Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Gwangju and Lisbon

For one person, living is cheaper in Gwangju: $1,341 a month against $2,210 in Lisbon, rent and utilities included – about $10,400 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

64

Cost of Living Index in Gwangju
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Gwangju Living Index
107

Cost of Living Index in Lisbon
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Lisbon Living Index

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Gwangju

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,341

/mo nomad

Lisbon

🇵🇹 Portugal

$2,210

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Gwangju and in Lisbon

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,341 in Gwangju versus $2,210 in Lisbon.

Gwangju $1,341
Lisbon $2,210

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,048 in Gwangju versus $3,275 in Lisbon.

Gwangju $2,048
Lisbon $3,275

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,756 in Gwangju versus $4,341 in Lisbon.

Gwangju $2,756
Lisbon $4,341

Living in Gwangju costs roughly 39% less than in Lisbon, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Gwangju is 2% below, Lisbon is 62% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.02 ₩8,080

$16.65 €14.95

-63.84%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.32 ₩46.1K

$61.7 €55.5

-44.41%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.82 ₩7,817

$11.36 €10.20

-48.77%

Cappuccino

$3.17 ₩4,258

$2.97 €2.67

6.73%

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

$1.59 ₩2,141

$2.29 €2.06

-30.57%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.63 ₩848

$1.74 €1.56

-63.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.38 ₩3,197

$3.40 €3.06

-30.00%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.59 ₩6,170

$3.31 €2.97

38.67%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.72 ₩2,312

$1.16 €1.04

48.28%

White Bread (500g)

$2.49 ₩3,348

$1.91 €1.72

30.37%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.29 ₩3,075

$1.51 €1.36

51.66%

Eggs

$2.64 ₩3,541

$4.02 €3.61

-34.33%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.80 ₩11.8K

$12.94 €11.62

-31.99%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.82 ₩10.5K

$7.77 €6.98

0.64%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.15 ₩15.0K

$17.76 €15.95

-37.22%

Apples (1kg)

$5.16 ₩6,934

$2.30 €2.07

124.35%

Banana (1kg)

$3.02 ₩4,050

$1.73 €1.56

74.57%

Oranges (1kg)

$3.72 ₩5,000

$1.86 €1.67

100.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$3.09 ₩4,144

$2.59 €2.33

19.31%

Potato (1kg)

$3.60 ₩4,835

$1.82 €1.64

97.80%

Onion (1kg)

$1.89 ₩2,541

$1.97 €1.77

-4.06%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.11 ₩2,838

$1.47 €1.32

43.54%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.28 ₩1,725

$0.72 €0.65

77.78%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.36 ₩4,515

$6.58 €5.91

-48.94%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.19 ₩15.0K

$5.61 €5.04

99.47%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.51 ₩2,031

$1.36 €1.22

11.03%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.31 ₩3,100

$2.14 €1.92

7.94%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.01 ₩1,351

$2.33 €2.10

-56.65%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$68.8 ₩92.4K

$44.68 €40.14

54.07%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.06 ₩4,102

$3.85 €3.46

-20.52%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.64 ₩854

$1.07 €0.96

-40.19%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$7.84 ₩10.5K

$16.46 €14.79

-52.37%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.20 ₩1,617

$2.20 €1.98

-45.45%

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

$28.1K ₩37.7M

$34.2K €30.7K

-17.91%

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

$35.2K ₩47.3M

$38.7K €34.8K

-9.05%

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

$212 ₩284.5K

$161 €145

31.40%

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

$44.13 ₩59.3K

$18.41 €16.54

139.71%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.64 ₩27.7K

$32.74 €29.41

-36.96%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$55.4 ₩74.3K

$44.55 €40.02

24.24%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$14.36 ₩19.3K

$19.10 €17.16

-24.82%

Cinema Ticket

$11.20 ₩15.0K

$9.60 €8.62

16.67%

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

$299 ₩401.2K

$668 €600

-55.25%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$17.5K ₩23.5M

$17.6K €15.8K

-0.60%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$32.50 ₩43.6K

$102 €91.6

-68.14%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$26.36 ₩35.4K

$44.46 €39.94

-40.71%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$63.9 ₩85.8K

$98.5 €88.5

-35.13%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$89.9 ₩120.7K

$124 €111

-27.30%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$508 ₩682.6K

$1,608 €1,445

-68.39%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$370 ₩496.4K

$1,190 €1,069

-68.94%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,163 ₩1.6M

$2,812 €2,526

-58.64%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$744 ₩998.6K

$2,013 €1,808

-63.06%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,980 ₩10.7M

$7,839 €7,042

1.80%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,343 ₩8.5M

$4,576 €4,110

38.62%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,834 ₩3.8M

$1,575 €1,415

79.92%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.6

3.85

-6.49%

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

Last update for Gwangju: October 24, 2026

Last update for Lisbon: October 27, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Gwangju

$370 27.6%

Lisbon

$1.2K 53.8% 222% $820

Groceries & Markets

Gwangju

$308 23%

Lisbon

$272 12.3% 11.6% $36

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Gwangju

$277 20.6%

Lisbon

$212 9.6% 23.2% $64

Eating Out

Gwangju

$134 10%

Lisbon

$243 11% 81.5% $109

Clothing & Footwear

Gwangju

$96 7.1%

Lisbon

$166 7.5% 73.4% $70

Getting Around

Gwangju

$79 5.9%

Lisbon

$63 2.9% 20.1% $16

Sport & Entertainment

Gwangju

$78 5.8%

Lisbon

$64 2.9% 18% $14

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $508 in Gwangju and $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Gwangju pays 80% more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $34 in Gwangju vs $62 in Lisbon. Groceries flip the comparison at $308 vs $272, with Lisbon cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇰🇷 Gwangju

🇵🇹 Lisbon

🕒 Local time

05:32 5:32 AM

20:32 8:32 PM

9 h behind Gwangju

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,467,996

545,923 Capital

💱 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 →

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Between locations

Gwangju Lisbon 10,640 km ≈ 14 h nonstop flight

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Gwangju
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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

Gwangju vs Lisbon: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Gwangju is about 39% cheaper overall, especially in eating out and clothing. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 80% higher in Gwangju, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $508 in Gwangju versus $1,608 in Lisbon. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Dining out is cheaper in Gwangju – a meal for two runs $34 versus $62 in Lisbon. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

All in, you’ll spend $1,341 per month in Gwangju versus $2,210 in Lisbon – Gwangju is about 39% cheaper, which adds up to real savings over time.

At $1,341 in Gwangju versus $2,210 in Lisbon, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Gwangju but tight or insufficient in Lisbon. The gap between the two cities makes Gwangju the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

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, Gwangju and Lisbon are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.