In South Korea, published figures put pay for a reporter at ₩40,280,000 a year.
Pay rates for journalists in South Korea, as published by unions, governments and surveys, each quoted as printed and turned into a day's pay to compare. How the pay guide works →
Each published rate as a day's pay
US$ a day at the ECB rate for the month. A month is 12 payments over 260 working days, or 13 or 14 where the agreement says so; a year is 260 days; a shift counts as a day.
| Type of work | What | As printed | US$ a day | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| On staff | Regional general dailies, average annual pay incl. bonus, pre-tax | ₩40,280,000 a year | $115.09 | KPF · Survey |
Advertised pay in South Korea
Open marketWhat employers offered in public job ads over the last 12 months, from 68 job ads with pay. These figures come from the open job market, not from journalist.net, and we do not check them.
Journalism in South Korea
Leading news outlets
The highest-ranked news sites based in South Korea in EventRegistry's news-source ranking, most important first. Updated monthly.
In the 2026 World Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), South Korea ranks 47 of 180, with a score of 69.1 out of 100. Up 14 places on the year before.
RSF World Press Freedom Index ↗By job type
Rates documents 4
Unions and bodies in South Korea
Nearby
Lowest staff minimum in each country's agreements, as US$ a day.
About this data. These rates are compiled from publicly available sources and quoted as printed, with their date. We do not guarantee the accuracy of any figure. For information only: Journalist.net does not recommend or set rates. How we count