If you search around, you’ll find a lot of different answers about the cost of living in South Korea. Some people might find it more expensive to live here and others can live cheaply and save lots of money. I want to say I float around in the middle.

Rent: $0

Through my contract with EPIK and my school, I don’t pay for rent here. If you do come to Korea through and you’re not teaching or you choose to find your own place, rent really varies on city and place. I don’t know much about rent works here, but what I do understand is that Key Money can range from medium to high rates. Key money is like a deposit back in the States. However, here you usually get back all the money you gave your landlord while back in the States you might get a portion of it back. Additionally, in South Korea, you may pay thousands of dollars in key money rather than just the first and last month’s rent. Then depending on how much key money you have given, your rent might be high or lower. I’ve even heard of paying several thousands of dollars in Key Money so that your monthly rent is zero dollars a month. This is what I am able to get from watching videos and listening to other people about their housing situation.

Utilities: $60-$90 per month

• Gas: Most places here heat their apartments and water through a gas heating system. During the summer my bill is pretty low since the only time I ran the gas is when I take a shower. During fall and winter, it’s a bit higher since I leave it on longer to help warm up my apartment. For last month I paid 10,700 won or $9.18. One month’s worth.
• Electricity: Back at home I would pay as low as $20 in the summer. Here, I barely break $10. My last electric bill was 7,120 won or $6.11. For a whole month.
• Cell Phone Plan: I pay around $40-70 dollars of the month for my cell phone plan. And I’m only on a year plan which ave to renew again in March. When I do, I plan on getting a plan with more data since that’s the main reason why my phone bill tends to be the highest. I pay additional 10,000 won every time I use more of my data. It only happens when I travel through.

Grocery: $50-$80 dollars a week.

I don’t eat out much. I don’t even go buy coffee at the cafe that is near my apartment. I do however buy groceries every week. I try to stick to a simple diet, but occasionally the shop has some new product that I’ve never tried or seen before. I also by candy for my students on a weekly basis. This is one of my contributions to helping my school out. It’s for games my students play in class.

Eating Out $10-20 dollars a month.

Like I said before, it’s rare that I eat out. If I do, it’s cause I’m out with friends or visiting another city. I don’t even order delivery. While I’m in my home, I usually just make myself food with what I get from the grocery store. I do occasionally get food from the convenience store. So even though I bring it home, I would consider that “Eating Out Food”. And convenience store food is nothing compared to what convenience store food is back in the States. It’s so much better here!

Transportation & Travel $50-$100 month

• Bus, subway, trains, and taxis are quite affordable here. If you have a T-Money Card, bus & subway travel is under $2.00. I take the train from my city to either Seoul, Busan or Daegu. That cost up to $28 one way depending on the train you ride. The cheaper one is less than $20 one way. And riding taxis? Quite affordable. I remember a 15 minute trip from my apartment to the train station in Washington cost me more than $25 plus tip. Here, a 30 minute trip from my apartment to the school I was teaching summer camp across town was about 14,000won or $11.96.
• I think, in this category, I spend more on my travel accommodations than the actual travel. Not that I book the most expensive places to stay, but I do choose places that look nicer, cleaner and often has all the amenities like a private bath and kitchen. I’ve seen Airbnb places cost as low as $11 a night. Most of those are hostels. I usually try to keep to under $150 a night. The last place I stayed in was more like a hotel without any kitchen amenities like a hot water kettle and fridge. It only cost me around $100 a night. That’s including taxes and cleaning fees.

Health Insurance $50-60

I’m not too sure how much is taken out of my paycheck. I remember it was something like $55 or so. None the less, I’m super glad that I’m able to afford Health Insurance unlike with my previous job where it wasn’t even offered. I had to buy mine off of the government and I was paying up to $200 a month for the very bare minimum coverage. Here, I get full coverage and pay less than half that amount.

Miscellaneous Expenses $20-$200

This includes things like skincare products, makeup, clothes, home furnishings, etc. It really depends on what my needs are that month but I have spent up to $75 on skincare alone. So in total, I spend over $500 of the month to live here and work here. Which is a great way to help me save money and pay off my credit card bills. How much does it cost to live in your city? Is it more or less than how much I spend?

Also, I’m thinking of making “How much I spend a week” but I’m not sure it will be too interesting since I know I don’t go out shopping. I really order more online than actually physically shopping.

Until next time…안녕히 가세요, jane*