What should I include in an email signature at a Korean workplace?
If a new foreign employee in a company in Suwon needs to set up a bilingual email signature, should they ask the team for an approved template before writing to clients? How can they check the correct English job title and the order of their Korean and English names? Should the signature use the company switchboard number rather than a private phone number?
1 Answer
Ask your manager, HR team, or communications team for an approved signature template before emailing clients. Follow the company's format rather than assuming there is one standard used across Korean workplaces. If no template exists, send your manager a draft for approval.
A practical draft includes your name, team, approved job title, company name, work email, and an approved business phone number. Add the company website or address only if the team normally includes them. Confirm the official English title with HR or your manager instead of translating the Korean title yourself, since titles do not always have a direct English equivalent.
Ask how the company presents Korean and English names and which spelling to use. For your own name, use your preferred professional spelling consistently with the company directory. Do not invent a Korean name or change name order just to make the signature look local. A bilingual signature can put the two language versions on separate lines if the approved template allows it.
Use the business contact number your team wants clients to call. That may be a direct office line, a team number, or the switchboard; the switchboard is not automatically the best choice if callers cannot reach you through it. Avoid adding a private phone number by default. If mobile contact is needed, ask whether a company-provided number is available and agree on what will be shared. Send yourself a test email to check that both languages display clearly on desktop and mobile.