Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Korea vs. London Cost of Living Summary

South Korea is 40.6% cheaper than London.

Restaurants: pay 58.8% less in South Korea
Groceries: pay 44.7% more in South Korea
Transportation: pay 55.6% less in South Korea
Housing: pay 66.7% less in South Korea
Childcare: pay 66.0% less in South Korea
Entertainment and Sports: pay 50.9% less in South Korea
Clothing: pay 30.9% less in South Korea

Expenses including housing, childcare, restaurants, transportation, entertainment and sports, and clothing are lower in South Korea.

South Korea vs. London Cost Breakdown

If you lived in South Korea instead of London, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 58.8% less for restaurants

	London	South Korea
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$26.73 £20.04	$6.72 ₩9,907	-74.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$11.02 £8.26	$5.50 ₩8,102	-50.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.12 £2.34	$1.47 ₩2,161	-53.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.93 £1.44	$0.82 ₩1,216	-57.2%
Average			-58.8%

London vs. South Korea - Cost of restaurants

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pay 44.7% more for groceries

	London	South Korea
Bread 1 loaf	$2.16 £1.62	$2.87 ₩4,235	+33.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.54 £4.15	$5.63 ₩8,290	+1.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.58 £4.93	$7.67 ₩11,311	+16.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.02 £3.76	$2.84 ₩4,180	-43.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.95 £2.96	$3.34 ₩4,917	-15.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.53 £1.14	$3.24 ₩4,768	+112.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.83 £0.63	$1.39 ₩2,045	+66.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.44 £1.08	$2.80 ₩4,121	+94.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.64 £1.23	$2.40 ₩3,543	+46.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.76 £0.57	$1.78 ₩2,627	+135.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.83 £0.62	$1.20 ₩1,775	+44.7%
Average			+44.7%

London vs. South Korea - Cost of groceries

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pay 55.6% less for transportation

	London	South Korea
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.12 £5.34	$4.40 ₩6,485	-38.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$240.54 £180.32	$47.17 ₩69,524	-80.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$37,798.76 £28,334.89	$26,440.41 ₩38,967,875	-30.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$31.75 £23.80	$8.33 ₩12,280	-73.8%
Average			-55.6%

London vs. South Korea - Cost of transportation

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pay 66.7% less for housing

	London	South Korea
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$42.83 £32.11	$21.68 ₩31,958	-49.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$3,083.09 £2,311.16	$473.91 ₩698,442	-84.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$2,340.14 £1,754.23	$357.19 ₩526,420	-84.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$255.85 £191.79	$132.53 ₩195,326	-48.2%
Average			-66.7%

London vs. South Korea - Cost of housing

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pay 66.0% less for childcare

	London	South Korea
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$2,480.84 £1,859.70	$378.52 ₩557,869	-84.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$28,512.27 £21,373.51	$15,055.40 ₩22,188,655	-47.2%
Average			-66.0%

London vs. South Korea - Cost of childcare

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pay 50.9% less for entertainment and sports

	London	South Korea
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$8.69 £6.51	$3.12 ₩4,595	-64.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.21 £3.90	$3.57 ₩5,258	-31.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$22.72 £17.03	$3.18 ₩4,693	-86.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$64.95 £48.69	$49.86 ₩73,483	-23.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$20.05 £15.03	$10.12 ₩14,912	-49.5%
Average			-50.9%

London vs. South Korea - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 30.9% less for clothing

	London	South Korea
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$116.11 £87.04	$66.46 ₩97,948	-42.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$52.02 £39.00	$50.68 ₩74,697	-2.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$125.96 £94.43	$72.74 ₩107,204	-42.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$160.88 £120.60	$103.23 ₩152,146	-35.8%
Average			-30.9%

London 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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