I cover a wide range of stories about Korean society — one of the most dynamic places in the world. To me, journalism means being on the ground, uncovering untold stories and amplifying marginalized voices, especially in an era when AI is reshaping the media landscape. That’s why I’m always here to listen. Tips and stories are welcome — feel free to reach out via email. Before becoming a journalist, I traveled through 24 countries over 702 days, served two years as a military police officer in the Republic of Korea Air Force and later studied filmmaking at the Korea National University of Arts.
Tipping culture fails to take hold in Korea as patrons say 'no thanks'
A tip box at a restaurant in Yeouido / Captured from Threads
By Park Ung
Survey shows 61% of Koreans are against gratuities
A Korean social media user living in the United States recently dined in Yeouido and came across something familiar stateside — yet still uncommon in Korea: tipping.
“There was a tip jar right at the counter when I went to pay,” he wrote. “This is Korea. Don’t bring tipping culture here. Don’t ruin what’s good.”
That post, shared on a popular Korea-focused forum within Meta’s Threads app — often frequented by Koreans and Korea-based users — quickly went viral, garnering over 5,000 likes.
In Korea, where tipping is not part of the culture, repeated efforts by both small businesses and major corporations to introduce gratuities have routinely sparked public backlash. The resistance stems from long-standing norms that regard service charges as unnecessary — or even exploitative.
In June, a franchise pizza outlet came under fire for imposing a 2,000 won ($1.44) tip through a delivery app. The parent company later said the outlet was no longer an official franchisee and pledged legal action for breach of contract.
In 2023, Kakao Mobility tested a feature allowing users to tip taxi drivers through its app, although it was never made permanent. Around the same time, the bakery London Bagel Museum placed a tip jar on its counter but removed it after drawing sharp public criticism.
A 2023 survey conducted by online poll service company THEPOL found that 37.95 percent of 22,203 respondents were strongly opposed to tipping culture in Korea, while 23.08 percent were somewhat opposed — bringing the total share of negative responses to over 61 percent.
Lee U-chan, 29, who lived in the United States for about seven months and worked at a local hotel, told The Korea Times that tipping culture felt foreign when he first moved abroad.
“At first, I didn’t understand it, so I didn’t want to tip,” Lee said. “But after working and receiving tips myself, I became more generous.”
Lee said he believes tipping culture will not take root in Korea — and likely never will.
“American and Korean cultures are completely different. In the U.S., people seem to live off tips, but here, wages already include everything. It’ll be hard for Koreans to accept tipping.”
Experts say tipping is unlikely to gain a foothold in Korea, citing legal and cultural differences from countries like the United States.
“Tips that aren’t given voluntarily out of genuine satisfaction with the service are unlikely to take hold in Korea,” Choi Chul, a professor of consumer economics at Sookmyung Women’s University, told The Korea Times. “Under Korean law, restaurants must display final prices that include service charges, so tips would be an added burden for customers.”
Choi added that attempts to introduce tipping could backfire on businesses.
“With inflation already discouraging spending, asking customers to tip may lead them to dine out even less,” he said. “If tipping becomes an additional financial burden, it could have the unintended effect of further reducing sales.”