Split the Bill (Dutch Pay)

How paying actually works in a Korean restaurant

In most places you do not pay at your table. There is often a small printed slip left on the table — carry it to the counter near the door on your way out, or simply tell the cashier what you ordered. The counter is where any splitting happens, so decide before you stand up.

Two phrases cover almost every situation:

• 따로 계산해 주세요 (ttaro gyesan-hae juseyo) — "separately, please."
• 같이 계산할게요 (gachi gyesan-halgeyo) — "we'll pay together."

Card terminals handle split payments without fuss and staff hear the request constantly. The one exception is a tiny family-run shop in the middle of the lunch rush, where one person paying and settling up afterwards is simply faster for everyone.

Reading the number you get back

• Prices are in whole won and the smallest coin in circulation is ₩10, so an even split almost never lands on a tidy figure.
• The round-up option lifts each share to the next ₩1,000. Most groups use it, because nobody wants to count out small coins — the small surplus normally goes to whoever tapped the card.
• Because of that rounding, the shares add up to slightly more than the bill. That is intentional, not a bug in the arithmetic.
• The tip field exists only for travellers who want one. Adding it is not offensive, but it is genuinely unusual, and staff may chase you down the street to hand the money back.

Ways Koreans split that a calculator cannot do

• By round. A night out moves from 1차 (the meal) to 2차 (drinks) to 3차. Rather than dividing every bill, one person takes the whole of the first round and someone else takes the second.
• N빵. Slang for "divide by n" — the everyday spoken shorthand for an even split.
• The 총무. Regular groups often appoint a treasurer who holds a shared kitty, pays for everything on the night, and settles up later.
• Someone insists. A senior colleague or a host may simply refuse to let you contribute. A brief tussle over the bill is normal; the graceful exit is to offer to cover the next round.

Check how you can pay before you divide

Traditional markets, street stalls and some long-established restaurants are cash only — there is no terminal to split at all. Draw won beforehand; ATMs labelled "Global", common in convenience stores, accept foreign cards.

Person-to-person transfers through Kakao Pay or Toss need a Korean bank account, so short-stay visitors usually end up handing over cash to whoever paid. Agree the per-person figure at the counter, while everyone is still standing together.

Figures here are plain arithmetic — check the total on your receipt, and ask your card issuer about foreign transaction fees before assuming what a share costs at home.

Frequently asked questions

Can a shop refuse my card because the amount is too small?
Not legally. A business that accepts cards has to take one whatever the total comes to, and cannot add a surcharge or steer you towards cash on a small purchase. What you will actually meet is a place with no terminal at all — a market stall or an old neighbourhood eatery — and those say 현금만 (cash only) on the door.

Why does the menu say some dishes start from two portions?
Grilled meat, stews and hotpot are usually cooked and priced from two servings upward (2인분 이상), so a solo diner or an odd-numbered group pays for more food than there are heads at the table. Check that line before working out a per-person share, because it is the usual reason the arithmetic looks unfair.

Do Korean restaurants add tax or a service charge to the bill?
Restaurant menu prices are shown as the final amount, with tax already included, so the total is what you expect. Some hotels and upscale banquet venues do add a separate service charge, and when they do it is printed on the bill.

The card machine asks whether to charge in my own currency — which should I choose?
Choose Korean won. Letting the terminal convert for you is dynamic currency conversion, which applies the merchant's own rate and is generally worse than your card issuer's.