Cost of living comparison

South Korea

compared to

Eritrea

Asmara vs. Seoul Cost of Living Summary

Asmara is 51.4% cheaper than Seoul.

Restaurants: pay 32.9% more in Asmara
Groceries: pay 44.3% less in Asmara
Transportation: pay 0.6% less in Asmara
Housing: pay 68.9% less in Asmara
Childcare: pay 96.1% less in Asmara
Entertainment and Sports: pay 79.9% less in Asmara
Clothing: pay 2.6 times more in Asmara

The cost of clothing and restaurants in Asmara are more expensive than in Seoul. Expenses including childcare, entertainment and sports, housing, groceries, and transportation are lower in Asmara. Notably, clothing is significantly more expensive in Asmara.

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Asmara vs. Seoul Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 32.9% more for restaurants

	Seoul	Asmara
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.96 ₩12,215	$21.00 ERN315.00	+134.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.46 ₩10,179	$5.99 ERN89.85	-19.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.58 ₩2,158	$1.00 ERN15.00	-36.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.79 ₩1,072	$1.00 ERN15.00	+27.2%
Average			+32.9%

Seoul vs. Asmara - Cost of restaurants

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pay 44.3% less for groceries

	Seoul	Asmara
Bread 1 loaf	$3.10 ₩4,224	??
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.84 ₩12,055	$1.50 ERN22.50	-83.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.79 ₩10,629	$6.06 ERN90.85	-22.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.61 ₩4,917	$4.38 ERN65.70	+21.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.74 ₩6,466	$12.17 ERN182.57	+156.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.46 ₩4,724	$5.54 ERN83.16	+60.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.57 ₩2,136	$0.58 ERN8.69	-63.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.59 ₩3,537	$0.91 ERN13.61	-65.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.83 ₩3,864	$0.53 ERN7.94	-81.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.66 ₩2,259	$0.82 ERN12.25	-50.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.16 ₩1,575	$0.42 ERN6.35	-63.3%
Average			-44.3%

Seoul vs. Asmara - Cost of groceries

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pay 0.6% less for transportation

	Seoul	Asmara
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.53 ₩7,545	$9.46 ERN141.95	+71.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$46.28 ₩63,112	$8.00 ERN120.00	-82.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,385.60 ₩40M	$66,666.00 ERN1000K	+126.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.51 ₩11,604	??
Average			-0.6%

Seoul vs. Asmara - Cost of transportation

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pay 68.9% less for housing

	Seoul	Asmara
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$20.82 ₩28,392	$200.00 ERN3,000.00	+860.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$886.39 ₩1M	$250.00 ERN3,750.00	-71.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$620.25 ₩846K	$200.00 ERN3,000.00	-67.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$162.69 ₩222K	$19.12 ERN286.76	-88.2%
Average			-68.9%

Seoul vs. Asmara - Cost of housing

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pay 96.1% less for childcare

	Seoul	Asmara
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,927.59 ₩3M	$25.00 ERN375.00	-98.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$22,602.27 ₩31M	$2,600.00 ERN39,000.00	-88.5%
Average			-96.1%

Seoul vs. Asmara - Cost of childcare

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pay 79.9% less for entertainment and sports

	Seoul	Asmara
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.73 ₩5,090	$0.60 ERN9.00	-83.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.10 ₩5,593	$0.80 ERN12.00	-80.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.36 ₩4,581	??
Monthly membership at local gym	$58.22 ₩79,399	$27.00 ERN405.00	-53.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.20 ₩15,269	$1.20 ERN18.00	-89.3%
Average			-79.9%

Seoul vs. Asmara - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.6 times more for clothing

	Seoul	Asmara
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$57.88 ₩78,937	$135.00 ERN2,025.00	+133.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.77 ₩44,695	$120.00 ERN1,800.00	+266.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$69.99 ₩95,451	$200.00 ERN3,000.00	+185.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$82.45 ₩112K	$150.00 ERN2,250.00	+81.9%
Average			+158.1%

Seoul vs. Asmara - 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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