Cost of living comparison

Bhutan

compared to

South Korea

Seoul vs. Thimphu Cost of Living Summary

Seoul is 4.1 times more expensive than Thimphu.

Restaurants: pay 2.6 times more in Seoul
Groceries: pay 3.5 times more in Seoul
Transportation: pay 2.5 times more in Seoul
Housing: pay 6.3 times more in Seoul
Childcare: pay 41.3 times more in Seoul
Entertainment and Sports: pay 95.3% more in Seoul
Clothing: pay 74.8% more in Seoul

The cost of childcare, housing, groceries, restaurants, transportation, and entertainment and sports in Seoul are more expensive than in Thimphu. Notably, childcare, housing, and groceries are significantly more expensive in Seoul.

Planning a move to South Korea? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Seoul vs. Thimphu Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Seoul instead of Thimphu, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.6 times more for restaurants

	Thimphu	Seoul
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.58 BTN243.12	$8.96 ₩12,215	+246.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.91 BTN461.92	$7.46 ₩10,179	+52.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.50 BTN47.00	$1.58 ₩2,158	+216.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.18 BTN17.02	$0.79 ₩1,072	+334.4%
Average			+163.2%

Thimphu vs. Seoul - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 3.5 times more for groceries

	Thimphu	Seoul
Bread 1 loaf	$1.07 BTN100.89	$3.10 ₩4,224	+188.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$1.88 BTN176.66	$8.84 ₩12,055	+370.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.03 BTN285.29	$7.79 ₩10,629	+156.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.88 BTN176.99	$3.61 ₩4,917	+91.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.79 BTN168.72	$4.74 ₩6,466	+164.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.15 BTN108.07	$3.46 ₩4,724	+201.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.69 BTN65.06	$1.57 ₩2,136	+126.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.73 BTN68.37	$2.59 ₩3,537	+256.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.33 BTN31.43	$2.83 ₩3,864	+747.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.26 BTN24.26	$1.66 ₩2,259	+542.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.31 BTN29.22	$1.16 ₩1,575	+271.8%
Average			+246.8%

Thimphu vs. Seoul - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.5 times more for transportation

	Thimphu	Seoul
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.79 BTN262.03	$5.53 ₩7,545	+98.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$5.17 BTN486.23	$46.28 ₩63,112	+795.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$16,591.53 BTN2M	$29,385.60 ₩40M	+77.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$13.18 BTN1,239.89	$8.51 ₩11,604	-35.5%
Average			+149.9%

Thimphu vs. Seoul - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 6.3 times more for housing

	Thimphu	Seoul
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$24.17 BTN2,273.54	$20.82 ₩28,392	-13.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$127.00 BTN11,944.77	$886.39 ₩1M	+597.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$86.02 BTN8,090.25	$620.25 ₩846K	+621.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$25.81 BTN2,427.09	$162.69 ₩222K	+530.5%
Average			+527.2%

Thimphu vs. Seoul - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 41.3 times more for childcare

	Thimphu	Seoul
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$44.98 BTN4,230.15	$1,927.59 ₩3M	+4185.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$568.68 BTN53,485.51	$22,602.27 ₩31M	+3874.5%
Average			+4027.2%

Thimphu vs. Seoul - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 95.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Thimphu	Seoul
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.58 BTN243.12	$3.73 ₩5,090	+44.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.28 BTN119.94	$4.10 ₩5,593	+221.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.88 BTN364.67	$3.36 ₩4,581	-13.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$46.53 BTN4,376.09	$58.22 ₩79,399	+25.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.10 BTN291.74	$11.20 ₩15,269	+260.9%
Average			+95.3%

Thimphu vs. Seoul - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 74.8% more for clothing

	Thimphu	Seoul
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.97 BTN4,700.17	$57.88 ₩78,937	+15.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$24.99 BTN2,350.08	$32.77 ₩44,695	+31.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$67.21 BTN6,321.01	$69.99 ₩95,451	+4.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$13.96 BTN1,312.83	$82.45 ₩112K	+490.7%
Average			+74.8%

Thimphu vs. Seoul - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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: Thimphu vs. Seoul

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Seoul?

More cost comparisons

Thimphu vs.

New York City

Thimphu vs.

Lima

Thimphu vs.

London

Thimphu vs.

Moscow

Thimphu vs.

Paris

Thimphu vs.

Vienna

Thimphu vs.

Rome

Thimphu vs.

Sydney

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Bhutan vs. South Korea. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Bhutan and South Korea.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Thimphu

Add prices for Seoul

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Seoul or Thimphu. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.