Only 27.9% of registered Korean language teachers are active

South Korea has 25,018 registered Korean language teachers, but only 27.9% are currently teaching.

Many have short-term or verbal contracts, and their average annual income was 16.8 million won in 2024.

About 40% of active teachers also had another job to support themselves.

The findings point to job insecurity that may make it harder to keep trained teachers working.