Cost of living comparison
compared to
South Korea vs. North Korea Cost of Living Summary
South Korea is 76.6% more expensive than North Korea overall.
South Korea vs. North Korea Cost Breakdown
If you lived in South Korea instead of North Korea, you would:
pay 33.3% less for restaurants
|
North Korea
|
South Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant | ?? |
$6.72
₩10,158
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
?? |
$5.50
₩8,307
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.34
KPW2,102
|
$1.47
₩2,216
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.17
KPW1,051
|
$0.82
₩1,247
|
|
North Korea vs. South Korea - Cost of restaurants
pay 54.4% more for groceries
|
North Korea
|
South Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.40
KPW2,161
|
$2.87
₩4,343
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) | ?? |
$5.63
₩8,501
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.70
KPW3,332
|
$7.67
₩11,599
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.08
KPW1,876
|
$2.84
₩4,286
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) | ?? |
$3.34
₩5,042
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) | ?? |
$3.24
₩4,890
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) | ?? |
$1.39
₩2,097
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) | ?? |
$2.80
₩4,226
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) | ?? |
$2.40
₩3,633
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) | ?? |
$1.78
₩2,694
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) | ?? |
$1.20
₩1,820
|
|
North Korea vs. South Korea - Cost of groceries
pay (unknown) more for transportation
|
North Korea
|
South Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) | ?? |
$4.40
₩6,650
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass | ?? |
$47.17
₩71,291
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) | ?? |
$26,440.41
₩40M
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | ?? |
$8.33
₩12,592
|
North Korea vs. South Korea - Cost of transportation
pay 3.2 times more for housing
|
North Korea
|
South Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
?? |
$21.68
₩32,770
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$93.44
KPW84,095
|
$473.91
₩716K
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$262.80
KPW237K
|
$357.19
₩540K
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
?? |
$132.53
₩200K
|
|
North Korea vs. South Korea - Cost of housing
pay (unknown) more for childcare
|
North Korea
|
South Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly | ?? |
$378.52
₩572K
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters | ?? |
$15,055.40
₩23M
|
North Korea vs. South Korea - Cost of childcare
pay 63.9% more for entertainment and sports
|
North Korea
|
South Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$14.02
KPW12,614
|
$3.12
₩4,712
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$1.17
KPW1,051
|
$3.57
₩5,392
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
?? |
$3.18
₩4,812
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym | ?? |
$49.86
₩75,351
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema | ?? |
$10.12
₩15,291
|
|
North Korea vs. South Korea - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay (unknown) more for clothing
|
North Korea
|
South Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
?? |
$66.46
₩100K
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
?? |
$50.68
₩76,595
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
?? |
$72.74
₩110K
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) | ?? |
$103.23
₩156K
|
North Korea vs. South Korea - Cost of clothing
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: April 2026
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