Cost of living comparison

South Korea

compared to

Panama

Panama vs. South Korea Cost of Living Summary

Panama is 4.5% cheaper than South Korea overall.

Restaurants: pay 25.4% more in Panama
Groceries: pay 31.6% less in Panama
Transportation: pay 18.9% less in Panama
Housing: pay 33.2% more in Panama
Childcare: pay 40.4% less in Panama
Entertainment and Sports: pay 19.2% less in Panama
Clothing: pay 22.8% less in Panama

The cost of housing and restaurants in Panama are more expensive than in South Korea. Expenses including childcare, groceries, clothing, entertainment and sports, and transportation are lower in Panama.

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Panama vs. South Korea Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 25.4% more for restaurants

	South Korea	Panama
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$7.06 ₩9,422	$8.20 PAB8.20	+16.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.17 ₩8,230	$8.90 PAB8.90	+44.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.53 ₩2,039	$1.41 PAB1.41	-7.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.88 ₩1,181	$1.30 PAB1.30	+47.5%
Average			+25.4%

South Korea vs. Panama - Cost of restaurants

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pay 31.6% less for groceries

	South Korea	Panama
Bread 1 loaf	$3.04 ₩4,055	$2.28 PAB2.28	-24.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.12 ₩8,174	$6.18 PAB6.18	+1.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.23 ₩10,982	$7.09 PAB7.09	-13.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.94 ₩3,923	$2.56 PAB2.56	-13.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.11 ₩5,484	$3.42 PAB3.42	-16.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$4.00 ₩5,342	$1.86 PAB1.86	-53.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.55 ₩2,069	$0.59 PAB0.59	-61.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$3.00 ₩4,000	$1.76 PAB1.76	-41.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.63 ₩3,513	$1.67 PAB1.67	-36.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$2.03 ₩2,715	$1.09 PAB1.09	-46.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.26 ₩1,685	$1.14 PAB1.14	-9.5%
Average			-31.6%

South Korea vs. Panama - Cost of groceries

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pay 18.9% less for transportation

	South Korea	Panama
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.01 ₩6,685	$4.34 PAB4.34	-13.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$46.10 ₩61,538	$23.00 PAB23.00	-50.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$28,394.53 ₩38M	$23,920.67 PAB23,920.67	-15.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.59 ₩11,470	$16.62 PAB16.62	+93.4%
Average			-18.9%

South Korea vs. Panama - Cost of transportation

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pay 33.2% more for housing

	South Korea	Panama
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$24.34 ₩32,490	$49.81 PAB49.81	+104.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$561.73 ₩750K	$789.50 PAB789.50	+40.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$387.83 ₩518K	$614.84 PAB614.84	+58.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$153.72 ₩205K	$96.53 PAB96.53	-37.2%
Average			+33.2%

South Korea vs. Panama - Cost of housing

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pay 40.4% less for childcare

	South Korea	Panama
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$545.93 ₩729K	$543.33 PAB543.33	-0.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$20,214.53 ₩27M	$7,213.83 PAB7,213.83	-64.3%
Average			-40.4%

South Korea vs. Panama - Cost of childcare

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pay 19.2% less for entertainment and sports

	South Korea	Panama
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.30 ₩4,403	$2.21 PAB2.21	-33.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.66 ₩4,888	$3.73 PAB3.73	+1.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.35 ₩4,467	$5.29 PAB5.29	+58.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$57.32 ₩76,507	$50.91 PAB50.91	-11.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.28 ₩15,062	$6.13 PAB6.13	-45.6%
Average			-19.2%

South Korea vs. Panama - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 22.8% less for clothing

	South Korea	Panama
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$67.53 ₩90,139	$45.56 PAB45.56	-32.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$53.43 ₩71,316	$36.71 PAB36.71	-31.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$78.10 ₩104K	$69.81 PAB69.81	-10.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$102.84 ₩137K	$88.33 PAB88.33	-14.1%
Average			-22.8%

South Korea vs. Panama - 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 October 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: South Korea vs. Panama

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Panama?

Quality of Life Comparison · 19 statistics

Be 3.1 times more likely to be unemployed in Panama

Size Comparison · See true size

South Korea is about 1.3 times bigger than Panama.

Moving from South Korea to Panama · UN DESA 2020

483 people born in South Korea live in Panama.

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