Cost of living comparison

South Korea

compared to

Beijing, China

Beijing vs. South Korea Cost of Living Summary

Beijing is 1.9% more expensive than South Korea overall.

Restaurants: pay 38.3% less in Beijing
Groceries: pay 47.1% less in Beijing
Transportation: pay 23.4% less in Beijing
Housing: pay 20.1% more in Beijing
Childcare: pay 2.0 times more in Beijing
Entertainment and Sports: pay 4.7% less in Beijing
Clothing: pay 2.5% more in Beijing

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

Beijing vs. South Korea Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 38.3% less for restaurants

	South Korea	Beijing
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.16 ₩8,916	$4.17 CN¥30.20	-32.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.24 ₩7,584	$5.57 CN¥40.27	+6.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.47 ₩2,131	$0.50 CN¥3.59	-66.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.79 ₩1,146	$0.31 CN¥2.24	-61.0%
Average			-38.3%

South Korea vs. Beijing - Cost of restaurants

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pay 47.1% less for groceries

	South Korea	Beijing
Bread 1 loaf	$3.08 ₩4,453	$1.43 CN¥10.38	-53.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.40 ₩7,823	$7.31 CN¥52.86	+35.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.46 ₩10,796	$7.17 CN¥51.87	-3.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.76 ₩3,991	$1.74 CN¥12.57	-37.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.32 ₩4,807	$1.53 CN¥11.08	-53.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.17 ₩4,585	$0.92 CN¥6.64	-71.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.49 ₩2,155	$0.71 CN¥5.15	-52.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.53 ₩3,664	$0.89 CN¥6.42	-65.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.41 ₩3,495	$0.58 CN¥4.22	-75.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.82 ₩2,642	$0.37 CN¥2.67	-79.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.21 ₩1,751	$0.47 CN¥3.41	-61.1%
Average			-47.1%

South Korea vs. Beijing - Cost of groceries

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pay 23.4% less for transportation

	South Korea	Beijing
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.39 ₩6,358	$4.36 CN¥31.54	-0.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$45.32 ₩65,596	$33.40 CN¥241.59	-26.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$27,023.07 ₩39,116,293	$20,872.18 CN¥150,994.56	-22.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.17 ₩11,829	$4.59 CN¥33.22	-43.8%
Average			-23.4%

South Korea vs. Beijing - Cost of transportation

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pay 20.1% more for housing

	South Korea	Beijing
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$17.65 ₩25,555	$13.28 CN¥96.10	-24.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$426.93 ₩617,990	$929.88 CN¥6,726.97	+117.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$328.41 ₩475,383	$492.44 CN¥3,562.45	+49.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$111.42 ₩161,286	$42.04 CN¥304.13	-62.3%
Average			+20.1%

South Korea vs. Beijing - Cost of housing

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pay 2.0 times more for childcare

	South Korea	Beijing
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$373.40 ₩540,503	$763.49 CN¥5,523.31	+104.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$22,907.58 ₩33,159,059	$22,913.01 CN¥165,758.47
Average			+104.5%

South Korea vs. Beijing - Cost of childcare

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pay 4.7% less for entertainment and sports

	South Korea	Beijing
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.09 ₩4,479	$1.11 CN¥8.05	-64.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.39 ₩4,906	$3.60 CN¥26.06	+6.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.21 ₩4,652	$3.48 CN¥25.17	+8.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$45.71 ₩66,168	$65.46 CN¥473.53	+43.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.10 ₩14,618	$8.35 CN¥60.40	-17.3%
Average			-4.7%

South Korea vs. Beijing - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.5% more for clothing

	South Korea	Beijing
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$60.70 ₩87,871	$62.65 CN¥453.26	+3.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$44.52 ₩64,447	$34.69 CN¥250.93	-22.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$72.99 ₩105,657	$83.45 CN¥603.72	+14.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$93.73 ₩135,676	$107.64 CN¥778.67	+14.8%
Average			+2.5%

South Korea vs. Beijing - 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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