한국어 이력서·자기소개서 쓰는 법: 형식, 표현, 흔한 실수

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Writing a Korean resume and cover letter: format, wording and common mistakes

Last checked: 20 October 2026 · compared against 4 official sources opened that day

Korean employers usually ask for a resume (이력서) and a cover letter (자기소개서). For foreign applicants the hard part is often not the Korean but the format Korean recruiters expect. This guide sets out the order and wording from a recruiter's point of view, and adds the legal rules applicants should know from the Fair Hiring Procedure Act, which we rechecked on 20 October 2026. If a company provides its own form, always use it.

How a Korean resume is organised

A Korean resume is a one- or two-page record of facts laid out almost like a table; stories belong in the cover letter. The usual order is personal details (your name in the passport spelling and in Hangul, phone and email, and ideally your visa status and its expiry so the recruiter can see at once whether you can be hired), education from the most recent, work history from the most recent with dates, title, duties and results, qualifications and languages with issuers and dates, and finally other items relevant to the job. Use one date format throughout, such as 2024. 03 ~ 2026. 02, and add a short note in brackets after any foreign school or company name that a Korean reader may not recognise.

Writing the work history

Recruiters spend longest on work history. Under each employer, add a one-line summary of your role and two or three lines of results. For a logistics clerk, for example: prepared export shipping documents and coordinated schedules with clients; handled 12 Vietnamese clients and reduced shipping delays caused by document errors; wrote a Korean and Vietnamese work manual and trained three new staff. Separate what you were responsible for from what changed because of you. Numbers must be true and explainable in an interview; if you do not know the exact figure, state the direction instead. Give most space to the jobs closest to the one you are applying for.

How to show your Korean

Self-ratings such as "fluent" are hard to judge. Give the test name, level and date, and remember that TOPIK scores are valid for two years from the results date. Without a test score, describe real use, for example two years handling customers in Korean. Degrees work the same way: Korean administrative procedures may count only a degree certificate, not course completion; the F-2-7 points notice, for instance, accepts only degree certificates whose issue the issuing institution can confirm. If you have not graduated yet, write "expected graduation" with the date.

The four parts of a cover letter

If the company sets no questions, use four headed sections. Motivation: why this company and this job, mentioning one specific thing from its website or the job advert. Experience: one or two relevant examples told as situation, what you did and the result, with numbers if possible. Adapting to Korea: your Korean study, work or study in Korea and experience working across cultures, which can be a real strength. Plans: what you want to learn and achieve in your first year, kept practical. Respect the character limit and check whether it counts spaces.

Style and wording

Write the whole letter in the formal -습니다 style and do not mix in -해요 or plain -다 endings. Keep sentences short with one idea each. Replace adjectives with actions and results: instead of "I am a passionate person", say what you did and what happened. Replace "I did various tasks" with the actual tasks, back up "I speak Korean well" with a test level, and when asked about weaknesses, describe one together with how you are improving it. Machine translation is fine as a start, but read the result aloud, since it often mixes levels of formality; refer to the company as 귀사 and to yourself as 저 throughout.

Information an employer may not demand

The Fair Hiring Procedure Act applies to workplaces with 30 or more regular employees (Article 3). Article 4-3 bans them from requiring, in screening documents, or collecting as evidence, information not needed for the job: your appearance, height, weight or other physical features; your place of origin, marital status or assets; and the education, jobs or assets of your parents, children and siblings. You need not supply these, and you may leave out a photo unless the company specifically asks for one. The Act also bans charging applicants for screening beyond the cost of submitting documents (Article 9) and forbids applicants from falsifying documents (Article 6), so inflating experience or qualifications can break the law. Unsuccessful applicants can ask for their documents back, except those sent through a website or by email or submitted without being requested (Article 11), so send copies rather than originals where you can.

Final checks before you send

Name your file clearly, for example name_role_resume.pdf. Make sure you have not left another company's name in the letter, the most common mistake when applying to several places. Keep date formats, style and the spelling of your name the same in every document, and make sure your phone number and email are current. Finally, confirm that your visa allows the job; if you are unsure, ask the Immigration Contact Center on 1345 before you apply.