Cost of living comparison

Philippines

compared to

South Korea

Gwangju vs. Manila Cost of Living Summary

Gwangju is 41.4% more expensive than Manila.

Restaurants: pay 27.2% more in Gwangju
Groceries: pay 43.4% more in Gwangju
Transportation: pay 2.3 times more in Gwangju
Housing: pay 10.8% more in Gwangju
Childcare: pay 24.0% more in Gwangju
Entertainment and Sports: pay 29.6% more in Gwangju
Clothing: pay 21.3% more in Gwangju

The cost of transportation, groceries, entertainment and sports, restaurants, childcare, and clothing in Gwangju are more expensive than in Manila. Notably, transportation is significantly more expensive in Gwangju.

Gwangju vs. Manila Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Gwangju instead of Manila, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 27.2% more for restaurants

	Manila	Gwangju
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.02 ₱365.16	$6.72 ₩10,271	+11.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.30 ₱260.83	$5.66 ₩8,649	+31.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.97 ₱58.90	$1.32 ₩2,011	+35.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.50 ₱30.54	$0.66 ₩1,002	+30.2%
Average			+27.2%

Manila vs. Gwangju - Cost of restaurants

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pay 43.4% more for groceries

	Manila	Gwangju
Bread 1 loaf	$1.33 ₱80.88	$2.29 ₩3,496	+71.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.28 ₱259.31	$3.54 ₩5,406	-17.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.32 ₱443.94	$6.70 ₩10,232	-8.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.21 ₱134.23	$2.55 ₩3,892	+15.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.28 ₱138.47	$2.94 ₩4,495	+28.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.52 ₱91.92	$3.26 ₩4,986	+115.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 ₱49.87	$1.28 ₩1,962	+56.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.64 ₱99.26	$2.78 ₩4,250	+69.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.02 ₱62.09	$2.46 ₩3,760	+140.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.17 ₱70.95	$1.50 ₩2,289	+28.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.37 ₱83.35	$1.07 ₩1,635	-22.2%
Average			+43.4%

Manila vs. Gwangju - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.3 times more for transportation

	Manila	Gwangju
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.18 ₱253.49	$4.43 ₩6,764	+5.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$13.76 ₱834.65	$63.68 ₩97,304	+362.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,288.58 ₱2M	$26,696.92 ₩41M	+5.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$2.92 ₱177.36	$7.59 ₩11,597	+159.5%
Average			+133.4%

Manila vs. Gwangju - Cost of transportation

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pay 10.8% more for housing

	Manila	Gwangju
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$27.10 ₱1,643.65	$19.81 ₩30,272	-26.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$512.96 ₱31,109.78	$436.33 ₩667K	-14.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$251.74 ₱15,267.14	$341.99 ₩523K	+35.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$100.49 ₱6,094.47	$149.85 ₩229K	+49.1%
Average			+10.8%

Manila vs. Gwangju - Cost of housing

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pay 24.0% more for childcare

	Manila	Gwangju
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$138.58 ₱8,404.50	$254.87 ₩389K	+83.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$17,035.39 ₱1M	$10,906.99 ₩17M	-36.0%
Average			+24.0%

Manila vs. Gwangju - Cost of childcare

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pay 29.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Manila	Gwangju
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.46 ₱88.68	$2.83 ₩4,325	+93.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.59 ₱156.91	$3.48 ₩5,316	+34.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.27 ₱198.23	$3.18 ₩4,865	-2.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$42.13 ₱2,555.26	$45.99 ₩70,275	+9.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.48 ₱453.84	$8.49 ₩12,974	+13.5%
Average			+29.6%

Manila vs. Gwangju - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 21.3% more for clothing

	Manila	Gwangju
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.23 ₱2,985.49	$48.35 ₩73,879	-1.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$29.70 ₱1,801.05	$35.38 ₩54,058	+19.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$80.85 ₱4,903.52	$61.32 ₩93,700	-24.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$49.70 ₱3,013.91	$95.52 ₩146K	+92.2%
Average			+21.3%

Manila vs. Gwangju - 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: June 2026

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