Seoulstart Jobs data · Q4 2026
Korea Jobs for Foreigners Report, Q4 2026
What the job market in Korea looks like for foreign residents, counted from the 2,627 open Korea jobs on Seoulstart Jobs: which roles are hiring, where, who is hiring, how many postings skip Korean, and what postings that state pay offer.
Figures as of November 13, 2026. Updated after each listings refresh.
Key numbers
Open jobs in Korea
2,627
1,289 added in the last 30 days
Employers hiring
219
Postings in English
40%
263 more are bilingual
Korean not required
29%
of 2,543 postings we have read
Likely E-7 visa roles
63%
professional roles that usually hire on the E-7
Median stated pay
₩33M
a year, from 16 postings that state pay
Looking for one of these jobs? Browse all Korea jobs on Seoulstart Jobs
Jobs by role
Open Korea jobs by role. Stated pay is the median of postings in that role that give a KRW salary, shown when at least 5 do. Market pay is the Ministry of Employment and Labor's occupation estimate (wagework.go.kr), a guide to the role in general, not to these employers.
| Role | Open jobs | Korean not required | Likely E-7 | Stated pay | Market pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engineering | 846 | 35% | 74% | - | ₩59M |
| Sales & Customer Success | 346 | 28% | 35% | ₩28M (n=6) | ₩49M |
| Operations & Strategy | 207 | 21% | 60% | - | - |
| Marketing | 144 | 16% | 66% | - | ₩51M |
| Product Management | 112 | 8% | 87% | - | - |
| Design | 79 | 3% | 95% | - | ₩40M |
| Finance & Accounting | 57 | 32% | 70% | - | ₩97M |
| Hospitality | 49 | 55% | 11% | - | - |
| Research | 48 | 28% | 51% | - | - |
| HR & Recruiting | 47 | 13% | 60% | - | ₩88M |
| Data & ML | 26 | 8% | 83% | - | ₩63M |
| Legal & Compliance | 25 | 21% | 67% | - | ₩100M |
| Teaching & education | 10 | 100% | 50% | - | - |
631 more jobs are in other roles.
What postings that state pay offer
Most Korea postings do not state pay. Of the 2,543 we have read, 16 give a KRW salary. Their middle half runs from ₩28M to ₩40M a year, with a median of ₩33M. Postings that state pay are not a random sample, so treat this as a rough guide.
Where the jobs are
| City | Open jobs | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Seoul | 1,547 | 59% |
| Hwaseong | 85 | 3% |
| Pyeongtaek | 47 | 2% |
| Icheon | 31 | 1% |
| Bundang | 26 | 1% |
| Busan | 21 | 1% |
| Incheon | 18 | 1% |
| Seongnam | 15 | 1% |
Who is hiring
Employers with the most open Korea jobs on Seoulstart Jobs today.
| Employer | Open jobs |
|---|---|
| Coupang | 220 |
| CJ Olive Young | 86 |
| Applied Materials | 83 |
| H&M Group | 78 |
| Musinsa | 78 |
| Marriott International | 64 |
| DeepX | 61 |
| FuriosaAI | 54 |
| ASM | 50 |
| Krafton | 49 |
| Merck KGaA | 47 |
| Channel Talk | 46 |
| RLWRLD | 45 |
| Daangn | 44 |
| Upstage | 39 |
Type of contract
| Type | Open jobs | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Full-time | 980 | 37% |
| Contract | 127 | 5% |
| Internship | 43 | 2% |
| Part-time | 57 | 2% |
| Not stated | 1,420 | 54% |
How we count
- Jobs: every open Korea listing on Seoulstart Jobs that passed our foreign-resident filter, counted once.
- Korean level, likely visa route and stated pay come from Seoulstart's read of each posting. They describe what the posting says, not the employer's policy.
- Stated pay: KRW annual or monthly salaries only, monthly pay times 12, ranges at their midpoint. Hourly pay, other currencies and bonus-only lines are left out.
- Teaching jobs are counted, and listed last in the role table.
Questions about this report
Where does this data come from?
From the Korea job listings on Seoulstart Jobs: openings we collect from employers' own career pages and job boards, then read one by one. On 2026-11-12 we listed 2627 open jobs in Korea at 219 employers. The counts update after each listings refresh.
How many jobs in Korea do not require Korean?
Of the 2543 Korea postings we have read, 725 (29%) do not ask for Korean. That share is for the jobs Seoulstart lists, which lean toward employers that hire foreign residents, so it is higher than for the Korean job market as a whole.
How is a likely E-7 visa role decided?
Our read of the posting marks a role as E-7 type when it is a professional, specialist or technical job at a company in Korea, the kind that usually hires foreign staff on the E-7 visa. It is not a promise of sponsorship. Confirm sponsorship with the employer.
Can I quote these numbers?
Yes. Please cite "Seoulstart, Korea Jobs for Foreigners Report, Q4 2026" with a link to this page, and include the date the figures were taken.
Guides for working in Korea
- Average salary in Korea Official averages and medians by industry, region and company size, and what foreign workers earn.
- Salary expectations Pay ranges, negotiation norms, and benchmarks by industry.
- E-7 visa guide How E-7 sponsorship actually works, occupation codes, and what to ask HR.
- E-7 occupation codes Which job titles fit which E-7 code, and why the right code matters for approval.
- First 90 days at a Korean job What to set up, what to expect, and how to read your first month.