Cost of living comparison
compared to
South Korea vs. South Africa Cost of Living Summary
South Korea is 35.6% more expensive than South Africa overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 10.5% less in South Korea
- Groceries
-
pay 2.4 times more in South Korea
- Transportation
-
pay 13.4% less in South Korea
- Housing
-
pay 18.2% more in South Korea
- Childcare
-
pay 3.4 times more in South Korea
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 54.7% more in South Korea
- Clothing
-
pay 16.9% more in South Korea
The cost of childcare, groceries, entertainment and sports, housing, and clothing in South Korea are more expensive than in South Africa. Expenses including transportation and restaurants are lower in South Korea. Notably, childcare and groceries are significantly more expensive in South Korea.
South Korea vs. South Africa Cost Breakdown
If you lived in South Korea instead of South Africa, you would:
pay 10.5% less for restaurants
|
South Africa
|
South Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$10.21
ZAR168.71
|
$7.06
₩9,627
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$5.91
ZAR97.64
|
$6.17
₩8,410
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.08
ZAR17.90
|
$1.53
₩2,083
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.84
ZAR13.80
|
$0.88
₩1,207
|
|
South Africa vs. South Korea - Cost of restaurants
pay 2.4 times more for groceries
|
South Africa
|
South Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.07
ZAR17.62
|
$3.04
₩4,143
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.08
ZAR67.43
|
$6.12
₩8,352
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.58
ZAR75.61
|
$8.23
₩11,221
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.56
ZAR42.35
|
$2.94
₩4,009
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.31
ZAR38.22
|
$4.11
₩5,604
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$0.81
ZAR13.42
|
$4.00
₩5,458
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.74
ZAR12.15
|
$1.55
₩2,114
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.79
ZAR12.97
|
$3.00
₩4,087
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.77
ZAR12.73
|
$2.63
₩3,590
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.64
ZAR10.64
|
$2.03
₩2,774
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.66
ZAR10.87
|
$1.26
₩1,722
|
|
South Africa vs. South Korea - Cost of groceries
pay 13.4% less for transportation
|
South Africa
|
South Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.49
ZAR90.67
|
$5.01
₩6,830
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass |
$65.15
ZAR1,076.21
|
$46.10
₩62,878
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$32,517.32
ZAR537K
|
$28,394.53
₩39M
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$7.35
ZAR121.38
|
$8.59
₩11,720
|
|
South Africa vs. South Korea - Cost of transportation
pay 18.2% more for housing
|
South Africa
|
South Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$38.93
ZAR643.16
|
$24.34
₩33,198
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$421.37
ZAR6,960.81
|
$561.73
₩766K
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$369.24
ZAR6,099.71
|
$387.83
₩529K
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$105.57
ZAR1,743.93
|
$153.72
₩210K
|
|
South Africa vs. South Korea - Cost of housing
pay 3.4 times more for childcare
|
South Africa
|
South Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$199.53
ZAR3,296.18
|
$545.93
₩745K
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$4,917.78
ZAR81,238.86
|
$20,214.53
₩28M
|
|
South Africa vs. South Korea - Cost of childcare
pay 54.7% more for entertainment and sports
|
South Africa
|
South Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.25
ZAR37.18
|
$3.30
₩4,499
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.25
ZAR37.24
|
$3.66
₩4,995
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$3.16
ZAR52.21
|
$3.35
₩4,565
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$31.59
ZAR521.86
|
$57.32
₩78,173
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$7.32
ZAR120.89
|
$11.28
₩15,390
|
|
South Africa vs. South Korea - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 16.9% more for clothing
|
South Africa
|
South Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$52.66
ZAR869.89
|
$67.53
₩92,101
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$34.13
ZAR563.79
|
$53.43
₩72,869
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$99.75
ZAR1,647.83
|
$78.10
₩107K
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$86.61
ZAR1,430.70
|
$102.84
₩140K
|
|
South Africa vs. South Korea - 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 November 2026). How we calculate this
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