Cost of living comparison

Uruguay

compared to

South Korea

South Korea vs. Uruguay Cost of Living Summary

South Korea is 5.3% cheaper than Uruguay overall.

Restaurants: pay 50.6% less in South Korea
Groceries: pay 58.4% more in South Korea
Transportation: pay 21.5% less in South Korea
Housing: pay 12.1% less in South Korea
Childcare: pay 71.3% more in South Korea
Entertainment and Sports: pay 7.9% less in South Korea
Clothing: pay 19.6% less in South Korea

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

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South Korea vs. Uruguay Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 50.6% less for restaurants

	Uruguay	South Korea
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$14.77 UYU593.57	$7.06 ₩9,413	-52.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$13.18 UYU529.95	$6.17 ₩8,222	-53.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.28 UYU91.83	$1.53 ₩2,037	-33.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.73 UYU69.37	$0.88 ₩1,180	-48.7%
Average			-50.6%

Uruguay vs. South Korea - Cost of restaurants

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pay 58.4% more for groceries

	Uruguay	South Korea
Bread 1 loaf	$2.54 UYU102.23	$3.04 ₩4,051	+19.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.45 UYU259.11	$6.12 ₩8,166	-5.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.76 UYU191.53	$8.23 ₩10,971	+72.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.37 UYU175.63	$2.94 ₩3,919	-32.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.88 UYU196.34	$4.11 ₩5,479	-15.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.11 UYU44.80	$4.00 ₩5,336	+259.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.06 UYU42.50	$1.55 ₩2,067	+46.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.67 UYU27.12	$3.00 ₩3,996	+344.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.51 UYU60.83	$2.63 ₩3,510	+73.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.81 UYU32.58	$2.03 ₩2,713	+151.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.91 UYU36.42	$1.26 ₩1,683	+39.3%
Average			+58.4%

Uruguay vs. South Korea - Cost of groceries

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pay 21.5% less for transportation

	Uruguay	South Korea
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.82 UYU314.55	$5.01 ₩6,678	-36.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$50.87 UYU2,044.74	$46.10 ₩61,477	-9.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,807.93 UYU1M	$28,394.53 ₩38M	-4.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$13.74 UYU552.22	$8.59 ₩11,459	-37.4%
Average			-21.5%

Uruguay vs. South Korea - Cost of transportation

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pay 12.1% less for housing

	Uruguay	South Korea
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$39.12 UYU1,572.54	$24.34 ₩32,458	-37.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$658.65 UYU26,476.99	$561.73 ₩749K	-14.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$494.58 UYU19,881.86	$387.83 ₩517K	-21.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$105.91 UYU4,257.59	$153.72 ₩205K	+45.1%
Average			-12.1%

Uruguay vs. South Korea - Cost of housing

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pay 71.3% more for childcare

	Uruguay	South Korea
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$530.72 UYU21,334.36	$545.93 ₩728K	+2.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$7,084.27 UYU285K	$20,214.53 ₩27M	+185.3%
Average			+71.3%

Uruguay vs. South Korea - Cost of childcare

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pay 7.9% less for entertainment and sports

	Uruguay	South Korea
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.88 UYU155.78	$3.30 ₩4,398	-14.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.38 UYU176.18	$3.66 ₩4,884	-16.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.69 UYU228.86	$3.35 ₩4,463	-41.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$49.86 UYU2,004.46	$57.32 ₩76,432	+15.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.10 UYU446.03	$11.28 ₩15,047	+1.7%
Average			-7.9%

Uruguay vs. South Korea - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 19.6% less for clothing

	Uruguay	South Korea
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$83.65 UYU3,362.52	$67.53 ₩90,049	-19.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$52.03 UYU2,091.59	$53.43 ₩71,245	+2.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$127.51 UYU5,125.77	$78.10 ₩104K	-38.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$125.09 UYU5,028.40	$102.84 ₩137K	-17.8%
Average			-19.6%

Uruguay 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: Uruguay vs. South Korea

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in South Korea?

Quality of Life Comparison · 19 statistics

Be 64.4% less likely to be unemployed in South Korea

Size Comparison · See true size

Uruguay is about 1.8 times bigger than South Korea.

Moving from Uruguay to South Korea · OECD 2023

11 people moved from Uruguay to South Korea.

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