What does it actually cost in Korea?
Real prices, read from Korean sources and dated. Every figure carries where it came from, the unit it is in, and the day it was checked — so you can go and look at it yourself.
Every price is datedYou always see the month a figure was checked and how many places were surveyed.
Traceable, not guessedEvery figure names its source and the date it was checked, so you can go and look at it yourself.
Compared in the unit the menu usesKorean restaurants must price meat per 100g. So do we — and so does the official average we set it against.
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Food & Drink
Korean BBQ, street food, cafes, convenience stores, delivery, soju and beer.
Transport
Taxi fares and surcharges, subway and bus, airport transfers, intercity trains.
Shopping
Skincare and cosmetics, markets versus supermarkets, souvenirs, electronics.
Services
Haircuts, jjimjilbang and spas, laundry, pharmacies, SIM cards and eSIMs.
Accommodation
Hotels, guesthouses, jjimjilbang overnight stays and short-term rentals.
Living Costs
Rent, utilities, mobile plans and groceries for people staying longer than a holiday.
Latest price checks
- How much should you budget for food in Jeju?Jeju food prices from the official survey: a day of three restaurant meals runs ₩21,000 to ₩31,125, with Seoul shown beside it.
- How much should you budget for food in Busan?Three restaurant meals in Busan come to ₩18,972–30,515 a day at official average prices — a gimbap breakfast, a noodle or rice lunch, and a stew or soup dinner. With the full price table.
- How much should you budget for food in Seoul?Three restaurant meals in Seoul come to ₩20,146–33,761 a day at official average prices — a gimbap breakfast, a noodle or rice lunch, and a stew or soup dinner. With the full price table.
- How much is soju in Korea? Shop prices and restaurant pricesA 360ml bottle of soju costs ₩1,340–1,380 in a Korean supermarket and ₩5,000 in a restaurant. Official survey prices, with the menus they are compared against.
- How much is Korean BBQ in Seoul? Official average vs menu pricesKorean BBQ pork belly averages ₩21,321 ($15.40) per 200g in Seoul — the official figure. Two Myeongdong restaurants differ by more than a third.
How to read our tables
Prices here are compared in the unit Korean menus are required to use. Restaurants must price meat per 100g, so that is what the tables convert to — and the official city average is given in the same unit, so the two numbers can sit side by side.
A price post carries three kinds of table. One gives the official average for the item, quoted in the unit the survey uses and named to the body that collected it. One gives individual prices read off real menus, with the original wording and the weight printed beside it. One says where the line is: the point above which a price stops being ordinary, set at a stated multiple of the official average rather than at our opinion.
Below the averageThe ordinary rangeExpensive unless the menu says why
Every figure states the date it was checked, and where a menu photograph is older than that we say which date is which. There is no illustrative example on this page, because a made-up price is the one thing this site is trying not to publish. Read a real one instead: what grilled pork belly costs in Seoul. Our Editorial Policy explains where the numbers come from, and what we no longer claim.