Cost of living comparison
compared to
Seoul vs. P'yongyang Cost of Living Summary
Seoul is 3.1 times more expensive than P'yongyang.
Seoul vs. P'yongyang Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Seoul instead of P'yongyang, you would:
pay 15.5% less for restaurants
|
P'yongyang
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$4.81
KPW4,327
|
$8.96
₩11,955
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$21.26
KPW19,136
|
$7.46
₩9,962
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.21
KPW1,985
|
$1.58
₩2,112
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.28
KPW1,153
|
$0.79
₩1,049
|
|
P'yongyang vs. Seoul - Cost of restaurants
pay 74.7% more for groceries
|
P'yongyang
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.30
KPW2,071
|
$3.10
₩4,134
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) | ?? |
$8.84
₩11,798
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.55
KPW3,195
|
$7.79
₩10,403
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.00
KPW1,798
|
$3.61
₩4,813
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) | ?? |
$4.74
₩6,328
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) | ?? |
$3.46
₩4,624
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) | ?? |
$1.57
₩2,091
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) | ?? |
$2.59
₩3,462
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) | ?? |
$2.83
₩3,782
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) | ?? |
$1.66
₩2,211
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) | ?? |
$1.16
₩1,542
|
|
P'yongyang vs. Seoul - Cost of groceries
pay (unknown) more for transportation
|
P'yongyang
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) | ?? |
$5.53
₩7,384
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass | ?? |
$46.28
₩61,767
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) | ?? |
$29,385.60
₩39M
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | ?? |
$8.51
₩11,357
|
P'yongyang vs. Seoul - Cost of transportation
pay 8.3 times more for housing
|
P'yongyang
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
?? |
$20.82
₩27,787
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$89.58
KPW80,621
|
$886.39
₩1M
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$89.58
KPW80,621
|
$620.25
₩828K
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
?? |
$162.69
₩217K
|
|
P'yongyang vs. Seoul - Cost of housing
pay (unknown) more for childcare
|
P'yongyang
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly | ?? |
$1,927.59
₩3M
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters | ?? |
$22,602.27
₩30M
|
P'yongyang vs. Seoul - Cost of childcare
pay 8.8% less for entertainment and sports
|
P'yongyang
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$13.44
KPW12,093
|
$3.73
₩4,981
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$1.12
KPW1,008
|
$4.10
₩5,473
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
?? |
$3.36
₩4,483
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$75.02
KPW67,520
|
$58.22
₩77,707
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema | ?? |
$11.20
₩14,944
|
|
P'yongyang vs. Seoul - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay (unknown) more for clothing
|
P'yongyang
|
Seoul
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
?? |
$57.88
₩77,255
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
?? |
$32.77
₩43,743
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
?? |
$69.99
₩93,417
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) | ?? |
$82.45
₩110K
|
P'yongyang vs. Seoul - Cost of clothing
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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Compare further: P'yongyang vs. Seoul
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cost of living in North Korea vs. South Korea.
This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within North Korea and South Korea.
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