Cost of living comparison

 United Kingdom
compared to
 South Korea
South Korea vs. United Kingdom Cost of Living Summary

South Korea is 20.2% cheaper than United Kingdom overall.

Restaurants
pay 48.5% less in South Korea
Groceries
pay 76.0% more in South Korea
Transportation
pay 41.6% less in South Korea
Housing
pay 60.0% less in South Korea
Childcare
pay 26.0% less in South Korea
Entertainment and Sports
pay 33.0% less in South Korea
Clothing
pay 8.5% less in South Korea

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

South Korea vs. United Kingdom Cost Breakdown

If you lived in South Korea instead of United Kingdom, you would:

pay 48.5% less for restaurants

 
United Kingdom
South Korea
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $18.70
£13.81
$6.16
₩8,412
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$9.25
£6.83
$5.24
₩7,155
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.23
£1.65
$1.47
₩2,010

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pay 76.0% more for groceries

 
United Kingdom
South Korea
Bread
1 loaf
$1.53
£1.13
$3.08
₩4,202
Local cheese (8 oz) $4.35
£3.21
$5.40
₩7,381
Milk (1 gallon) $5.92
£4.37
$7.46
₩10,186

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pay 41.6% less for transportation

 
United Kingdom
South Korea
Gasoline (1 gallon) $7.07
£5.22
$4.39
₩5,999
Monthly public transit pass $98.23
£72.53
$45.32
₩61,890
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $34,832.80
£25,720.15
$27,023.07
₩36,906,200

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pay 60.0% less for housing

 
United Kingdom
South Korea
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$39.40
£29.10
$17.65
₩24,111
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $1,243.58
£918.25
$426.93
₩583,073
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $1,020.84
£753.78
$328.41
₩448,524

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pay 26.0% less for childcare

 
United Kingdom
South Korea
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $1,497.56
£1,105.78
$373.40
₩509,964
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $18,629.32
£13,755.69
$22,907.58
₩31,285,553

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pay 33.0% less for entertainment and sports

 
United Kingdom
South Korea
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $5.63
£4.15
$3.09
₩4,226
Cappuccino in mid-range area $4.12
£3.04
$3.39
₩4,629
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$17.47
£12.90
$3.21
₩4,389

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pay 8.5% less for clothing

 
United Kingdom
South Korea
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$78.43
£57.91
$60.70
₩82,906
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$40.13
£29.63
$44.52
₩60,806
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$90.36
£66.72
$72.99
₩99,688

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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: May 2025
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