Payslips in Korea

[Blanca]

For a multitude of reasons, I thought it prudent to ask my boss about payslips.

Thus far, I've been paid once, it would appear to be in full (perhaps about 70-100k less than I expected but more or less ok). When I got paid I asked for a breakdown of pay/tax/pension etc, expecting a receipt of these payments (a payslip, if you will). My boss proceeded to write some values on a piece of paper - not exactly what I had in mind but I left it.

Today I asked him for a proper payslip, saying a woman who I know from home who works at the tax office said I should collect an official, legal receipt of payment in case I need proof of earnings when I get home (which may be fairly soon, see my other thread). My boss's English is not very good, and I think something was lost in translation, so I told a Korean teacher what I wanted to say and the boss promised to speak to her after class. I didn't get a chance to speak to him before I came home, so I'm chasing it up tomorrow.

My question is, are payslips, ie legal proof of payment of wages, tax and pensions, the done thing over here? Is it more of a cash-in-hand and trust that the boss has paid all your obligatories, or should I expect proper documentation?

[JahRhythm]

You should expect and receive proper documentation.
They no doubt have it for their own purposes.
It's not only shady, fly-by-night operations that cut corners, cheat, or just make mistakes that cost you.
You need to see all your figures and not scribbled on a post-it.

[andyfoggy]

I never saw a payslip untill I worked for a public school
so, did i really pay tax or medical, the answer is an educated no for 3 of those first 4 hagwon years
if you work for public schools ask your co worker and she will print one off, actually you can ask any teacher or office staff as they all can access your private pay details at any time and see how much you make etc,
if you ask a hagwon boss he will print out whatever make you happy but it will not neccessarily be the truth :)

[sejongthefabulous]

Why not do it yourself and have him stamp and sign it.
I recommend taking the info he wrote down on the cocktail napkin and putting it into an excel-like format. Look at a payslip you already have or look on google for an example. I also recommend using the business name, his name (payroll manager, too) and business number.
Include a line that says signature and an empty box for a stamp.
He will understand and shouldn't have a problem if it is accurate.

[flasyb]

Why not do it yourself and have him stamp and sign it.
I recommend taking the info he wrote down on the cocktail napkin and putting it into an excel-like format. Look at a payslip you already have or look on google for an example. I also recommend using the business name, his name (payroll manager, too) and business number.
Include a line that says signature and an empty box for a stamp.
He will understand and shouldn't have a problem if it is accurate.

That's a lot of trouble to go to. I've never heard of an employee making their own payslip before. Best to just pursue it and keep asking.

[kneekick]

There is an official paper that they should give you that tells you how much tax you have payed for the year and all of the other pay details. (similar to a T4 if you're from Canada) You can use it for taxes, I believe they only print it once a year.  They usually understand that you need it for tax purposes in your country and it looks very official. 
As far as monthly statements go, it can be difficult to get them. I worked for a public school and it just wasn't something they normally did. After the first few months, I stopped bugging them for a statement as the deposit was always the same within a few dollars. I don't think I ever got a statement without asking for it more than once. The statement that I did get was usually an excel printout where I could see other teachers' information as well. I asked my co-teacher to translate it for me, so I knew that they were deducting everything.