Cost of living comparison

compared to

Gwangju vs. Bangkok Cost of Living Summary

Gwangju is 16.7% more expensive than Bangkok.

Restaurants
pay 67.8% more in Gwangju
Groceries
pay 73.9% more in Gwangju
Transportation
pay 0.7% more in Gwangju
Housing
pay 26.6% more in Gwangju
Childcare
pay 38.2% less in Gwangju
Entertainment and Sports
pay 1.2% more in Gwangju
Clothing
pay 15.4% less in Gwangju

The cost of groceries, restaurants, housing, entertainment and sports, and transportation in Gwangju are more expensive than in Bangkok. Expenses including childcare and clothing are lower in Gwangju.

Gwangju vs. Bangkok Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Gwangju instead of Bangkok, you would:

pay 67.8% more for restaurants

 
Bangkok
Gwangju
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $3.10
THB95.94
$6.72
₩9,685
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$6.20
THB191.88
$5.66
₩8,156
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.79
THB24.50
$1.32
₩1,897

Improve prices ·

pay 73.9% more for groceries

 
Bangkok
Gwangju
Bread
1 loaf
$1.44
THB44.56
$2.29
₩3,296
Local cheese (8 oz) $8.50
THB263.17
$3.54
₩5,097
Milk (1 gallon) $7.23
THB223.70
$6.70
₩9,648

Improve prices ·

pay 0.7% more for transportation

 
Bangkok
Gwangju
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.69
THB145.20
$4.43
₩6,379
Monthly public transit pass $37.21
THB1,151.31
$63.68
₩91,754
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $37,206.42
THB1M
$26,696.92
₩38M

Improve prices ·

pay 26.6% more for housing

 
Bangkok
Gwangju
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$16.91
THB523.14
$19.81
₩28,546
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $675.06
THB20,888.84
$436.33
₩629K
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $321.97
THB9,962.86
$341.99
₩493K

Improve prices ·

pay 38.2% less for childcare

 
Bangkok
Gwangju
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $609.37
THB18,856.37
$254.87
₩367K
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $13,346.39
THB413K
$10,906.99
₩16M

Improve prices ·

pay 1.2% more for entertainment and sports

 
Bangkok
Gwangju
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $2.79
THB86.35
$2.83
₩4,078
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.54
THB78.61
$3.48
₩5,013
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$4.40
THB136.00
$3.18
₩4,588

Improve prices ·

pay 15.4% less for clothing

 
Bangkok
Gwangju
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$58.81
THB1,819.65
$48.35
₩69,665
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$38.03
THB1,176.89
$35.38
₩50,975
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$104.24
THB3,225.49
$61.32
₩88,356

Improve prices ·
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: February 2026
Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Thailand vs. South Korea. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Thailand and South Korea.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Gwangju or Bangkok. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.