Cost of living comparison

compared to

Seoul vs. South Korea Cost of Living Summary

Seoul is 10.8% more expensive than South Korea overall.

Restaurants: pay 11.8% more in Seoul
Groceries: pay 8.5% more in Seoul
Transportation: pay 4.8% more in Seoul
Housing: pay 34.1% more in Seoul
Childcare: pay 19.5% more in Seoul
Entertainment and Sports: pay 8.8% more in Seoul
Clothing: pay 12.1% less in Seoul

The cost of housing, childcare, restaurants, entertainment and sports, groceries, and transportation in Seoul are more expensive than in South Korea.

Seoul vs. South Korea Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 11.8% more for restaurants

	South Korea	Seoul
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.72 ₩9,907	$8.49 ₩12,514	+26.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.50 ₩8,102	$6.30 ₩9,281	+14.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.47 ₩2,161	$1.64 ₩2,415	+11.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.82 ₩1,216	$0.78 ₩1,151	-5.4%
Average			+11.8%

South Korea vs. Seoul - Cost of restaurants

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pay 8.5% more for groceries

	South Korea	Seoul
Bread 1 loaf	$2.87 ₩4,235	$3.24 ₩4,772	+12.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.63 ₩8,290	$6.79 ₩10,011	+20.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.67 ₩11,311	$7.85 ₩11,566	+2.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.84 ₩4,180	$2.93 ₩4,321	+3.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.34 ₩4,917	$4.67 ₩6,880	+39.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.24 ₩4,768	$3.45 ₩5,078	+6.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.39 ₩2,045	$1.52 ₩2,246	+9.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.80 ₩4,121	$2.35 ₩3,466	-15.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.40 ₩3,543	$2.77 ₩4,086	+15.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.78 ₩2,627	$1.62 ₩2,386	-9.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.20 ₩1,775	$1.30 ₩1,912	+7.7%
Average			+8.5%

South Korea vs. Seoul - Cost of groceries

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pay 4.8% more for transportation

	South Korea	Seoul
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.40 ₩6,485	$4.43 ₩6,530	+0.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$47.17 ₩69,524	$45.99 ₩67,782	-2.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,440.41 ₩38,967,875	$25,072.36 ₩36,951,647	-5.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.33 ₩12,280	$10.50 ₩15,475	+26.0%
Average			+4.8%

South Korea vs. Seoul - Cost of transportation

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pay 34.1% more for housing

	South Korea	Seoul
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$21.68 ₩31,958	$20.56 ₩30,296	-5.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$473.91 ₩698,442	$925.55 ₩1,364,083	+95.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$357.19 ₩526,420	$559.33 ₩824,340	+56.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$132.53 ₩195,326	$118.88 ₩175,208	-10.3%
Average			+34.1%

South Korea vs. Seoul - Cost of housing

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pay 19.5% more for childcare

	South Korea	Seoul
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$378.52 ₩557,869	$360.15 ₩530,786	-4.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$15,055.40 ₩22,188,655	$21,667.04 ₩31,932,878	+43.9%
Average			+19.5%

South Korea vs. Seoul - Cost of childcare

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pay 8.8% more for entertainment and sports

	South Korea	Seoul
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.12 ₩4,595	$3.54 ₩5,214	+13.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.57 ₩5,258	$3.70 ₩5,450	+3.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.18 ₩4,693	$3.18 ₩4,693
Monthly membership at local gym	$49.86 ₩73,483	$56.34 ₩83,028	+13.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.12 ₩14,912	$10.61 ₩15,642	+4.9%
Average			+8.8%

South Korea vs. Seoul - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 12.1% less for clothing

	South Korea	Seoul
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$66.46 ₩97,948	$49.77 ₩73,344	-25.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$50.68 ₩74,697	$39.49 ₩58,201	-22.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$72.74 ₩107,204	$74.94 ₩110,450	+3.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$103.23 ₩152,146	$99.06 ₩145,992	-4.0%
Average			-12.1%

South Korea vs. Seoul - 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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