Average Esthetician Salary in Gwangju, South Korea for 2025

In this article, we will look at the average Esthetician salary for 2025 in Gwangju and how that compares to other countries and professions. We'll also look at interesting salary data points like median salary, 25th and 75th percentile salaries, salary amounts based on experience, bonus ranges and more!

The data in this article has been compiled using official government salary data, salary surveys, and other sources such as job postings which contain salary information.

All salary information is in the local currency, which is the South Korean won. To keep things simple, we are using the KRW currency code instead of the currency symbol .

How Much Does an Esthetician Make in Gwangju?

An Esthetician working in Gwangju will typically earn around 17,399,400 KRW per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 9,036,900 KRW to the highest average salary of 26,639,300 KRW.

Average Annual Salary17,399,400 KRW
Average Monthly Salary1,449,950 KRW
Average Lowest Salary9,036,900 KRW
Lowest Monthly Salary753,075 KRW
Average Highest Salary26,639,300 KRW
Highest Monthly Salary2,219,941 KRW

These are average salaries for an Esthetician in Gwangju and include benefits such as housing and transport. It's also possible for an Esthetician to earn more or less than the average salaries shown above.

Esthetician salaries will vary a lot based on your experience, location, skills, and gender. Keep reading below to research more data on each of these areas.

Distribution of Esthetician Salaries in Gwangju

So we've looked at the average salaries an Esthetician will earn in Gwangju. The next interesting data point is the distribution of salaries.

Salary ranges

We already know that an Esthetician can earn between 9,036,900 KRW and 26,639,300 KRW on average in Gwangju. This is known as the range in statistics.

The difference between the maximum and minimum values is a good indicator of variability in salaries, and can be used by employers to figure out how much they can expect to pay, and for employees to know how much they can earn.

Median salary

The median salary for an Esthetician in Gwangju is 16,679,800 KRW. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 16,679,800 KRW, and 50% of the population earn more than 16,679,800 KRW.

If you are earning more than the median salary, that's a good indicator that you are being paid well.

If you're not earning more than the median salary, your objective should be to increase your earnings to be at least as high as the median salary (which you can do by asking for a pay rise, looking for a better paying job, etc).

Percentiles

Percentiles are similar to the median salary, but instead of looking at the middle value, they look at the values in the top and bottom half of the distribution.

For the average Esthetician salary in Gwangju, 25% of the population are earning less than 11,580,300 KRW while 75% of the population earn more than 11,580,300 KRW.

75% of the population earn less than 20,760,500 KRW, and 25% of the population earn more than 20,760,500 KRW.

Like the median salary, the 25th and 75th percentile salaries can be used to determine which quartile you fall into so that you know whether you are being paid well enough compared to others in your profession and location.

The difference between a median and an average salary

The median and average salary are both indicators you can use to see if you are being paid fairly based on the overall population.

  • If your salary is higher than the average and the median salary, you are earning well compared to others.
  • If your salary is lower than the average and the median salary, it could indicate you are not being paid well enough.
  • If you are somewhere in between then it's tricky to determine if you are being paid well enough and you might need to research more closely.

Esthetician Salary by Experience Level in Gwangju

The most important factor in determining your salary after the specific profession is the number of years experience you have. It stands to reason that more years of experience will result in a higher wage.

We have researched the average Esthetician salary based on years of experience to give you an idea of how the average changes once you've worked for a certain amount of time.

  • 0 - 2 Years Experience. An Esthetician in Gwangju that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 10,270,100 KRW.
  • 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average Esthetician salary would increase to 13,798,900 KRW.
  • 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as an Esthetician, the average salary would be 17,879,000 KRW.
  • 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 21,719,900 KRW.
  • 15 - 20 Years Experience. An Esthetician with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 23,759,100 KRW.
  • 20+ Years Experience. For an Esthetician with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 24,958,800 KRW.

Average Salary by Experience Chart

0-2 Years-
10,270,100 KRW
2-5 Years+34%
13,798,900 KRW
5-10 Years+30%
17,879,000 KRW
10-15 Years+21%
21,719,900 KRW
15-20 Years+9%
23,759,100 KRW
20+ Years+5%
24,958,800 KRW

Esthetician Salary by Education Level in Gwangju

As well as experience in a job, your education plays a big role in how much you can earn. A lot of higher paying positions require a high level of education, but how much can a degree increase your salary?

In our research we have compared the salaries of employees in the same job and career level with different levels of education to see how much more you can earn at each education level.

The salary you can earn based on your education is very specific to both your location and the career path you choose.

In our research, we looked at the average salary for an Esthetician in Gwangju based on the education level of the employees in order to find out whether a better education level would increase your salary.

  • High School. An Esthetician in Gwangju with a high school education can earn an average salary of 12,239,700 KRW.
  • Certificate or Diploma. An Esthetician in Gwangju with a certificate or diploma education can earn an average salary of 17,519,700 KRW.
  • Bachelor's Degree. An Esthetician in Gwangju with a bachelor's degree education can earn an average salary of 24,119,700 KRW.

Average Salary by Education Chart

High School-
12,239,700 KRW
Certificate or Diploma+43%
17,519,700 KRW
Bachelor's Degree+38%
24,119,700 KRW

How Much is a Master's Degree or MBA Program?

The approximate cost of a master's degree or post-graduate program like an MBA in South Korea is around 19,400,000 to 58,300,000 KRW and takes two years to complete.

As you can see above, there are financial benefits from reaching master's degree level, but don't expect to see much of a salary increase until you have completed the degree.

It's common for people to pursue an MBA or other post-graduate program in order to switch to a a job that pays more. On average, you can expect to earn around 10% more when switching to a new company.

Whether you decide to pursue a master's degree depends on many factors. If you are able to afford it, the numbers suggest that the return on investment is worth it and you could recover the costs in a few years from the salary increase you would receive.

Esthetician Salary Compared by Gender

In the modern age, we know that there should never be a pay gap between men and women. Unfortunately, in many professions, there is still a significant difference between the salaries earned by men when compared to the salary of women in the same job.

In Gwangju, a male esthetician will earn an average of 17,159,700 KRW, while a female esthetician will earn around 18,121,700 KRW.

This means that a male esthetician earns approximately 5% less than a female esthetician for performing the same job.

Average Salary by Gender Chart in Gwangju

Male-
17,159,700 KRW
Female+5%
18,121,700 KRW

Esthetician Average Pay Raise in Gwangju

In many countries, an annual pay raise is often given to employees to reward their service with a salary increase.

From our research, we can see that the average pay raise for an Esthetician in Gwangju is around 11% every 16 months.

The national average pay raise across all professions and industries in South Korea is around 9% every 16 months.

In this case, we can see that the number of months between the average pay raise is higher than the typical 12 months.

To make the data more meaningful, we can calculate what the approximate annual pay raise would be using a simple formula:

Annual Increase = ( Increase Rate ÷ Months ) × 12

So for this example, it would be:

Annual Increase = ( 11 ÷ 16 ) × 12  = 8%

What this means is that an Esthetician in Gwangju can expect to receive an average pay raise of around 8% every 12 months.

Annual Pay Raise by Industry in Gwangju for 2025

In the chart below, you can see the average annual pay raise percentages for each of the major industries in South Korea.

You will see that companies in bigger and more lucrative industries tend to have the higher annual pay raises.

Banking-
6%
Energy-
3%
Information Technology-
9%
Healthcare-
6%
Travel-
3%
Construction-
9%
Education-
6%

Esthetician Bonus and Incentive Rates in Gwangju

Another part of your overall compensation in a job is how much bonus you receive. Some job roles will be more likely to pay a bonus than others and also more likely to have higher bonus rates.

Generally speaking, jobs that are more involved with direct revenue generation will receive higher bonuses based on the performance towards revenue goals.

An Esthetician is a moderate bonus based job, with 52% of employees reporting at least one bonus in the last 12 months.

48% reported that they had not received any bonuses in the previous 12 months.

For the employees that did receive a bonus in the previous 12 months, the reported bonuses ranged from 3% to 5%.

Received Bonus-
52%
No Bonus-
48%

What are the Types of Bonus?

There are a number of difference types of bonus you can receive in a job. Including:

  • Individual performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee for general performance in the job. It's the most common type of bonus.
  • Company performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to a company employees to share profit with the staff.
  • Goal based bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee (or a team) for achieving specific goals, objectives, or milestones.
  • Holiday bonus - This type of bonus is usually paid around the holidays, often the end of the year, and is a token of appreciation for the hard work throughout the year.

Government vs Private Sector Salaries

Another commonly asked question is whether you get paid a higher salary working in the public (government) sector or the private sector.

Public sector employees in South Korea earn approximately 6% more than private sector employees in the same role.

Public Sector-
47,880,300 KRW
Private Sector-6%
45,239,100 KRW

Salaries for Jobs Similar to an Esthetician

In the table below, we have salary information for jobs that are similar to an Esthetician in Gwangju.

Job TitleCategorySalary
AromatherapistFitness / Hair / Beauty51,361,500 KRW
Art TherapistFitness / Hair / Beauty36,121,000 KRW
Assistant Spa ManagerFitness / Hair / Beauty39,600,100 KRW
Beauty AdvisorFitness / Hair / Beauty38,399,900 KRW
Beauty EducatorFitness / Hair / Beauty46,319,900 KRW
Beauty Shop CoordinatorFitness / Hair / Beauty26,759,500 KRW
Beauty SpecialistFitness / Hair / Beauty38,158,300 KRW
Beauty Supply ManagerFitness / Hair / Beauty66,359,800 KRW
Beauty TherapistFitness / Hair / Beauty36,718,100 KRW
Cosmetic SalesFitness / Hair / Beauty19,678,200 KRW
CosmetologistFitness / Hair / Beauty32,038,500 KRW
Day Spa ManagerFitness / Hair / Beauty68,639,200 KRW
Fitness InstructorFitness / Hair / Beauty27,479,000 KRW
Fitness and Wellness CoordinatorFitness / Hair / Beauty38,039,000 KRW
Grooming Salon ManagerFitness / Hair / Beauty56,998,400 KRW
Hair Replacement SpecialistFitness / Hair / Beauty61,321,600 KRW
Hair StylistFitness / Hair / Beauty22,558,900 KRW
Health CoachFitness / Hair / Beauty51,841,000 KRW
Health EducatorFitness / Hair / Beauty59,999,100 KRW
Manicurist and PedicuristFitness / Hair / Beauty14,639,900 KRW
Massage TherapistFitness / Hair / Beauty28,078,900 KRW
MasseurFitness / Hair / Beauty22,081,800 KRW
Natural Remedy ConsultantFitness / Hair / Beauty51,238,900 KRW
Naturopath and AcupuncturistFitness / Hair / Beauty20,878,800 KRW
Occupational TherapistFitness / Hair / Beauty30,721,900 KRW
Occupational Therapy AssistantFitness / Hair / Beauty22,441,700 KRW
Physical Therapy AttendantFitness / Hair / Beauty23,040,200 KRW
Recreational TherapistFitness / Hair / Beauty30,119,100 KRW
Salon AssistantFitness / Hair / Beauty21,361,700 KRW
Salon ManagerFitness / Hair / Beauty59,518,100 KRW
Spa ManagerFitness / Hair / Beauty67,441,500 KRW
Spa SupervisorFitness / Hair / Beauty54,719,600 KRW
Sport and Recreation ManagerFitness / Hair / Beauty74,039,800 KRW
Tattoo ArtistFitness / Hair / Beauty17,278,100 KRW
Weight Loss ConsultantFitness / Hair / Beauty67,558,400 KRW
Yoga InstructorFitness / Hair / Beauty44,878,500 KRW

Salary Comparison by City

If you want to compare salaries with different cities in South Korea, you can use the links below to explore the data for each specific city we have researched.

CityAverage Salary
Bucheon15,838,200 KRW
Busan17,879,000 KRW
Daegu17,640,500 KRW
Daejeon18,359,600 KRW
Goyang15,480,300 KRW
Incheon18,720,200 KRW
Seongnam16,320,700 KRW
Seoul18,958,500 KRW
Suweon16,439,200 KRW
Ulsan16,439,200 KRW

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