Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Korea vs. Cook Islands Cost of Living Summary

South Korea is 2.5 times more expensive than Cook Islands overall.

Restaurants: pay 47.1% less in South Korea
Groceries: pay 29.3% more in South Korea
Transportation: pay 48.1% more in South Korea
Housing: pay 13.1% more in South Korea
Childcare: pay 10.9 times more in South Korea
Entertainment and Sports: pay 5.6% more in South Korea
Clothing: pay 24.2% more in South Korea

The cost of childcare, transportation, groceries, clothing, housing, and entertainment and sports in South Korea are more expensive than in Cook Islands. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in South Korea.

South Korea vs. Cook Islands Cost Breakdown

If you lived in South Korea instead of Cook Islands, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 47.1% less for restaurants

	Cook Islands	South Korea
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$11.54 NZ$19.97	$6.72 ₩9,907	-41.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.93 NZ$13.73	$5.50 ₩8,102	-30.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.88 NZ$4.99	$1.47 ₩2,161	-49.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.50 NZ$4.33	$0.82 ₩1,216	-67.0%
Average			-47.1%

Cook Islands vs. South Korea - Cost of restaurants

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pay 29.3% more for groceries

	Cook Islands	South Korea
Bread 1 loaf	$3.11 NZ$5.38	$2.87 ₩4,235	-7.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.98 NZ$8.61	$5.63 ₩8,290	+13.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.37 NZ$12.76	$7.67 ₩11,311	+4.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.57 NZ$9.64	$2.84 ₩4,180	-49.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.40 NZ$5.89	$3.34 ₩4,917	-1.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.30 NZ$2.25	$3.24 ₩4,768	+148.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.05 NZ$1.81	$1.39 ₩2,045	+32.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.56 NZ$2.71	$2.80 ₩4,121	+78.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.75 NZ$4.76	$2.40 ₩3,543	-12.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.05 NZ$1.81	$1.78 ₩2,627	+70.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.82 NZ$1.43	$1.20 ₩1,775	+46.1%
Average			+29.3%

Cook Islands vs. South Korea - Cost of groceries

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pay 48.1% more for transportation

	Cook Islands	South Korea
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.56 NZ$11.36	$4.40 ₩6,485	-32.9%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$47.17 ₩69,524
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$11,538.70 NZ$19,973.52	$26,440.41 ₩38,967,875	+129.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	??	$8.33 ₩12,280
Average			+48.1%

Cook Islands vs. South Korea - Cost of transportation

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pay 13.1% more for housing

	Cook Islands	South Korea
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$105.96 NZ$183.42	$21.68 ₩31,958	-79.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$305.77 NZ$529.30	$473.91 ₩698,442	+55.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$305.77 NZ$529.30	$357.19 ₩526,420	+16.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$82.72 NZ$143.19	$132.53 ₩195,326	+60.2%
Average			+13.1%

Cook Islands vs. South Korea - Cost of housing

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pay 10.9 times more for childcare

	Cook Islands	South Korea
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	??	$378.52 ₩557,869
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,384.64 NZ$2,396.82	$15,055.40 ₩22,188,655	+987.3%
Average			+987.3%

Cook Islands vs. South Korea - Cost of childcare

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pay 5.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Cook Islands	South Korea
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.99 NZ$10.36	$3.12 ₩4,595	-47.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.80 NZ$6.57	$3.57 ₩5,258	-6.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$14.42 NZ$24.97	$3.18 ₩4,693	-77.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$24.04 NZ$41.61	$49.86 ₩73,483	+107.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.63 NZ$11.48	$10.12 ₩14,912	+52.5%
Average			+5.6%

Cook Islands vs. South Korea - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 24.2% more for clothing

	Cook Islands	South Korea
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$64.62 NZ$111.85	$66.46 ₩97,948	+2.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	??	$50.68 ₩74,697
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	??	$72.74 ₩107,204
Men's business shoes (leather)	$70.96 NZ$122.84	$103.23 ₩152,146	+45.5%
Average			+24.2%

Cook Islands vs. South Korea - Cost of clothing

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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: December 2025

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