Cost of living comparison

compared to

Seoul vs. Asmara Cost of Living Summary

Seoul is 3.9 times more expensive than Asmara.

Restaurants
pay 3.7% less in Seoul
Groceries
pay 2.4 times more in Seoul
Transportation
pay 2.2 times more in Seoul
Housing
pay 2.3 times more in Seoul
Childcare
pay 13.7 times more in Seoul
Entertainment and Sports
pay 5.2 times more in Seoul
Clothing
pay 36.3% less in Seoul

The cost of childcare, entertainment and sports, groceries, housing, and transportation in Seoul are more expensive than in Asmara. Expenses including clothing and restaurants are lower in Seoul. Notably, childcare, entertainment and sports, and groceries are significantly more expensive in Seoul.

Seoul vs. Asmara Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Seoul instead of Asmara, you would:

pay 3.7% less for restaurants

 
Asmara
Seoul
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $12.00
ERN180.00
$8.49
₩11,768
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$5.99
ERN89.85
$6.30
₩8,728
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.25
ERN18.75
$1.64
₩2,271

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pay 2.4 times more for groceries

 
Asmara
Seoul
Bread
1 loaf
?? $3.24
₩4,488
Local cheese (8 oz) $1.50
ERN22.50
$6.79
₩9,415
Milk (1 gallon) $5.30
ERN79.49
$7.85
₩10,877

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pay 2.2 times more for transportation

 
Asmara
Seoul
Gasoline (1 gallon) $8.52
ERN127.76
$4.43
₩6,141
Monthly public transit pass $8.00
ERN120.00
$45.99
₩63,746
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $66,666.00
ERN1000K
$25,072.36
₩35M

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pay 2.3 times more for housing

 
Asmara
Seoul
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$200.00
ERN3,000.00
$20.56
₩28,492
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $475.00
ERN7,125.00
$925.55
₩1M
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $400.00
ERN6,000.00
$559.33
₩775K

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pay 13.7 times more for childcare

 
Asmara
Seoul
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $25.00
ERN375.00
$360.15
₩499K
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $1,675.00
ERN25,125.00
$21,667.04
₩30M

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pay 5.2 times more for entertainment and sports

 
Asmara
Seoul
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $0.80
ERN12.00
$3.54
₩4,904
Cappuccino in mid-range area $0.82
ERN12.38
$3.70
₩5,126
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
?? $3.18
₩4,413

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pay 36.3% less for clothing

 
Asmara
Seoul
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$82.50
ERN1,237.50
$49.77
₩68,976
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$75.00
ERN1,125.00
$39.49
₩54,736
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$200.00
ERN3,000.00
$74.94
₩104K

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: September 2026
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