Cost of living comparison
compared to
Seoul vs. Busan Cost of Living Summary
Seoul is 1.8% more expensive than Busan.
Seoul vs. Busan Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Seoul instead of Busan, you would:
pay 6.6% less for restaurants
|
Busan
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$7.08
₩10,671
|
$8.49
₩12,805
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$6.01
₩9,070
|
$6.30
₩9,497
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.83
₩2,761
|
$1.64
₩2,471
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.31
₩1,982
|
$0.78
₩1,177
|
|
Busan vs. Seoul - Cost of restaurants
pay 1.3% more for groceries
|
Busan
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.18
₩4,802
|
$3.24
₩4,883
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$5.09
₩7,683
|
$6.79
₩10,244
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$8.15
₩12,293
|
$7.85
₩11,835
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.88
₩4,346
|
$2.93
₩4,421
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.59
₩5,421
|
$4.67
₩7,040
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$3.69
₩5,566
|
$3.45
₩5,196
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.44
₩2,178
|
$1.52
₩2,299
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$3.33
₩5,025
|
$2.35
₩3,546
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.30
₩3,466
|
$2.77
₩4,181
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$2.25
₩3,388
|
$1.62
₩2,442
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.46
₩2,202
|
$1.30
₩1,956
|
|
Busan vs. Seoul - Cost of groceries
pay 1.9% less for transportation
|
Busan
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.36
₩6,575
|
$4.43
₩6,682
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$56.60
₩85,364
|
$45.99
₩69,359
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$26,696.92
₩40M
|
$25,072.36
₩38M
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$9.06
₩13,658
|
$10.50
₩15,835
|
|
Busan vs. Seoul - Cost of transportation
pay 32.3% more for housing
|
Busan
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$28.30
₩42,682
|
$20.56
₩31,000
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$489.40
₩738K
|
$925.55
₩1M
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$306.61
₩462K
|
$559.33
₩844K
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$139.76
₩211K
|
$118.88
₩179K
|
|
Busan vs. Seoul - Cost of housing
pay 17.8% more for childcare
|
Busan
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$471.71
₩711K
|
$360.15
₩543K
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$13,620.52
₩21M
|
$21,667.04
₩33M
|
|
Busan vs. Seoul - Cost of childcare
pay 4.1% less for entertainment and sports
|
Busan
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$3.54
₩5,335
|
$3.54
₩5,335
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.00
₩6,029
|
$3.70
₩5,577
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$3.18
₩4,802
|
$3.18
₩4,802
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$57.31
₩86,431
|
$56.34
₩84,959
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$10.97
₩16,539
|
$10.61
₩16,006
|
|
Busan vs. Seoul - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 26.3% less for clothing
|
Busan
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$99.06
₩149K
|
$49.77
₩75,049
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$61.91
₩93,367
|
$39.49
₩59,555
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$76.06
₩115K
|
$74.94
₩113K
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$120.29
₩181K
|
$99.06
₩149K
|
|
Busan vs. Seoul - Cost of clothing
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: April 2026
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