Guide
How much does a plumber cost in Korea?
Most English-language answers to this question are vague, which is exactly what makes people nervous about calling anyone. So here is our actual price list first, then an explanation of what moves a job from one end of a range to the other.
Prices by symptom
Find the row that matches what you are seeing. The range covers the realistic spread for that symptom — a simple case lands near the bottom, a severe one near the top.
| 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.
The four things that decide where you land in the range
1. How deep the blockage is
A trap blockage sits centimetres from the plughole and can often be taken apart and cleaned by hand. A branch-pipe blockage is metres away inside the wall or floor and needs powered equipment. A main-line blockage is in the pipe the whole building shares, which means more time, more reach and usually camera work to find it first. This single factor accounts for most of the difference between a 55,000 won job and a 400,000 won one.
2. The equipment the job needs
A spring auger handles hair and soft obstructions in short runs. A 150-bar high-pressure jet is what actually strips hardened cooking grease and sludge off the inside of a pipe wall — it takes longer to set up and it is what turns a 'slow drain' job into a 'high-pressure cleaning' job. Removing a toilet from the floor to retrieve a dropped object and reinstalling it properly is a different class of work again, which is why that row starts higher.
3. Access
A floor drain in the middle of an open balcony is quick. A kitchen line reached through a cupboard packed with a built-in dishwasher, or a clean-out hidden behind tiled boxing, adds real time before any actual plumbing starts. Basements and shops with fixed counters over the pipework are the usual examples.
4. Pipe length and layout
Long runs with shallow fall, or lines with several bends, hold material and take longer to clear properly. Old buildings that have been renovated more than once are often the worst for this, because each renovation added another joint or another change of direction.
What we do not add to the bill
- No night, weekend or public holiday surcharge. The price at 3am on a Sunday is the price at 2pm on a Tuesday.
- If we cannot fix it, you pay nothing.
How to avoid being overcharged
Not speaking Korean makes people feel they have no leverage. These four habits remove most of that risk with any company, including us.
- 1Get an estimate from a photo before anyone travels. Send a picture of the fixture and describe the symptom. A company that will not give you a range before arriving is a company that intends to name a number once you are already committed.
- 2Confirm the amount in writing before work begins. A KakaoTalk message saying the figure is enough. If the technician finds something worse once the panel is off, they should stop and tell you the new figure before continuing — not present it at the end.
- 3Ask to see the cause yourself. With an endoscope camera you can look at the blockage on the monitor. If somebody says a job needs main-line work, ask them to show you the main line.
- 4Ask for a receipt. Cash receipts (현금영수증) and tax invoices (세금계산서) are both normal to request in Korea, and asking for one is not rude. If you are a business, you need the tax invoice anyway.
Paying
Card, cash and bank transfer are all fine. Foreign-issued cards generally work on Korean card terminals. We issue cash receipts and tax invoices on request — tell the technician before payment so it can be issued against the right number.
Frequently asked
Is there a separate call-out fee?
No. The figure in the table is the job, and if we cannot solve the problem there is no charge at all — including for coming out. There is also no night, weekend or public holiday surcharge.
What happens if the job turns out to be worse than the estimate?
The technician stops and tells you the revised figure before continuing, so you can decide. Prices move when the actual cause turns out to be deeper than the symptom suggested — for example a sink that looked like a trap blockage but is really the branch pipe. That is why we prefer to look with the camera before quoting on anything that sounds ambiguous.
Can I pay by card?
Yes — card, cash or bank transfer. Cash receipts and tax invoices are available on request; mention it before you pay.