Cost of living comparison

South Korea

compared to

China

Shanghai vs. Daejeon Cost of Living Summary

Shanghai is 0.1% more expensive than Daejeon.

Restaurants: pay 31.2% less in Shanghai
Groceries: pay 57.4% less in Shanghai
Transportation: pay 10.7% more in Shanghai
Housing: pay 61.1% more in Shanghai
Childcare: pay 2.4 times more in Shanghai
Entertainment and Sports: pay 10.8% less in Shanghai
Clothing: pay 11.4% less in Shanghai

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

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Shanghai vs. Daejeon Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 31.2% less for restaurants

	Daejeon	Shanghai
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.46 ₩9,962	$4.47 CN¥29.94	-40.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.45 ₩7,273	$5.22 CN¥34.93	-4.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.23 ₩1,644	$0.60 CN¥4.01	-51.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.66 ₩877	$0.37 CN¥2.47	-43.7%
Average			-31.2%

Daejeon vs. Shanghai - Cost of restaurants

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pay 57.4% less for groceries

	Daejeon	Shanghai
Bread 1 loaf	$2.71 ₩3,611	$1.98 CN¥13.22	-27.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.50 ₩7,347	$8.60 CN¥57.52	+56.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.08 ₩10,786	$6.88 CN¥46.02	-14.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.52 ₩3,367	$1.70 CN¥11.36	-32.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.64 ₩4,858	$1.48 CN¥9.89	-59.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$4.99 ₩6,665	$0.99 CN¥6.65	-80.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$2.52 ₩3,367	$0.77 CN¥5.16	-69.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.60 ₩3,464	$0.90 CN¥6.05	-65.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.69 ₩3,593	$0.77 CN¥5.15	-71.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$2.37 ₩3,163	$0.36 CN¥2.40	-84.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.25 ₩1,672	$0.43 CN¥2.90	-65.4%
Average			-57.4%

Daejeon vs. Shanghai - Cost of groceries

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pay 10.7% more for transportation

	Daejeon	Shanghai
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.72 ₩6,303	$4.96 CN¥33.21	+5.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$11.20 ₩14,944	$29.83 CN¥199.59	+166.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$28,162.26 ₩38M	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	-31.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.18 ₩12,254	$5.67 CN¥37.92	-38.3%
Average			+10.7%

Daejeon vs. Shanghai - Cost of transportation

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pay 61.1% more for housing

	Daejeon	Shanghai
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$22.39 ₩29,887	$10.55 CN¥70.59	-52.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$373.20 ₩498K	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	+177.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$298.56 ₩398K	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	+97.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$133.06 ₩178K	$44.06 CN¥294.77	-66.9%
Average			+61.1%

Daejeon vs. Shanghai - Cost of housing

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pay 2.4 times more for childcare

	Daejeon	Shanghai
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$302.29 ₩403K	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	+367.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$21,781.84 ₩29M	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	+27.1%
Average			+143.8%

Daejeon vs. Shanghai - Cost of childcare

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pay 10.8% less for entertainment and sports

	Daejeon	Shanghai
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.55 ₩4,732	$1.19 CN¥7.98	-66.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.68 ₩4,908	$3.35 CN¥22.41	-8.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.36 ₩4,483	$3.73 CN¥24.95	+11.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$33.59 ₩44,831	$65.69 CN¥439.52	+95.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.20 ₩14,944	$8.95 CN¥59.88	-20.1%
Average			-10.8%

Daejeon vs. Shanghai - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 11.4% less for clothing

	Daejeon	Shanghai
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$64.19 ₩85,677	$54.37 CN¥363.79	-15.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$41.05 ₩54,793	$37.09 CN¥248.19	-9.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$93.30 ₩125K	$75.49 CN¥505.08	-19.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$106.36 ₩142K	$105.70 CN¥707.25	-0.6%
Average			-11.4%

Daejeon vs. Shanghai - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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