Cost of living comparison

Sweden

compared to

South Korea

South Korea vs. Sweden Cost of Living Summary

South Korea is 13.9% cheaper than Sweden overall.

Restaurants: pay 47.2% less in South Korea
Groceries: pay 42.6% more in South Korea
Transportation: pay 30.4% less in South Korea
Housing: pay 29.9% less in South Korea
Childcare: pay 3.1 times more in South Korea
Entertainment and Sports: pay 24.3% less in South Korea
Clothing: pay 16.0% less in South Korea

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

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South Korea vs. Sweden Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 47.2% less for restaurants

	Sweden	South Korea
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$14.04 SEK137.94	$7.06 ₩9,413	-49.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.77 SEK105.79	$6.17 ₩8,222	-42.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.49 SEK24.47	$1.53 ₩2,037	-38.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.07 SEK20.32	$0.88 ₩1,180	-57.2%
Average			-47.2%

Sweden vs. South Korea - Cost of restaurants

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pay 42.6% more for groceries

	Sweden	South Korea
Bread 1 loaf	$2.82 SEK27.72	$3.04 ₩4,051	+7.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.72 SEK56.24	$6.12 ₩8,166	+7.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.07 SEK59.65	$8.23 ₩10,971	+35.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.23 SEK41.59	$2.94 ₩3,919	-30.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.25 SEK51.60	$4.11 ₩5,479	-21.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.36 SEK13.33	$4.00 ₩5,336	+195.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.14 SEK11.25	$1.55 ₩2,067	+35.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.29 SEK12.72	$3.00 ₩3,996	+131.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.93 SEK18.98	$2.63 ₩3,510	+36.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.76 SEK7.47	$2.03 ₩2,713	+167.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.73 SEK7.16	$1.26 ₩1,683	+73.2%
Average			+42.6%

Sweden vs. South Korea - Cost of groceries

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pay 30.4% less for transportation

	Sweden	South Korea
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.65 SEK65.30	$5.01 ₩6,678	-24.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$77.78 SEK764.26	$46.10 ₩61,477	-40.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$31,975.58 SEK314K	$28,394.53 ₩38M	-11.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$22.74 SEK223.44	$8.59 ₩11,459	-62.2%
Average			-30.4%

Sweden vs. South Korea - Cost of transportation

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pay 29.9% less for housing

	Sweden	South Korea
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$38.16 SEK374.96	$24.34 ₩32,458	-36.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$883.11 SEK8,677.58	$561.73 ₩749K	-36.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$671.43 SEK6,597.57	$387.83 ₩517K	-42.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$97.70 SEK959.99	$153.72 ₩205K	+57.3%
Average			-29.9%

Sweden vs. South Korea - Cost of housing

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pay 3.1 times more for childcare

	Sweden	South Korea
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$155.03 SEK1,523.39	$545.93 ₩728K	+252.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$7,341.74 SEK72,141.45	$20,214.53 ₩27M	+175.3%
Average			+211.4%

Sweden vs. South Korea - Cost of childcare

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pay 24.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Sweden	South Korea
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$7.36 SEK72.34	$3.30 ₩4,398	-55.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.45 SEK43.70	$3.66 ₩4,884	-17.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$7.55 SEK74.14	$3.35 ₩4,463	-55.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$41.12 SEK404.10	$57.32 ₩76,432	+39.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$15.58 SEK153.10	$11.28 ₩15,047	-27.6%
Average			-24.3%

Sweden vs. South Korea - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 16.0% less for clothing

	Sweden	South Korea
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$91.37 SEK897.86	$67.53 ₩90,049	-26.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$44.99 SEK442.04	$53.43 ₩71,245	+18.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$95.04 SEK933.85	$78.10 ₩104K	-17.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$148.76 SEK1,461.77	$102.84 ₩137K	-30.9%
Average			-16.0%

Sweden vs. South Korea - 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

Compare further: Sweden vs. South Korea

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Size Comparison · See true size

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Moving from Sweden to South Korea · OECD 2023

396 people moved from Sweden to South Korea.

City Size Comparison · See true size

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