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Cost-of-Living Calculator

Pick your region, housing, and lifestyle to instantly estimate your monthly cost and total cost over your whole stay.

Choose your options on the left and press Calculate to see your estimate here.
This calculator is for reference only. Actual visa screening may differ.

Living costs break down into four parts

Most of your living cost in Korea comes from the four items below. Rent (housing) takes the largest share and varies the most by region and housing type.

Housing (200k–700k KRW/mo)

Dormitories are the cheapest and easiest to manage. Studios offer freedom but need a deposit (1–5M KRW) plus separate utilities. Share houses sit in between.

Food (250k–600k KRW/mo)

Using the student cafeteria and cooking yourself cuts this a lot. Frequent delivery and dining out push it up fast.

Transit & phone (90k–150k KRW/mo)

Subway–bus transfer discounts keep transit fairly steady. A budget (MVNO) phone plan can cut your bill to 10k–20k KRW/mo.

Other (80k–250k KRW/mo)

Textbooks, daily goods, clothing, leisure, and an emergency buffer. This is the most flexible item by lifestyle.

Capital area vs. elsewhere — monthly cost compared

At the same lifestyle, where you live can change your monthly cost by 250k–450k KRW. To ease the financial load, a junior college outside the capital area is far cheaper to live in.

ItemCapital areaOutside capital
Housing (dorm/studio)400k–700k200k–400k
Food300k–500k250k–400k
Transit & phone100k–150k80k–120k
Other100k–200k100k–150k
Monthly total (est.)approx. 900k–1.55Mapprox. 650k–1.1M

5 practical ways to cut living costs

  • Start with a dorm

    No deposit and utilities included means the lowest upfront cost. Many move to a studio later, once used to life in Korea.

  • Use the cafeteria and cook

    A cafeteria meal is about 4,000–6,000 KRW. Adding home cooking can cut your food budget by 30–40%.

  • Budget (MVNO) phone plan

    Choosing an MVNO over a major carrier can drop your phone bill to around 10k–20k KRW/mo.

  • Transit pass & transfer discounts

    Subway–bus transfer discounts and a commuter pass noticeably lower your transit cost.

  • Tuition upfront, living via part-time

    Part-time work can cover much of your living cost, but tuition should be secured from home in advance to be safe.

Frequently asked questions

It varies by school and country, but commonly around USD 20,000 (about 20–25M KRW), and some schools check that the balance was held for the past 6 months. Use this calculator’s total as a rough reference for the required balance.

It can cover a large part, but rarely all of it. During the semester your work hours are capped and study comes first. Always prepare tuition from home. Check your allowed hours with the Work-Hour Calculator.

Junior-college tuition runs about 2.8M KRW per semester (humanities/social) to 3.5M (engineering/health), or roughly 5.6–7M KRW per year over two semesters. Enter it in the “annual tuition” field above to include it in the total.