Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Chungju and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Chungju: $1,450 a month against $2,453 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $12,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

70

Cost of Living Index in Chungju
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Chungju Living Index
117

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Chungju

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,450

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,453

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Chungju and in Barcelona

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Chungju and in Barcelona actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,450 in Chungju versus $2,453 in Barcelona.

Chungju $1,450
Barcelona $2,453

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,312 in Chungju versus $3,509 in Barcelona.

Chungju $2,312
Barcelona $3,509

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,173 in Chungju versus $4,564 in Barcelona.

Chungju $3,173
Barcelona $4,564

Living in Chungju costs roughly 41% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both cities are pricier than the global median: Chungju 7% above, Barcelona 80% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.70 ₩10.3K

$17.59 €15.80

-56.23%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$49.08 ₩65.9K

$67.5 €60.6

-27.28%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.74 ₩9,052

$13.53 €12.15

-50.18%

Cappuccino

$3.62 ₩4,859

$3.19 €2.87

13.48%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.78 ₩2,394

$2.91 €2.62

-38.83%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.45 ₩1,953

$1.89 €1.70

-23.28%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.72 ₩5,000

$4.01 €3.60

-7.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.34 ₩5,822

$4.53 €4.07

-4.19%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.32 ₩3,112

$1.31 €1.17

77.10%

White Bread (500g)

$2.95 ₩3,964

$2.02 €1.81

46.04%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.09 ₩4,150

$1.85 €1.66

67.03%

Eggs

$2.66 ₩3,576

$4.83 €4.34

-44.93%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$11.14 ₩15.0K

$16.74 €15.03

-33.45%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.59 ₩10.2K

$9.12 €8.19

-16.78%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$24.68 ₩33.1K

$19.64 €17.64

25.66%

Apples (1kg)

$8.96 ₩12.0K

$2.98 €2.68

200.67%

Banana (1kg)

$3.69 ₩4,954

$2.02 €1.81

82.67%

Oranges (1kg)

$7.96 ₩10.7K

$2.70 €2.43

194.81%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.79 ₩7,778

$2.80 €2.52

106.79%

Potato (1kg)

$6.09 ₩8,176

$2.09 €1.87

191.39%

Onion (1kg)

$3.39 ₩4,550

$2.07 €1.86

63.77%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.74 ₩3,684

$1.46 €1.31

87.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.30 ₩1,743

$0.94 €0.84

38.30%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.29 ₩4,418

$6.87 €6.17

-52.11%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.95 ₩25.4K

$7.89 €7.08

140.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.42 ₩3,248

$1.41 €1.26

71.63%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.96 ₩3,980

$2.54 €2.28

16.54%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.10 ₩1,483

$3.14 €2.82

-64.97%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$25.45 €22.86

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.62 ₩4,855

$2.99 €2.69

21.07%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.72 ₩968

$1.49 €1.34

-51.68%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$16.99 ₩22.8K

$33.37 €29.98

-49.09%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.43 ₩1,918

$1.80 €1.61

-20.56%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$39.4K ₩53.0M

$33.2K €29.8K

18.83%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$34.5K ₩46.3M

$31.7K €28.5K

8.73%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$198 ₩265.6K

$180 €162

9.66%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$27.49 ₩36.9K

$13.84 €12.43

98.63%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.04 ₩36.3K

$33.70 €30.27

-19.76%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$54.3 ₩72.9K

$51.5 €46.27

5.40%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.29 ₩19.2K

$15.96 €14.34

-10.46%

Cinema Ticket

$11.89 ₩16.0K

$10.99 €9.88

8.19%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$629 ₩844.7K

$917 €823

-31.38%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.1K ₩29.7M

$16.5K €14.8K

34.32%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$76.1 ₩102.1K

$87.0 €78.2

-12.59%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$37.91 ₩50.9K

$38.51 €34.59

-1.56%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$73.6 ₩98.9K

$106 €95.1

-30.42%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$113 ₩151.6K

$120 €108

-5.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$483 ₩649.1K

$1,699 €1,527

-71.55%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$351 ₩471.3K

$1,355 €1,217

-74.10%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,189 ₩1.6M

$2,603 €2,338

-54.32%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$761 ₩1.0M

$2,062 €1,853

-63.10%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,118 ₩9.6M

$6,915 €6,211

2.94%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,478 ₩7.4M

$5,128 €4,606

6.83%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,672 ₩2.2M

$2,211 €1,986

-24.37%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.22

3.28

28.66%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Chungju: October 26, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Groceries & Markets

Chungju

$456 31.5%

Barcelona

$322 13.1% 29.5% $135

Accommodation & Living

Chungju

$351 24.2%

Barcelona

$1.4K 55.3% 286% $1K

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Chungju

$252 17.4%

Barcelona

$228 9.3% 9.7% $24

Eating Out

Chungju

$165 11.4%

Barcelona

$268 10.9% 61.9% $102

Clothing & Footwear

Chungju

$135 9.3%

Barcelona

$158 6.4% 16.8% $23

Sport & Entertainment

Chungju

$78 5.4%

Barcelona

$74 3% 5.8% $4.6

Getting Around

Chungju

$12 * 0.8%

Barcelona

$48 2% 316% $37

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $483 in Chungju and $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 32% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $49 in Chungju vs $67 in Barcelona. Groceries flip the comparison at $456 vs $322, with Barcelona cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇰🇷 Chungju

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

02:59 2:59 AM

18:59 6:59 PM

8 h behind Chungju

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

208,529

1,660,122

💱 Currency

South Korean Won KRW ₩

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 KRW = 7.45 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.69 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to KRW – South Korean Won Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇷 South Korean Won (₩)

South Korean Won exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1,343 KRW (10,000 KRW = 7.45 USD). 1 EUR = 1,495 KRW (10,000 KRW = 6.69 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.898 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

USD to KRW in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Chungju Barcelona 9,700 km ≈ 13 h nonstop flight

From you

Chungju
Barcelona

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Chungju vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Chungju and Barcelona differ by about 69% in total monthly costs ($1,450 vs $2,453 including rent). Chungju is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 24% lower in Chungju. That’s worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $483 in Chungju versus $1,699 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $629 in Chungju versus $917 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Chungju – a meal for two runs $49 versus $67 in Barcelona. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Both cities are expensive relative to $1,000. Chungju is the more realistic option, but even there you’ll need to be disciplined with housing, food, and fun money.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Chungju and Barcelona are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

It comes down to priorities – Chungju wins on affordability, Barcelona on earning potential. Factor in climate, language, visa rules, and proximity to places that matter to you before deciding.