Three different tidal phase-lag references have been used by the tidal research community of Korea: Greek kappa (k), Local standard time zone ($135^{circ}E$) phase-lag (g) and Greenwich phase-lag (G). This ununified tidal information system may induce confusion in understanding tidal characteristics and their variability and impede the development of tidal knowledge in Korea. In this study we closely explore the three phase-lag reference definition with respect to their mutual conversion. We also identify an incorrect phase-lag reference definition used in previous works and discuss what has led to this misunderstanding.