Cost of living comparison

Malaysia

compared to

South Korea

Seoul vs. Ipoh Cost of Living Summary

Seoul is 2.0 times more expensive than Ipoh.

Restaurants: pay 2.1 times more in Seoul
Groceries: pay 2.1 times more in Seoul
Transportation: pay 38.3% more in Seoul
Housing: pay 2.5 times more in Seoul
Childcare: pay 3.3 times more in Seoul
Entertainment and Sports: pay 69.5% more in Seoul
Clothing: pay 6.8% more in Seoul

The cost of childcare, housing, restaurants, groceries, entertainment and sports, and transportation in Seoul are more expensive than in Ipoh. Notably, childcare, housing, and restaurants are significantly more expensive in Seoul.

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Seoul vs. Ipoh Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.1 times more for restaurants

	Ipoh	Seoul
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.30 MYR13.42	$8.96 ₩12,215	+171.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.40 MYR17.89	$7.46 ₩10,179	+69.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.72 MYR2.93	$1.58 ₩2,158	+119.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.46 MYR1.87	$0.79 ₩1,072	+70.7%
Average			+115.0%

Ipoh vs. Seoul - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.1 times more for groceries

	Ipoh	Seoul
Bread 1 loaf	$1.04 MYR4.24	$3.10 ₩4,224	+196.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.76 MYR27.45	$8.84 ₩12,055	+30.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.67 MYR31.13	$7.79 ₩10,629	+1.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.28 MYR9.26	$3.61 ₩4,917	+58.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.02 MYR8.20	$4.74 ₩6,466	+134.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.39 MYR5.64	$3.46 ₩4,724	+149.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 MYR3.33	$1.57 ₩2,136	+91.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.04 MYR4.21	$2.59 ₩3,537	+150.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 MYR2.89	$2.83 ₩3,864	+298.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.59 MYR2.40	$1.66 ₩2,259	+180.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.62 MYR2.52	$1.16 ₩1,575	+85.9%
Average			+110.7%

Ipoh vs. Seoul - Cost of groceries

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pay 38.3% more for transportation

	Ipoh	Seoul
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.90 MYR7.71	$5.53 ₩7,545	+191.4%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$46.28 ₩63,112
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$41,736.41 MYR170K	$29,385.60 ₩40M	-29.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$11.01 MYR44.72	$8.51 ₩11,604	-22.7%
Average			+38.3%

Ipoh vs. Seoul - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.5 times more for housing

	Ipoh	Seoul
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$26.27 MYR106.70	$20.82 ₩28,392	-20.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$367.05 MYR1,490.79	$886.39 ₩1M	+141.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$244.70 MYR993.86	$620.25 ₩846K	+153.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$47.56 MYR193.17	$162.69 ₩222K	+242.1%
Average			+145.4%

Ipoh vs. Seoul - Cost of housing

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pay 3.3 times more for childcare

	Ipoh	Seoul
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$299.09 MYR1,214.74	$1,927.59 ₩3M	+544.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$13,124.70 MYR53,305.95	$22,602.27 ₩31M	+72.2%
Average			+233.2%

Ipoh vs. Seoul - Cost of childcare

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pay 69.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Ipoh	Seoul
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.40 MYR17.89	$3.73 ₩5,090	-15.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.81 MYR11.43	$4.10 ₩5,593	+45.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.40 MYR17.89	$3.36 ₩4,581	-23.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$24.47 MYR99.39	$58.22 ₩79,399	+137.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.43 MYR13.91	$11.20 ₩15,269	+226.8%
Average			+69.5%

Ipoh vs. Seoul - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 6.8% more for clothing

	Ipoh	Seoul
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$61.18 MYR248.46	$57.88 ₩78,937	-5.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$36.71 MYR149.08	$32.77 ₩44,695	-10.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$61.18 MYR248.46	$69.99 ₩95,451	+14.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$61.18 MYR248.46	$82.45 ₩112K	+34.8%
Average			+6.8%

Ipoh vs. Seoul - 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 November 2026). How we calculate this

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