Korean Business Email: a Practical Guide

Key facts

• Attachments are announced with 첨부 파일 ("attached file"), for example 첨부 파일을 확인해 주시기 바랍니다.

What you'll be able to do

• Greet a client or senior colleague with the right title and introduce your company and name.
• Make a request, ask for confirmation and announce an attachment with fixed phrases.
• Accept or decline an invitation politely in writing.
• Finish with a signature block that looks right to a Korean reader.

Before you start: you should be able to write a short polite email. If not, study how to write an email in Korean first, because this lesson builds on its five-part shape. You also need the formal ending -ㅂ니다/습니다, covered in Korean formal speech. Audio plays only when you press a button.

What Does a Korean Business Email Contain?

A Korean business email contains seven parts in a fixed order: subject, greeting, your company and name, context, request, closing and signature block. The extra parts, compared with a personal email, are the company line and the signature block. Korean workplaces expect both, because a reader often needs to place a sender by company and rank.

Why is the company named in the first line? Korean business culture places a strong value on knowing which organisation and which rank is speaking. Giving the company and your name right away saves the reader a search.

The seven parts are the frame. The next section deals with the first challenge, which is how to address the reader.

How Do I Address the Reader in a Korean Business Email?

Address the reader by title plus 님, as in 김 부장님, and use the full name only when no title is known. In a Korean workplace, a person's job title works as a name. Calling a manager by name with 씨 can sound too casual, and calling a senior by the bare name is rude.

The titles below are common in many Korean companies. Companies differ, so use the title printed on the reader's own email signature.

Add 님 to make the address polite: 부장님 (bujangnim), 팀장님 (timjangnim), 대표님 (daepyonim). A surname may come first: 김 부장님 means "General Manager Kim". When the title is unknown, use 담당자님 ("person in charge") or the team name, as in 영업팀 담당자님.

The honorific -(으)시- also appears in verbs that describe the reader's actions, as in 요청하신 ("which you requested"). The lesson on Korean honorifics explains why the honorific points at the reader and never at yourself.

With the greeting settled, the next section moves to the line that says who you are.

How Do I Introduce My Company and Name?

Say your company, team and name in one sentence ending in 입니다. The pattern is company + team + name + 입니다. A first email to someone who does not know you can add 처음 연락드립니다 ("I am contacting you for the first time").

The sentence has no 저는. Korean drops the subject when it is clear, and a business email often starts straight with the company. The company name sounds like [한빋쌍사]: the final ㅊ of 빛 sounds like ㄷ, and the ㅅ after it is tense. Revised Romanization writes the spelling, hanbitsangsa, and does not show the tensing.

For a first contact, you can add one more line:

• 처음 연락드립니다. (cheoeum yeollakdeurimnida.) [처음 열락뜨림니다] = "I am contacting you for the first time."

Once you have introduced yourself, the reader needs to know why you are writing. The next section covers the request, which is the heart of the email.

How Do I Make a Polite Request in a Korean Business Email?

Use a fixed request phrase that ends in 부탁드립니다, 감사하겠습니다 or 바랍니다, and choose the phrase by how much you are asking. Business Korean avoids the plain request 해 주세요 in a first email because it can sound blunt. The fixed phrases are softer and more standard.

Notice the verb 확인하다 ("to check") in each. The verb stays the same, and only the request frame changes. The honorific -(으)시- in 주시면 and 주실 shows respect to the reader.

The phrase -아/어 주시면 감사하겠습니다 has three parts: -아/어 주시- ("do for me", honorific), -(으)면 ("if") and 감사하겠습니다 ("I would be grateful"). It is a very common way to ask for a favour.

Eight ready phrases cover most work requests and confirmations:

1. 확인 부탁드립니다. = Please check.
2. 검토 부탁드립니다. (geomto butakdeurimnida.) [부탁뜨림니다] = Please review.
3. 회신 부탁드립니다. (hoesin butakdeurimnida.) [부탁뜨림니다] = Please reply.
4. 번거로우시겠지만 부탁드립니다. (beongeorousigetjiman butakdeurimnida.) [번거로우시겓찌만] = I know it is troublesome, but please.
5. 말씀하신 내용 확인했습니다. (malsseumhasin naeyong hwaginhaetseumnida.) = I have checked what you said.
6. 자료를 공유드립니다. (jaryoreul gongyudeurimnida.) = I am sharing the materials.
7. 일정을 조율하고 싶습니다. (iljeongeul joyulhago sipseumnida.) [십씀니다] = I would like to arrange the schedule.
8. 바쁘신 와중에 죄송합니다. (bappeusin wajunge joesonghamnida.) = I am sorry to trouble you while you are busy.

You will know a request works when the reader can tell, in one reading, what to do and by when. If a deadline matters, add it in a separate sentence, as in 이번 주 금요일까지 회신 부탁드립니다 (ibeon ju geumyoilkkaji hoesin butakdeurimnida), "Please reply by this Friday". The next section handles the other line every work email needs: the attachment.

How Do I Mention an Attachment?

Name the file and ask the reader to check it, using the word 첨부 ("attachment"). A Korean business email usually mentions every attachment in the body, because readers often skim and the mention acts as a prompt.

Three useful patterns:

• 견적서를 첨부합니다. (gyeonjeokseoreul cheombuhamnida.) [견적써를] = "I am attaching the quotation."
• 첨부 파일을 확인해 주시기 바랍니다. (cheombu paireul hwaginhae jusigi baramnida.) [첨부 파이를] = "Please check the attached file."
• 회의 자료를 첨부해 드립니다. (hoeui jaryoreul cheombuhae deurimnida.) = "I am attaching the meeting materials for you." The 드립니다 frame shows that you do something for the reader.

In the third example, 첨부해 드립니다 is a form of 첨부하다 ("to attach"). The ㅎ of 해 sits between vowels, so nothing aspirates, and in fast speech it is often very weak.

Many Korean offices ask for the file name to include the date and your name, as in 견적서_한빛상사_박지영. This is a habit, not a rule, but it helps the reader find the file later.

An attachment line belongs near the end of the body, after the context. Closing the email comes next.

How Do I Close a Korean Business Email?

Close with a short thanks, one optional offer to answer questions, and a signature block. The closing is formal, and it should leave the reader sure of what you expect.

Common closing sentences:

• 감사합니다. (gamsahamnida.) = Thank you. The default.
• 항상 감사드립니다. (hangsang gamsadeurimnida.) = Thank you, as always. For regular contacts.
• 궁금하신 점이 있으시면 언제든지 연락 주십시오. (gunggeumhasin jeomi isseusimyeon eonjedeunji yeollak jusipsio.) [열락 주십씨오] = Please contact me at any time if you have questions.
• 좋은 하루 보내십시오. (joeun haru bonaesipsio.) = Have a good day. The -십시오 ending is formal.

Avoid ending a business email with 수고하세요 when the reader is senior to you. Many Korean speakers feel that this phrase suits someone of equal or lower rank, so teachers of business Korean usually advise 감사합니다 instead. Usage varies by workplace, and this is a tendency rather than a law.

The signature block follows on separate lines:

감사합니다. 박지영 드림 한빛상사 영업팀 대리 전화 010-1234-5678 | 이메일 jiyeong@example.com

The block lists name, title, company, phone and email. The sample numbers and address are invented. 드림 (deurim) and 올림 (ollim) both mean "from", and 올림 is a notch more formal. The earlier lesson on how to write an email in Korean compares them.

With the parts assembled, the next section puts them into one complete email.

A Complete Korean Business Email

Here is a six-sentence business email with a request and a closing. Read it once through, then press the audio buttons for any line you want to hear.

제목: [한빛상사] 견적서 확인 부탁드립니다

안녕하세요, 김 부장님. 한빛상사 영업팀 박지영입니다. 지난 회의 때 요청하신 견적서를 첨부합니다. 확인해 주시면 감사하겠습니다. 궁금하신 점이 있으시면 언제든지 연락 주십시오. 감사합니다.

박지영 드림

The six sentences do six jobs: greet, introduce, give context, request, offer help and thank. The signature and the subject are extra lines. You will know the email works when the reader can act on it without writing back for more information.

The context sentence, with its romanization: 지난 회의 때 요청하신 견적서를 첨부합니다 (jinan hoeui ttae yocheonghasin gyeonjeokseoreul cheombuhamnida), "I am attaching the quotation you requested at the last meeting." The word 때 (ttae) means "time, when", so 지난 회의 때 is "at the last meeting".

A complete email is not the end of business writing. Replies matter too, so the next section covers them.

How Do I Accept or Decline in a Reply?

Reply with a short confirmation first, then the decision, and soften a refusal with an apology and a reason. A reply starts with 안녕하세요 again and the reader's title, because each email is a separate message.

Notice that RR shows the aspiration in the predicate 참석하다: chamseokagetseumnida, because ㄱ and ㅎ join into a ㅋ sound. A noun such as 참석 keeps its plain spelling, chamseok.

Declining uses 어렵습니다 ("it is difficult") rather than 안 됩니다 ("it is not possible"). The softer verb leaves room and sounds more polite. The mistakes learners make in work emails are the topic of the next section.

What Are the Most Common Mistakes and How Do You Fix Them?

Learners usually make six mistakes in a business email, and each has a quick repair.

1. Calling a senior by name with 씨. Learners often assume 씨 is the polite form of "Mr" or "Ms". Actually, 씨 suits peers and juniors, and a senior needs the title plus 님. Fix: 김 부장님, not 김민수 씨.
2. Leaving out the company and name. The reader may not know you. Fix: open with the company, team and name, as in 한빛상사 영업팀 박지영입니다.
3. Using a plain request. 확인해 주세요 is polite but plain. Fix: use 확인 부탁드립니다 or 확인해 주시면 감사하겠습니다.
4. Forgetting the attachment. Learners mention a file and then forget to attach it. Fix: write the 첨부 line last, and check the attachment before you send.
5. Mixing levels. A formal sentence followed by 해요 sentences breaks the tone. Fix: keep -ㅂ니다/습니다 throughout.
6. Closing with 수고하세요 to a senior. Many speakers avoid it. Fix: end with 감사합니다.

An honest limit: this lesson shows a safe, conventional style for a first email. Korean workplaces vary a great deal. A start-up may use shorter, friendlier messages, and a long-time partner may use a lighter tone. Copy the level of the reader's reply once you have one. For more fixed phrases from the workplace, see the business Korean phrases.

Practice and Answers

Try the four items before you read the answers.

1. Choose the address. How do you greet a general manager called Kim: 김 부장님 / 김 씨 / 김 부장?
2. Complete the request. Complete: 첨부 파일을 확인해 ___. Choose 주시기 바랍니다 or 줘.
3. Translate. "Please reply." Use a fixed formal request.
4. Write your own. Write a six-sentence email to a client that attaches a price list and asks for confirmation.

Answer key

1. 김 부장님. Title plus 님. 김 씨 is too casual for a senior, and 김 부장 without 님 is not polite enough when you address a senior.
2. 주시기 바랍니다. 줘 is casual and would not suit a business email.
3. 회신 부탁드립니다. (hoesin butakdeurimnida.) Or 회신해 주시기 바랍니다.
4. Answers vary. A model: subject [회사명] 가격표 확인 부탁드립니다; greeting with the client's title; company and name line; 가격표를 첨부합니다; 확인해 주시면 감사하겠습니다; 감사합니다 and signature. Check that every sentence ends in -ㅂ니다/습니다 and that the file is mentioned.

A rule of thumb for checking your own email: if you can delete a sentence and the request is still clear, delete it. A short email gets answered sooner.

Where to Go Next

After this lesson you can write a polite, formal work email with a request and a closing. This lesson covers fixed phrases and layout, but not long negotiations, legal wording or Korean business culture beyond email.

1. Review how to write an email in Korean if the five-part shape needs refreshing.
2. Study the Korean email to professor for a version with student introductions and requests for appointments.
3. Compare the levels in Korean speech levels to see why work emails use the formal level.
4. Return to how to write a letter in Korean to see every message lesson in the set.

With these steps, a Korean business email becomes a set of fixed phrases and a predictable layout that you can reuse for almost any request.

Audio, Review Status and Scope

Min-ji Park reviewed and signed off this page on 15 October 2026. Min-ji Park reviewed and signed off the Korean on this page on 15 October 2026. The company names, phone number and email address in the examples are invented.

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