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Cost of Living in Korea

So you've had your flight paid for and you've got your rent paid for so how much is going to come out of your pay check at the end of the month? Lets have a look.

One way to work out your expenses is to do it the statistical way using numero.com which give it's information based on thousands and thousands of people independently inputting their money, take a look at the cost of living in Korea. This can also be used to work out the cost of living in the city you hope to be living in. The down side is that it can be time consuming and take a lot of research.

Bearing this in mind we've done the research for you and made it nice and simple the cost of living in Korea for the average teacher is: 600,000 won/month.

Ok so lets break this down a bit so you can see where our figures came from.
Entertainment
Gym
Utilities
Mobile/Cell Phone
Food
Total:
200,000
55,000
140,000
60,000
200,000
655,000
Most people set aside what they call an entertainment budget. This includes going out to eat and also going to bars. Lets be frank here; if you drink all your money then your cost of living will be high. It is very reasonable to set a budget of 200,000 won/month for going out. 

Other costs might include a mobile phone. These tend to start at about 60,000 won per month.

Going to the gym can be quite pricey many charge 55,000 per month or upwards

Utilities on average will cost 140,000 won/month, this takes into account winter and summer variations.

Food prices do vary depending on what you eat. Our estimate of 200,000 won/month is pretty generous and includes eating some western foods.

As always our information is based on our own experiences and those of other teachers combined with factual research. These are of course only estimates as to what it will cost you to live, it is something to give you a solid guide. If you're hard set on saving money of course you can live in Korea for less. See our section on saving money in Korea.
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Honest, Independent, Experienced Advice

Site updated 10/06/2013
paul@teachinkorea.org