Cost of living comparison

compared to

Seoul vs. Daejeon Cost of Living Summary

Seoul is 28.7% more expensive than Daejeon.

Restaurants: pay 16.7% more in Seoul
Groceries: pay 10.0% more in Seoul
Transportation: pay 87.5% more in Seoul
Housing: pay 57.4% more in Seoul
Childcare: pay 1.9% less in Seoul
Entertainment and Sports: pay 36.0% more in Seoul
Clothing: pay 5.0% less in Seoul

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

Seoul vs. Daejeon Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 16.7% more for restaurants

	Daejeon	Seoul
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.72 ₩9,907	$8.49 ₩12,514	+26.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.17 ₩7,612	$6.30 ₩9,281	+21.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.39 ₩2,044	$1.64 ₩2,415	+18.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.78 ₩1,147	$0.78 ₩1,151	+0.3%
Average			+16.7%

Daejeon vs. Seoul - Cost of restaurants

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pay 10.0% more for groceries

	Daejeon	Seoul
Bread 1 loaf	$2.56 ₩3,780	$3.24 ₩4,772	+26.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.09 ₩7,508	$6.79 ₩10,011	+33.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.66 ₩11,290	$7.85 ₩11,566	+2.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.51 ₩3,696	$2.93 ₩4,321	+16.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.45 ₩5,085	$4.67 ₩6,880	+35.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.69 ₩5,440	$3.45 ₩5,078	-6.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.44 ₩2,129	$1.52 ₩2,246	+5.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.46 ₩3,626	$2.35 ₩3,466	-4.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.30 ₩3,387	$2.77 ₩4,086	+20.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$2.25 ₩3,311	$1.62 ₩2,386	-27.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.19 ₩1,750	$1.30 ₩1,912	+9.2%
Average			+10.0%

Daejeon vs. Seoul - Cost of groceries

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pay 87.5% more for transportation

	Daejeon	Seoul
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.34 ₩6,401	$4.43 ₩6,530	+2.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$10.61 ₩15,642	$45.99 ₩67,782	+333.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,696.92 ₩39,345,918	$25,072.36 ₩36,951,647	-6.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.70 ₩12,826	$10.50 ₩15,475	+20.7%
Average			+87.5%

Daejeon vs. Seoul - Cost of transportation

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pay 57.4% more for housing

	Daejeon	Seoul
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$23.59 ₩34,760	$20.56 ₩30,296	-12.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$353.78 ₩521,400	$925.55 ₩1,364,083	+161.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$301.89 ₩444,928	$559.33 ₩824,340	+85.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$124.45 ₩183,410	$118.88 ₩175,208	-4.5%
Average			+57.4%

Daejeon vs. Seoul - Cost of housing

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pay 1.9% less for childcare

	Daejeon	Seoul
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$273.59 ₩403,216	$360.15 ₩530,786	+31.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$33,609.06 ₩49,533,039	$21,667.04 ₩31,932,878	-35.5%
Average			-1.9%

Daejeon vs. Seoul - Cost of childcare

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pay 36.0% more for entertainment and sports

	Daejeon	Seoul
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.18 ₩4,693	$3.54 ₩5,214	+11.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.60 ₩5,301	$3.70 ₩5,450	+2.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.18 ₩4,693	$3.18 ₩4,693
Monthly membership at local gym	$29.01 ₩42,755	$56.34 ₩83,028	+94.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.61 ₩15,642	$10.61 ₩15,642
Average			+36.0%

Daejeon vs. Seoul - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 5.0% less for clothing

	Daejeon	Seoul
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$60.85 ₩89,681	$49.77 ₩73,344	-18.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$38.92 ₩57,354	$39.49 ₩58,201	+1.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$76.06 ₩112,101	$74.94 ₩110,450	-1.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$100.83 ₩148,599	$99.06 ₩145,992	-1.8%
Average			-5.0%

Daejeon vs. Seoul - 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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