Cost of living comparison

North Korea

compared to

South Korea

South Korea vs. North Korea Cost of Living Summary

South Korea is 2.1 times more expensive than North Korea overall.

Restaurants: pay 28.7% less in South Korea
Groceries: pay 56.2% more in South Korea
Housing: pay 4.4 times more in South Korea
Entertainment and Sports: pay 70.1% more in South Korea

The cost of housing, entertainment and sports, and groceries in South Korea are more expensive than in North Korea. Notably, housing is significantly more expensive in South Korea.

South Korea vs. North Korea Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 28.7% less for restaurants

	North Korea	South Korea
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	??	$6.16 ₩9,028
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	??	$5.24 ₩7,679
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.14 KPW1,929	$1.47 ₩2,158	-31.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.07 KPW965	$0.79 ₩1,161	-26.1%
Average			-28.7%

North Korea vs. South Korea - Cost of restaurants

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pay 56.2% more for groceries

	North Korea	South Korea
Bread 1 loaf	$2.20 KPW1,983	$3.08 ₩4,510	+39.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	??	$5.40 ₩7,922
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.40 KPW3,058	$7.46 ₩10,932	+119.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.52 KPW2,267	$2.76 ₩4,042	+9.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	??	$3.32 ₩4,867
Apples (1 lb)	??	$3.17 ₩4,643
Bananas (1 lb)	??	$1.49 ₩2,182
Oranges (1 lb)	??	$2.53 ₩3,711
Tomatoes (1 lb)	??	$2.41 ₩3,539
Potatoes (1 lb)	??	$1.82 ₩2,675
Onions (1 lb)	??	$1.21 ₩1,773
Average			+56.2%

North Korea vs. South Korea - Cost of groceries

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pay (unknown) more for transportation

	North Korea	South Korea
Gasoline (1 gallon)	??	$4.39 ₩6,438
Monthly public transit pass	??	$45.32 ₩66,424
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	??	$27,023.07 ₩39,609,869
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	??	$8.17 ₩11,978

North Korea vs. South Korea - Cost of transportation

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pay 4.4 times more for housing

	North Korea	South Korea
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	??	$17.65 ₩25,877
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$85.74 KPW77,167	$426.93 ₩625,788	+397.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$85.74 KPW77,167	$328.41 ₩481,381	+283.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	??	$111.42 ₩163,321
Average			+340.4%

North Korea vs. South Korea - Cost of housing

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

	North Korea	South Korea
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	??	$373.40 ₩547,323
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	??	$22,907.58 ₩33,577,466

North Korea vs. South Korea - Cost of childcare

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pay 70.1% more for entertainment and sports

	North Korea	South Korea
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$12.86 KPW11,575	$3.09 ₩4,535	-75.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.07 KPW965	$3.39 ₩4,968	+216.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	??	$3.21 ₩4,711
Monthly membership at local gym	??	$45.71 ₩67,003
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	??	$10.10 ₩14,802
Average			+70.1%

North Korea vs. South Korea - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

	North Korea	South Korea
Regular jeans Levi's brand	??	$60.70 ₩88,980
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	??	$44.52 ₩65,260
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	??	$72.99 ₩106,991
Men's business shoes (leather)	??	$93.73 ₩137,387

North Korea vs. South Korea - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: March 2025

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