Guide
Korean plumbing terms: what the words on your estimate actually mean
You can get a plumbing job done in Korea without speaking Korean. What is harder is understanding the estimate afterwards — a short message with four or five words in it that decide what you are paying for. Our other guide covers what to say; this one covers what the words mean. It is a plain-language glossary, not legal advice.
The words that appear on an estimate or in a text message
A Korean plumbing estimate is usually short. That is normal — but it means each word carries weight. These are the terms worth recognising on sight.
| Korean | Romanization | What it means | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| 견적 | gyeonjeok | Estimate or quote | The figure before work starts. Ask whether it is a fixed price or a range. |
| 출장비 | chuljangbi | Call-out fee — a charge for the visit itself | Ask whether it is included in the total or added on top, and whether it still applies if nothing is done. |
| 부가세 | bugase | VAT, charged at 10% | The single most common source of billing surprise. Always ask whether the number quoted includes it. |
| 현금영수증 | hyeongeum yeongsujeung | Cash receipt, registered for tax purposes | You are entitled to ask for one. Requesting it is completely normal. |
| 세금계산서 | segeum gyesanseo | Tax invoice | What a business needs for its own accounting. Ask for it up front if you are claiming the cost through a company. |
| A/S | a-es | After-service — warranty work or a follow-up visit | Ask how long it lasts and what it covers before you pay. |
| 공용 배관 | gongyong baegwan | Shared pipe, used by several households | Normally the building's responsibility rather than an individual household's. |
| 전용 배관 | jeonyong baegwan | Private pipe, serving only your unit | Normally the occupant's or owner's side of the line, depending on the cause and your lease. |
| 트랩 / 봉수 | trap / bongsu | The trap, and the standing water held inside it | That water is what blocks sewer smell. If it dries out, the smell comes straight up. |
| 통기관 | tonggigwan | Vent pipe, which balances pressure in the drainage system | If it is blocked or damaged you get gurgling, smells and slow drainage that no amount of cleaning fixes. |
| 역류 | yeongnyu | Backflow — water coming up instead of going down | A signal that the problem may be further down the line than your own fixture. |
| 고압세척 | goap sechuk | High-pressure water jetting | Cleans the pipe wall itself rather than just punching a hole through the blockage. |
| 스프링 작업 | spring jageop | Motorised auger, also called a drain snake | Good at breaking through a specific obstruction; it does not clean the whole pipe. |
| 내시경 | naesigyeong | Endoscope camera inspection | How the actual cause and its location are confirmed. Ask for the footage. |
| 정화조 | jeonghwajo | Septic tank | Found in buildings not connected to the main sewer; it needs periodic emptying. |
| 누수 탐지 | nusu tamji | Leak detection | Locating a hidden leak inside a wall, floor or ceiling before anything is opened up. |
Reading the numbers next to the words
Vocabulary is easier to judge with real figures beside it. These are our published price ranges by symptom, with the method that usually applies. They exist here so you can see how a symptom, a method and a number line up on an estimate — not as a claim about what any other company charges.
| Symptom | Price (KRW) | Approx. USD | Time on site | How it is done |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kitchen sink draining slowly | 55,000–80,000원 | ≈ US$40–60 | 20–30 min | Trap removed and cleaned |
| Kitchen sink not draining at all | 80,000–150,000원 | ≈ US$60–110 | 30–60 min | High-pressure cleaning |
| Kitchen sink backing up / gurgling | 120,000–250,000원 | ≈ US$90–180 | 40–90 min | Camera diagnosis + high-pressure cleaning |
| Toilet draining slowly | 55,000–100,000원 | ≈ US$40–70 | 20–30 min | Auger / simple clearing |
| Toilet filling up, not flushing away | 80,000–150,000원 | ≈ US$60–110 | 30–60 min | Professional clearing equipment |
| Object dropped in the toilet (phone, etc.) | 150,000–300,000원 | ≈ US$110–210 | 60–90 min | Toilet removed, object retrieved, refitted |
| Bathroom or balcony drain slow | 55,000–80,000원 | ≈ US$40–60 | 20–30 min | Trap removed and cleaned |
| Drain not clearing / backing up | 80,000–150,000원 | ≈ US$60–110 | 30–60 min | High-pressure cleaning |
| Several drains blocked at once | 150,000–400,000원 | ≈ US$110–290 | 60–120 min | Camera diagnosis + main line clearing |
| Washbasin or bathtub blocked | 55,000–100,000원 | ≈ US$40–70 | 20–40 min | Trap cleaning |
| Floor drain backflow (balcony, utility room) | 80,000–200,000원 | ≈ US$60–140 | 30–90 min | High-pressure cleaning + diagnosis |
| Grease trap / restaurant kitchen line | 150,000–500,000원 | ≈ US$110–360 | 60–180 min | Commercial cleaning, recurring-plan discount |
USD amounts are approximate (₩1,400 ≈ US$1) and for reference only. You pay in KRW.
If an estimate quotes a method you do not recognise — 고압세척, 스프링 작업, 내시경 — look it up in the table above and ask why that method was chosen for your symptom. A company that has diagnosed properly will have a straightforward answer.
Housing types: the pipework and the chain of contact both change
This is the part that genuinely surprises people. In Korea the type of building you live in determines who manages the pipes, who you contact when something blocks, and often who carries the cost. The English word 'apartment' does not map cleanly onto any of it.
| Housing type | How it works | Who to contact first |
|---|---|---|
| 아파트 (apartment complex) | Large complexes with an on-site management office. Shared vertical stacks serve many households. | The management office (관리사무소), especially for anything that looks like a shared-stack problem. |
| 오피스텔 (officetel) | Studio-style units in a mixed residential and business building. Similar to an apartment, but the managing body and the building rules vary a lot from building to building. | The building management office — but check your own building's rules, because they differ. |
| 빌라 / 다세대 · 다가구 (low-rise multi-household) | Small buildings, frequently with no management office and no on-site staff at all. | The owner or the building owner directly. If you rent, the estate agent who arranged the lease is often the fastest route. |
| 원룸 / 고시원 (studio room, small residence) | Single rooms, often several to a floor, sharing drainage closely. | The building owner or the resident manager, whoever is named as your contact. |
| 상가 / 식당 (commercial unit, restaurant) | Kitchen grease and grease-trap maintenance become a recurring issue rather than a one-off. | Depends on the commercial lease — the tenant business often handles day-to-day cleaning while the owner handles the fixed pipework. Check the contract. |
If you are unsure which category your home falls into, the practical test is whether there is a management office on the premises. If there is, you have a body responsible for shared equipment. If there is not, the owner is that body.
Who is who: the people in the chain
- 관리사무소 (gwalli samuso) — the building management office. Responsible for shared areas and shared equipment in apartments and most officetels. Usually the first contact for anything outside your own front door.
- 입주자대표회의 (ipjuja daepyo hoeui) — the residents' representative body in an apartment complex. Larger works affecting the whole building can require a decision at this level, which is why building-wide repairs sometimes move slowly.
- 집주인 / 임대인 (jipjuin / imdaein) — the owner, the landlord. The counterparty on your lease.
- 세입자 / 임차인 (seipja / imchain) — the tenant. That is you, if you rent.
- 공인중개사 (gongin junggaesa) — the licensed real-estate agent who arranged the lease. In practice they often act as the message channel between tenant and owner, and they are frequently the person who replies fastest.
- 기사님 (gisanim) — the standard polite way to address a technician when you do not know their name. It is normal and respectful, not overly formal.
Knowing the labels helps more than it sounds. When an agent replies 'I will ask 관리사무소', you now know the request has moved to the building rather than being ignored.
Two phrases you may see in a lease
- 수선의무 (suseon uimu) — repair obligation. The general idea of who is responsible for keeping something in working order.
- 원상복구 (wonsang bokgu) — restoration to the original condition, usually discussed when a tenancy ends and the unit is handed back.
Putting it to use
The vocabulary is only useful attached to actions. A short sequence that works in almost every situation: identify your housing type, contact the right party first, ask whether the quoted figure includes VAT and the call-out fee, ask for camera evidence of the cause, and keep the whole exchange in one written thread.
Frequently asked
Is there a separate call-out fee (출장비)?
It varies by company, so ask directly whether 출장비 is included in the quoted total or added on top, and whether it still applies if the job cannot be done. Our published price ranges are for the work itself, and we do not charge when we cannot clear the blockage.
Does a quoted price include VAT (부가세)?
Not automatically. Korean estimates are sometimes stated before VAT and sometimes including it, and 10% on top of an unexpected bill is exactly the kind of surprise worth avoiding. Ask '부가세 포함인가요?' before work starts, and ask for a cash receipt (현금영수증) or a tax invoice (세금계산서) if you need one.
Is an officetel different from an apartment?
In terms of the drainage itself, they are similar — both usually have shared vertical stacks and a building management office. The difference is in the rules: officetels are mixed residential and business buildings, and the managing body, the building regulations and the way repair costs are handled vary considerably from one building to another. Check your own building's rules rather than assuming apartment practice applies.