Cost of living comparison

Tonga

compared to

South Korea

South Korea vs. Tonga Cost of Living Summary

South Korea is 28.2% more expensive than Tonga overall.

Restaurants: pay 34.3% less in South Korea
Groceries: pay 52.2% more in South Korea
Transportation: pay 47.9% more in South Korea
Housing: pay 17.0% less in South Korea
Childcare: pay 16.8 times more in South Korea
Entertainment and Sports: pay 21.3% less in South Korea
Clothing: pay 3.7 times more in South Korea

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

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South Korea vs. Tonga Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 34.3% less for restaurants

	Tonga	South Korea
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.31 TOP20.00	$7.06 ₩9,627	-15.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.38 TOP25.00	$6.17 ₩8,410	-40.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.84 TOP6.83	$1.53 ₩2,083	-46.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.46 TOP5.92	$0.88 ₩1,207	-64.0%
Average			-34.3%

Tonga vs. South Korea - Cost of restaurants

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pay 52.2% more for groceries

	Tonga	South Korea
Bread 1 loaf	$1.04 TOP2.50	$3.04 ₩4,143	+192.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.50 TOP10.83	$6.12 ₩8,352	+36.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.92 TOP14.26	$8.23 ₩11,221	+38.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.09 TOP12.27	$2.94 ₩4,009	-42.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.67 TOP6.43	$4.11 ₩5,604	+54.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.26 TOP3.02	$4.00 ₩5,458	+218.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.26 TOP3.02	$1.55 ₩2,114	+23.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.32 TOP3.18	$3.00 ₩4,087	+127.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.70 TOP4.08	$2.63 ₩3,590	+55.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.44 TOP3.48	$2.03 ₩2,774	+40.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.19 TOP2.87	$1.26 ₩1,722	+5.8%
Average			+52.2%

Tonga vs. South Korea - Cost of groceries

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pay 47.9% more for transportation

	Tonga	South Korea
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.50 TOP13.25	$5.01 ₩6,830	-9.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$41.53 TOP100.00	$46.10 ₩62,878	+11.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$5,814.53 TOP14,000.00	$28,394.53 ₩39M	+388.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$18.69 TOP45.00	$8.59 ₩11,720	-54.0%
Average			+47.9%

Tonga vs. South Korea - Cost of transportation

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pay 17.0% less for housing

	Tonga	South Korea
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$124.60 TOP300.00	$24.34 ₩33,198	-80.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$622.99 TOP1,500.00	$561.73 ₩766K	-9.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	??	$387.83 ₩529K
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$142.92 TOP344.12	$153.72 ₩210K	+7.6%
Average			-17.0%

Tonga vs. South Korea - Cost of housing

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pay 16.8 times more for childcare

	Tonga	South Korea
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$157.82 TOP380.00	$545.93 ₩745K	+245.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$249.19 TOP600.00	$20,214.53 ₩28M	+8012.0%
Average			+1575.1%

Tonga vs. South Korea - Cost of childcare

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pay 21.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Tonga	South Korea
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.32 TOP8.00	$3.30 ₩4,499	-0.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.91 TOP7.00	$3.66 ₩4,995	+26.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$10.18 TOP24.50	$3.35 ₩4,565	-67.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$31.15 TOP75.00	$57.32 ₩78,173	+84.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$41.53 TOP100.00	$11.28 ₩15,390	-72.8%
Average			-21.3%

Tonga vs. South Korea - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 3.7 times more for clothing

	Tonga	South Korea
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$14.54 TOP35.00	$67.53 ₩92,101	+364.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$17.65 TOP42.50	$53.43 ₩72,869	+202.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$20.77 TOP50.00	$78.10 ₩107K	+276.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$29.07 TOP70.00	$102.84 ₩140K	+253.7%
Average			+269.8%

Tonga 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: Tonga vs. South Korea

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in South Korea?

Quality of Life Comparison · 18 statistics

Make 5.5 times more money in South Korea

Size Comparison · See true size

Tonga is about 133 times smaller than South Korea.

Moving from Tonga to South Korea · OECD 2022

1 people moved from Tonga to South Korea.

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