.kr Domain
South Korea's Country Code Domain
Register your .kr domain from just £45.00/yr. Free DNS management, email forwarding, and 10GB mailbox included with every domain.
This domain has registration restrictions
Both the applicant and the registrant must have an address in the Republic of Korea, and KISA may cancel a registration thirty days after finding the details are false. Read the full eligibility rules.
What is a .kr domain?
The .kr domain is the country code for the Republic of Korea (South Korea), managed by the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA). South Korea has one of the world's fastest internet speeds and most digitally connected populations. Korean consumers are tech-savvy and prefer .kr for domestic businesses. Registration has been opened to international applicants, though Korean-language content and a local agent can help with the process.
Who should register .kr?
South Korean businesses, UK companies targeting the Korean market, K-beauty and K-pop brands, and electronics and automotive companies with Korean operations.
Why choose .kr?
- South Korea's official country code
- One of the world's most connected populations
- Trusted by Korean consumers
- Growing K-culture global influence boosts recognition
Who runs .kr, and since when
Registry data from the .kr delegation record held by IANA, which maintains the internet's root zone. Eligibility comes from the registry's own policy, and the prices are ours.
- Extension type
- Country-code (ccTLD)
- Registry operator
- Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA)
- The organisation that runs the extension
- In the root zone since
- 1986
- Delegated 29 September 1986
- Who can register
- Applicants and registrants must have an address in the Republic of Korea
- Checked against the registry's own policy
- Our price
- £45.00 a year
- Ex VAT. Renews at the same price
The Korean address rule that stops most .kr orders
Before anything else about .kr: Article 4 of KISA's Domain Name Management Rules says that the applicants and the registrants shall have addresses in the Republic of Korea. That is not a formality a registrar can waive. It is the first condition in the rules governing the extension, and it is why most orders from outside Korea never complete.
If you do have a Korean address, the rest is unusually clean. A second-level .kr name may mix Latin letters, Hangul, digits and hyphens, and a Korean-script domain is a first-class option here rather than an afterthought. Lengths differ by script: three to sixty-three characters for a Latin name, but two to seventeen where Hangul is included. A name cannot begin or end with a hyphen, or begin with xn--. Registration runs through a KISA-accredited agency, because the registry does not sell directly.
The rule with teeth is Article 11. KISA may cancel a registration once thirty days have passed from the date the registration information was identified to be false. Read that as a standing condition rather than a check at the till: a Korean address you no longer hold is a Korean address that will not survive scrutiny.
Who is allowed to register .kr?
Both the applicant and the registrant must have an address in the Republic of Korea, and KISA may cancel a registration thirty days after finding the details are false.
- Korean address required
- Article 4 of the Domain Name Management Rules states that applicants and registrants shall have addresses in the Republic of Korea. No fee, waiver or extra document removes this. It is the entry condition for the whole extension.
- Third-level names add a second test
- A name under co.kr, or.kr, pe.kr and the rest carries its own eligibility on top. or.kr is for non-profit bodies, pe.kr for individuals, ac.kr for universities and go.kr for government. Regional slots such as seoul.kr or jeju.kr require a connection to that city or province.
- How the name may be built
- Second-level .kr names use Latin letters, Hangul, digits and hyphens, run three to sixty-three characters (two to seventeen where Hangul is included), and may not begin or end with a hyphen or begin with xn--. Another person's identifiable information or telephone number may not be registered as a domain.
- Accredited agencies only
- KISA does not register domains directly. Applications go through a .kr Authorised Agency, but the rules bind the registrant rather than the agency, so the address condition is yours to meet and yours to keep meeting.
- If the details turn out to be false
- KISA may cancel the registration once thirty days have passed from the date the registration information was identified to be false. Registrants carry a separate standing obligation to keep the details accurate and updated.
Rules taken from the KRNIC Domain Name Management Rules. Registry policy can change, so check before you buy if the answer matters to you.
Not sure whether you qualify? Ask us before you order and we will check the registry rules with you. We would rather answer the question than take an order the registry will refuse.
Is .kr the right choice for you?
We would rather sell you the right extension once than the wrong one twice.
.kr works well if
- You have a registered office, subsidiary or resident representative in South Korea, so the address condition is already satisfied by an entity you control.
- Korean consumers are the audience, and they read a .kr as a domestic business where a .com reads as a foreign one.
- Your brand is written in Hangul and you want the domain to be too. A second-level .kr takes Korean characters directly.
Look elsewhere if
- There is no Korean address. The rules bind the registrant rather than an agent, so this is a wall rather than a hurdle you can pay your way over.
- Price. This is one of the dearer extensions we sell and it recurs at that level for as long as you keep the name.
- You would be relying on somebody else to hold the address for you. If the registration details stop being true, KISA can cancel the domain thirty days after that surfaces.
No Korean address yet? Run a Korean-language section on a .com first, and add the .kr once the Korean entity actually exists. See .com pricing.
.kr vs .com: which should you register?
For a business without a Korean entity this comparison is settled before it starts, because only one of the two will accept the order. It becomes a real decision only when you do have a Korean address and are choosing what the Korean market sees.
A .kr reads as a domestic company to a Korean customer and carries a Korea signal to Google, which classifies .kr as a country code rather than a generic extension. A .com reads as international, which is sometimes exactly what you want and sometimes the thing costing you the sale. If the Korean operation is real, hold both: the Korean-language site on the .kr, the group site on the .com.
.kr domain questions, answered
What people ask us before registering a .kr domain.
Can't find what you're looking for?
Ask us directlyNot without a Korean address. KISA's Domain Name Management Rules require the applicant and the registrant to have addresses in the Republic of Korea, and that sits at the top of the rules rather than in a footnote. A UK company with a Korean subsidiary, branch office or resident representative can qualify by registering in that entity's name. Without one, the honest answer is that this extension is closed to you, and a .com carrying Korean-language content is the working alternative.
KISA can cancel the domain. Article 11 allows cancellation once thirty days have passed from the date the registration information was identified to be false, and registrants carry a standing obligation to keep their details accurate and updated. The address is a condition for the life of the registration, not a box ticked at the point of sale. If your Korean entity closes, treat the .kr as something to transfer or wind down deliberately rather than leave running.
Yes, and it is a first-class option rather than a workaround. A second-level .kr name may be built from Hangul as well as Latin letters, digits and hyphens. The lengths differ: three to sixty-three characters for a Latin name, but two to seventeen where Hangul is included. A name still cannot start or end with a hyphen, and cannot start with xn--, which is the prefix the DNS uses internally for internationalised names.
Included with Your .kr Domain
DNS Management
Full DNS zone editor to manage A, CNAME, MX, TXT, and all record types.
Email Forwarding
Set up professional email addresses and forward to any inbox.
Auto-Renewal
Never lose your domain with automatic renewal protection.
Free 10GB Mailbox
One 10GB mailbox (POP3/IMAP) included with every domain, on any TLD.
Other Geographic Domains Extensions
Register your .kr domain today
Secure your .kr domain from just £45.00/yr. Free DNS management, email forwarding, and 10GB mailbox included.
