Cost of living comparison

compared to

Gwangju vs. South Korea Cost of Living Summary

Gwangju is 10.7% cheaper than South Korea overall.

Restaurants: pay 9.2% less in Gwangju
Groceries: pay 11.3% less in Gwangju
Transportation: pay 6.9% more in Gwangju
Housing: pay 1.9% less in Gwangju
Childcare: pay 30.2% less in Gwangju
Entertainment and Sports: pay 8.9% less in Gwangju
Clothing: pay 20.1% less in Gwangju

Expenses including childcare, clothing, groceries, restaurants, entertainment and sports, and housing are lower in Gwangju.

Gwangju vs. South Korea Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Gwangju instead of South Korea, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 9.2% less for restaurants

	South Korea	Gwangju
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.72 ₩9,920	$6.72 ₩9,920
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.50 ₩8,112	$5.66 ₩8,354	+3.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.47 ₩2,164	$1.32 ₩1,942	-10.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.82 ₩1,217	$0.66 ₩968	-20.5%
Average			-9.2%

South Korea vs. Gwangju - Cost of restaurants

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pay 11.3% less for groceries

	South Korea	Gwangju
Bread 1 loaf	$2.87 ₩4,241	$2.29 ₩3,376	-20.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.63 ₩8,301	$3.54 ₩5,221	-37.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.67 ₩11,326	$6.70 ₩9,882	-12.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.84 ₩4,186	$2.55 ₩3,759	-10.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.34 ₩4,923	$2.94 ₩4,342	-11.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.24 ₩4,775	$3.26 ₩4,815	+0.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.39 ₩2,048	$1.28 ₩1,895	-7.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.80 ₩4,127	$2.78 ₩4,105	-0.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.40 ₩3,548	$2.46 ₩3,631	+2.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.78 ₩2,630	$1.50 ₩2,210	-16.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.20 ₩1,777	$1.07 ₩1,579	-11.1%
Average			-11.3%

South Korea vs. Gwangju - Cost of groceries

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pay 6.9% more for transportation

	South Korea	Gwangju
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.40 ₩6,494	$4.43 ₩6,533	+0.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$47.17 ₩69,616	$63.68 ₩93,977	+35.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,440.41 ₩39,019,698	$26,696.92 ₩39,398,244	+1.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.33 ₩12,296	$7.59 ₩11,200	-8.9%
Average			+6.9%

South Korea vs. Gwangju - Cost of transportation

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pay 1.9% less for housing

	South Korea	Gwangju
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$21.68 ₩32,001	$19.81 ₩29,237	-8.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$473.91 ₩699,370	$436.33 ₩643,916	-7.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$357.19 ₩527,120	$341.99 ₩504,691	-4.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$132.53 ₩195,586	$149.85 ₩221,145	+13.1%
Average			-1.9%

South Korea vs. Gwangju - Cost of housing

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pay 30.2% less for childcare

	South Korea	Gwangju
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$378.52 ₩558,610	$254.87 ₩376,120	-32.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$15,055.40 ₩22,218,164	$10,906.99 ₩16,096,103	-27.6%
Average			-30.2%

South Korea vs. Gwangju - Cost of childcare

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pay 8.9% less for entertainment and sports

	South Korea	Gwangju
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.12 ₩4,602	$2.83 ₩4,177	-9.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.57 ₩5,265	$3.48 ₩5,134	-2.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.18 ₩4,699	$3.18 ₩4,699
Monthly membership at local gym	$49.86 ₩73,581	$45.99 ₩67,872	-7.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.12 ₩14,932	$8.49 ₩12,530	-16.1%
Average			-8.9%

South Korea vs. Gwangju - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 20.1% less for clothing

	South Korea	Gwangju
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$66.46 ₩98,079	$48.35 ₩71,353	-27.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$50.68 ₩74,796	$35.38 ₩52,209	-30.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$72.74 ₩107,346	$61.32 ₩90,496	-15.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$103.23 ₩152,349	$95.52 ₩140,965	-7.5%
Average			-20.1%

South Korea 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: December 2025

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