Korean Clothing & Shoe Sizes
Korean sizes are numbers too — they just count something different. Pick what you normally wear and see where you land.
In Korea you want
66
M
bust ~88 cm
| Korea | US | UK | EU | Body |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 44XS | 0–2 | 4–6 | 32–34 | bust ~82 cm |
| 55S | 4 | 8 | 36 | bust ~85 cm |
| 66M | 6–8 | 10–12 | 38–40 | bust ~88 cm |
| 77L | 10–12 | 14–16 | 42–44 | bust ~91 cm |
| 88XL | 14 | 18 | 46 | bust ~94 cm |
These are starting points, not guarantees. Korean shops know their own sizing varies, which is why nearly every product page lists 실측 (actual measurements) in centimetres — shoulder, chest, total length. That table is the real answer; this one tells you which row to look at.
Why the numbers look like that
Three different systems are in play, and none of them is the one you grew up with.
Women's 44 / 55 / 66 / 77 are grades from a 1970s standard. The digits once encoded height and bust — 55 meant roughly 155 cm tall with an 85 cm bust — and the scale outlived the definition. Nobody in Korea calculates anything from them now; they are just names for sizes, the way S and M are.
Men's 90 / 95 / 100 / 105 are honest: the number is your chest measurement in centimetres. If your chest is 100 cm, you wear 100. This is the easiest system on the page and it is worth remembering, because it also shows up on jackets and school uniforms.
Shoes are millimetres. 250 is a 25.0 cm foot. Measure heel to longest toe, in centimetres, times ten. Korean shoe shops will hand you a measuring plate without being asked, and the number they say out loud is the size.
What to check before ordering
- Find the 실측 table. Every serious Korean shop lists shoulder (어깨), chest (가슴), and length (총장) in centimetres. Compare against a garment you already own and it stops being a guess.
- "Free size" (프리사이즈) is a real size, roughly Korean 55–66. It is not generous.
- Shoes: go up 5 mm if you are between sizes or if the shoe is narrow. Korean lasts tend to be cut slim.
- Returns from abroad are the expensive part. Shipping a wrong size back to Korea usually costs more than the item; buying in person in Myeongdong or Hongdae avoids the whole problem.
Common questions
What does Korean size 55 mean?
55 is a women's clothing grade, not a measurement — it sits around a US 4 or UK 8. The scale runs 44, 55, 66, 77, 88, and it comes from a 1970s national standard where the digits encoded height and bust. The numbers stayed even though the original meaning is long gone, which is why they look arbitrary now.
Why is my Korean shoe size a three-digit number?
Korea sizes shoes in millimetres, so 250 means a 25.0 cm foot. It is the most literal system in use anywhere — measure your foot in centimetres, multiply by ten, and that is your starting size. A US women's 8 is about 250, a US men's 9 is about 270.
Do Korean sizes run small?
For clothing, usually yes, and more so for anything fitted. Korean women's brands in particular cut narrow through the shoulders and hips, and 'free size' — which many small shops sell instead of a size range — is generally around a Korean 55 to 66. Shoes are closer to true, because millimetres are millimetres.
What is 'free size'?
One size, sold with no size chart, common in Korean online shops and street-market brands. It is not one-size-fits-all: in practice it fits roughly a Korean 55–66, so a US 4 to 8. If a listing says 프리사이즈 and gives no measurements, that is what it means.
Shopping in person?
Sizes matter less when you can try things on. The trip planner has the shopping districts by neighbourhood, and the won converter tells you whether that price is actually a bargain.
While you're here
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