To use a professional email address like myname@mydomain.com for personal branding or business, you would typically think of paid services like Google Workspace, MS 365, or Naver Works first. However, if you are an individual or a small organization that wants to use a custom domain email without the cost, Daum Smart Work can be an excellent free alternative. Daum Smart Work currently offers up to 500 accounts for free, and with ample storage, it enables stable email service usage.
Here is a detailed, step-by-step guide on how to create and use your own domain email account through Daum Smart Work.
Step 1 : Sign up for Daum Smart Work Service
First, you need to go through the Daum Smart Work service application process.
- Access the Daum Smart Work Homepage : Search for ‘Daum 스마트워크’ in the Daum search bar or enter https://mail.daum.net/smartwork in the address bar to go to the homepage.
- Sign Up : Click the “스마트워크 신청하기” (Apply for Smart Work) button in the center of the homepage.
- Enter Domain : Enter the personal domain address you own (e.g., mydomain.com).
- Enter Information : Enter the service administrator’s information. A Daum ID for the administrator is required at this time; if you don’t have one, you must create a new one. Fill in all the necessary information, such as the sender’s name, and proceed to the next step.
- Application Complete : Once the application is complete, a screen will appear with instructions for setting the MX server address.
Step 2 : Configure Domain MX Records
An MX (Mail Exchanger) record is information that tells which mail server to send incoming emails to for your domain. This is a mandatory process to use the Daum mail server.
- Access Your Domain Registrar : Log in to the website of the company where you purchased your domain, such as GoDaddy, Bluehost, or Namecheap.
- Navigate to DNS Management Menu : Go to a menu such as ‘DNS Management’, ‘Nameserver Settings’, or ‘Domain Management’.
- Add MX Record : Add an MX record in the DNS record management menu. You must accurately enter the following MX server addresses and priorities as guided by Daum Smart Work.
| Mail Server Address | Priority |
| ASPMX.daum.net | 10 |
| ALT.ASPMX.daum.net | 20 |
* Note : Most domain hosting companies provide a feature to easily set up MX records for major portal sites. It is convenient to use the ‘Daum Smart Work’ or ‘Daum Mail’ automatic setup feature if available. 
- Confirm Setup : Once the MX record setup is complete, wait until the status on the Daum Smart Work management page changes from ‘MX 설정 대기중’ (Awaiting MX setup) to ‘사용중’ (In use). It may take from a few hours to a maximum of 72 hours for the DNS information to propagate.
Step 3: Invite and Manage Users
Once the MX record setup is complete and the service status changes to ‘사용중’ (In use), you can now invite members to use the domain email.
- Access Daum Smart Work Management Page : After logging into Daum Mail, click the ‘스마트워크’ (Smart Work) menu on the bottom left to go to the management page.
- Invite Members : Click the +회원초대 (+Invite Member) button in the ‘회원정보’ (Member Information) or ‘회원관리’ (Member Management) menu.
- Enter Invitation Information : Enter the name of the member to invite, the email address to be created (e.g., user@mydomain.com), and the existing email address to receive the invitation mail.
- Accept Invitation : The invited member checks the invitation email sent to their address and clicks ‘초대 수락하기’ (Accept Invitation) to connect their Daum account, which will enable them to use the domain email address.
- Invite Multiple Members : If you need to invite several people at once, you can conveniently process them in bulk using the CSV file upload feature.
💡 Key Features of Daum Smart Work
- Free : You can use up to 500 accounts for free, and if you need more than 500, you can contact customer service for additional support.
- Ample Storage : A default of 20GB of mail storage is provided per account.
- Powerful Spam Filtering : The powerful spam filtering technology of Daum Mail is applied as is, providing a clean mail environment.
- Additional Features : It supports not only webmail but also mobile webmail and external mail client integration (Outlook, smartphone apps, etc.) via IMAP/POP3.
- Enhanced Security : Starting from December 16, 2024, 2-step verification will be mandatory when applying for new domains, further strengthening security.
In this way, using Daum Smart Work allows you to operate a professional-looking custom domain email for free without setting up a separate server or subscribing to a paid service. Follow the procedures above step by step to build a smart email environment.
