Entering the Korean market? We build what Korea needs
NQ Solution is a two-person development studio in South Korea. We build the Korean website, web app, payments, KakaoTalk and Naver setup and internal systems a company needs to launch here. You work in English with our founder, who also builds the product; we work remotely and meet in person in Korea.
Who this is for
Most teams that reach us already have a product, a brand or a company abroad, and need the Korean side built properly rather than translated. Four situations come up again and again.
- SaaS companies launching a Korean version: a Korean-language site and app, Korean payment methods, Kakao or Naver sign-in and, where the service requires it, mobile identity verification.
- DTC and Shopify brands selling to Korean customers: a store that takes Korean cards and easy-pay wallets, a checkout with Korean address search, and a KakaoTalk Channel for customer questions.
- Foreign companies with a team in Korea that need ERP, HR or an intranet: English screens for headquarters, Korean for local staff, and Korean e-tax invoices connected to the system.
- Marketing teams running a Korea launch: a Korean landing page or site that Naver can read, registered in Naver Search Advisor, with the KakaoTalk Channel set up alongside it.
What Korea needs that other markets don't
A global site usually works in Korea, but it rarely works well. Korean users search on Naver as well as Google, pay through domestic payment gateways and easy-pay wallets, expect KakaoTalk for customer contact and often sign in with Kakao or Naver. Some services must verify a user's identity through a Korean mobile carrier, and Korean businesses issue electronic tax invoices. Each row below is a part we build, with a guide to read first.
- Korean site and design
- Korean typography, denser information and mobile-first layouts, plus the business details Korean users look for in the footer. Korean web design guide
- Naver search
- Naver runs its own crawler and index. Sites are registered and verified in Naver Search Advisor, with a sitemap and RSS feed. Naver SEO for foreign websites
- Korean payments
- Domestic cards and wallets such as Kakao Pay, Naver Pay and Toss Pay, usually through a Korean payment gateway (PG). Korean payment gateway integration
- Stripe in Korea
- Stripe can accept Korean cards for businesses based in its supported countries; a business based in Korea usually contracts a Korean PG. Does Stripe work in Korea?
- Store platform
- Cafe24, Shopify or a custom store, chosen by payments, checkout and how you will run the shop. Cafe24 vs Shopify for Korea
- Identity verification
- PASS and mobile-carrier verification, used where a service must confirm a user's name, date of birth and phone number. PASS identity verification
- KakaoTalk
- A KakaoTalk Channel for chat, and AlimTalk for order, booking and payment notices sent through KakaoTalk. KakaoTalk Channel and AlimTalk
- Kakao and Naver login
- Social sign-in on the OAuth pattern, with consent items and business review handled in each developer console. Kakao and Naver login integration
- Address search
- Korean road-name and lot-number addresses entered through Juso or Kakao (Daum) Postcode search, for checkout and shipping forms. Korean address search APIs
- e-Tax invoices
- Electronic tax invoices issued through Hometax or a provider's API, connected to your billing or ERP. Korean e-tax invoice APIs
- Legal display and privacy
- Online stores show business information such as the company name, representative and business registration number, and publish a privacy notice. We lay these out; your adviser confirms what applies to you.
What we build
We write the software ourselves, mostly in Next.js and TypeScript, and choose other tools when a project calls for them. A market-entry project is usually one or more of these.
- A Korean website or landing page, or a full Korean and English site where each language has its own address, metadata and hreflang pairing.
- Web apps and SaaS front ends with membership, booking and payments, connected to Korean gateways, KakaoTalk notices and Kakao or Naver login.
- Online stores on a platform or built to order, with Korean checkout, address search and payment methods.
- ERP, HR tools and intranets for foreign companies in Korea, with English screens for headquarters and Korean e-tax invoices connected.
- An admin your team uses to edit page content, so the Korean site does not wait on a developer for every change.
What we handle on the ground in Korea
Much of a Korean launch is paperwork and back-and-forth in Korean with payment gateways, Kakao and Naver. We support that side: we prepare the applications with you, fill in the technical parts and handle the communication in Korean. Accounts that hold money, customer data or keys stay in your company's name, and your company remains the contracting party. We do not sign contracts on your behalf or give legal or tax advice.
- We build
- The site or app, the payment flow, KakaoTalk messages, logins, address search, e-tax invoice connections and the admin.
- We help you apply
- Payment gateway applications, the KakaoTalk Channel and AlimTalk dealer account, and Naver Search Advisor registration: forms, technical details and communication in Korean.
- You or your adviser decide
- Contracts, settlement accounts, privacy and consent wording, tax matters and any legal registration your business needs in Korea.
Working with us from abroad
Our founder studied and worked in Australia before returning to Korea. English consultations, meetings and documents are handled by the founder directly, with no interpreter in between. The founder is also one of the two people who build your project.
We work remotely by default and keep communication written first, so a question sent at the end of your day has an answer when you start the next one. Korea runs on KST (UTC+9) with no daylight saving, and we schedule calls in the overlap. The quote, schedule and shared files sit in one client portal (Korean interface), and we explain anything in it in English.
When you or your team are in Korea, we meet in person. Quotes and project communication are in English, and we can bill in USD or receive an overseas transfer.
Why a two-person studio
Every project is run by two people, our CEO and a director. The person you explain your market and product to is one of the two people who design, code and test it, so requirements do not pass through an account manager or a subcontracted team before they reach the code. For an overseas client that matters more than usual: there is no second translation step between what you meant and what gets built.
It also means we take on a limited number of projects at once. If our schedule is full, we tell you the next start date during the consultation. Many clients return after the first build for upgrades and further development, so we design the first version to grow.
Bilingual and Korean-market work
Published projects only. Status comes from the portfolio itself.
- EMECS
A Korean/English technical website that presents electric-motor engineering to overseas buyers, with bilingual SEO built on hreflang and structured data.
- UNESCO i-WSSM
A rebuild of the UNESCO water-security centre's platform with Korean and English routes and an admin for the operators.
- CTBUH Korea
A society website renewal with language-specific pages and posts and an OJS journal-system integration.
- Chungha Interior
A portfolio-centric responsive site with its own admin (CMS) and KakaoTalk inquiry intake.
- NQ Solution website
Our own Korean/English site: server-rendered pages, structured data, sitemap, RSS, llms.txt and Naver verification.
How a project runs for overseas teams
Six steps, run in English from your first message. Remote by default; when you are in Korea, we meet in person.
- 01 Brief
Send a brief in English through the project request form, or write from the contact page. Tell us the market, the product and your launch date; a rough idea is enough.
- 02 Call and scope
A call with the founder in English, scheduled in the overlap between your time zone and KST. We agree the features, integrations and Korean-side setup, and who holds which account.
- 03 Quote
A formal quote in English that lists the deliverables, based on features and integrations rather than page count. Billing can be in USD or by overseas transfer.
- 04 Contract and payments
Payment is split into a deposit, interim and final payments; the ratio is written into the contract.
- 05 Build and Korean-side setup
We design and build in stages while preparing the gateway, KakaoTalk and Naver applications with you. Progress, files and the schedule sit in the client portal.
- 06 Review and launch
You review the work, then we deploy. Hosting and maintenance after launch are a separate contract, agreed when you need them.
Questions
- Do I need a Korean website if I already have a global one?
- If you only want to be found, a well-localized Korean section of your global site can be enough. If you sell, take bookings or support customers in Korea, you usually need Korean payments, KakaoTalk contact and a site Naver can read, which a global site rarely has.
- Can we work with you in English?
- Yes. Consultations, meetings and documents are handled in English by our founder, who studied and worked in Australia. There is no interpreter between you and the person building the project.
- Can you invoice in USD?
- Yes. We can bill in USD or receive payment by overseas transfer. The payment schedule is written into the contract.
- Can we meet in person?
- Yes, in Korea. Most of the work runs remotely, and when you or your team are in Korea we meet in person.
- Do you sign the payment gateway contract for us?
- No. We prepare the application with you and handle the communication in Korean, but your company signs the contract and holds the settlement account.
- Do I need a Korean business registration to accept payments?
- It depends on the gateway. Korean payment gateways contract with the business that receives the money and set their own document requirements, so we confirm eligibility with them before the build starts.
- Which search engine does Korea use?
- Both Google and Naver. Naver runs its own crawler and index, so a Korean site should be registered in Naver Search Advisor as well as Google Search Console.
- Can you work with our existing agency or codebase?
- Yes. We inspect the existing code and materials first, then define in the quote what we build, change or connect for Korea, and what stays with your current team.
Tell us what you are launching in Korea
Send a brief in English with your product, market and launch date. If it is still early, write to us and we will work out the scope together.
Prefer email? Write to dwkim@nqsolution.kr — the founder replies directly.