Cost of Living in Korea

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Cost of Living

Cost of Living in Korea

You can save THOUSANDS

The cost of living in Korea is generally reasonable. It is certainly a lot less than if you were living in Japan! General costs such as transport are low. The big costs for Koreans are housing and education.

The cost of living varies from cities to country sides. Your monthly expenses will largely depend on how you choose to spend your money. Korean food is a lot cheaper than eating at western restaurants such as 'Tony Romas', 'T.G.I.F.', 'The Outback' or 'Skylarks'. There are plenty of McDonalds, Burger King, KFC and pizza outlets all around Korea.

You can get a full meal for less than 5000 Won and you can have a night out for around 20,000 Won. Shopping at the store is cheap but if you're on your own, going out to eat is cheaper and less mess. There are a million ways to blow your money over here so keep track and have some kind of financial budget.

How much can I save teaching in Korea?

Korea Information - Cost of Living in Korea

When it comes to saving up a nest egg for a down payment on a house or car or if you just need to save to pay down loans, debt or credit cards, Korea is the place to go.

Consider what your expenses are now...

Supermarket Flier in South Korea

Korea Information - Cost of Living in Korea

This is a flier from Emart - a large chain of supermarkets in South Korea. Even if you can't read Korean, you will get an idea of how much things cost based on the picture and the amount in Won.

Cost of Living in Rural South Korea

Korea Information - Cost of Living in Korea

The cost of living outside of major cities in Korea varies from region to region. Some products and services are very inexpensive, while others are far more expensive than in many Western cultures.

Saving Lots - Living on the Cheap

Korea Information - Cost of Living in Korea

I'd have to say that the money issue was much of the motivation for teaching ESL abroad, and the best place to do so at the current time is Korea. Korea offers the best packages, highest salary, not to mention that it is a great place to spend a year or two. The cost of living is not much - since I am trying to put away some money I could live off of 500,000 Won every month. But since I'm a cheapskate, I'd say a normal person could live off 6 to 700,000 Won and live pretty darn well. It may be against the forces of nature for a newly graduated person to afford membership in the most exclusive gym in town, but I'm not complaining.