paid leave, training and flexibility in the written offer. Ask when you become eligible, whether you pay part of the cost, and what happens if you leave. What a benefit would cost you elsewhere is not automatically its value to you.
Do not add employer contributions to spendable net pay, and do not count a benefit both as cash and as a cost you avoid. List benefits without a reliable cash value separately. More leave or flexibility can decide the choice; write it down as a preference instead of converting it into an invented amount.
Separate the financial result from the final choice
Compare the first year and a normal year, then repeat the comparison without variable pay. Check probation, notice period, location, workload and progression with the employer; any of them can make the better-paid offer the worse choice.
Use the difference to ask for something specific, such as a higher guaranteed salary, travel support or agreed remote days. Keep both calculator scenarios with your notes on the assumptions, so you can see what changed if the employer revises the offer.
Before accepting either offer
- Separate guaranteed annual pay from one-off and uncertain payments.
- Calculate both offers with the same settings, or note each difference.
- Compare recurring costs, working and travel time, and first-year moving costs.
- Get benefit eligibility and the working arrangement in writing.
See your own numbers
The articles use example figures. Enter your salary in the calculator to see your own result.
Sources and model coverage
What the estimate covers
The calculator estimates employment income using its supported country rules and selected inputs. Benefits, collective agreements and personal circumstances that are not modelled are excluded. Official rules determine your actual liability.
- Earned income deduction (근로소득공제) uses the standard step-down schedule; actual deduction may vary based on employment income types.
- Industrial accident insurance (산재보험) uses a 1.47% industry-average proxy rate; actual rates range from 0.7% to 34%+ depending on sector and accident risk.
Official sources
The calculation uses the country model and the stated personal settings. The budget figures are illustrative; official sources explain rules and earnings measures, rather than certify each example.