Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Jeonju

For one person, living is cheaper in Jeonju: $1,149 a month against $1,639 in Medellin, rent and utilities included – about $5,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
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Medellin Living Index
55

Cost of Living Index in Jeonju
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Jeonju Living Index

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Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,639

/mo nomad

Jeonju

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,149

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Jeonju

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,639 in Medellin versus $1,149 in Jeonju.

Medellin $1,639
Jeonju $1,149

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,413 in Medellin versus $1,796 in Jeonju.

Medellin $2,413
Jeonju $1,796

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,186 in Medellin versus $2,443 in Jeonju.

Medellin $3,186
Jeonju $2,443

Living in Medellin is roughly 43% more expensive than in Jeonju, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

The two cities straddle the global median: Medellin is 20% above, Jeonju is 16% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$8.09 COP 25.4K

$7.48 ₩9,930

8.16%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$47.05 COP 148.0K

$22.90 ₩30.4K

105.46%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 29.9K

$5.43 ₩7,201

74.95%

Cappuccino

$3.01 COP 9,485

$3.81 ₩5,052

-21.00%

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

$1.80 COP 5,660

$1.12 ₩1,485

60.71%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.41 COP 4,443

$0.61 ₩814

131.15%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.18 COP 9,990

$2.85 ₩3,781

11.58%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.75 COP 18.1K

$4.16 ₩5,524

38.22%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.51 COP 4,751

$2.15 ₩2,851

-29.77%

White Bread (500g)

$2.38 COP 7,480

$2.30 ₩3,058

3.48%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.77 COP 5,573

$3.12 ₩4,136

-43.27%

Eggs

$2.89 COP 9,093

$2.30 ₩3,054

25.65%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.1K

$10.99 ₩14.6K

-7.28%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.87 COP 31.1K

$10.53 ₩14.0K

-6.27%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$13.99 COP 44.0K

$25.57 ₩33.9K

-45.29%

Apples (1kg)

$3.97 COP 12.5K

$11.45 ₩15.2K

-65.33%

Banana (1kg)

$1.55 COP 4,883

$3.33 ₩4,419

-53.45%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,867

$8.37 ₩11.1K

-73.95%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.18 COP 6,870

$4.61 ₩6,123

-52.71%

Potato (1kg)

$1.96 COP 6,174

$6.20 ₩8,220

-68.39%

Onion (1kg)

$1.59 COP 5,000

$2.29 ₩3,039

-30.57%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.15 COP 3,604

$2.91 ₩3,861

-60.48%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.24 COP 3,911

$0.77 ₩1,019

61.04%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.96 COP 12.5K

$3.47 ₩4,607

14.12%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.68 COP 43.0K

$18.83 ₩25.0K

-27.35%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.66 COP 5,222

$1.49 ₩1,974

11.41%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.26 COP 7,104

$3.51 ₩4,654

-35.61%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.17 COP 3,674

$1.22 ₩1,615

-4.10%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$77.4 COP 243.4K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.27 COP 3,989

$3.32 ₩4,407

-61.75%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.05 COP 6,442

$0.76 ₩1,010

169.74%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.55 COP 26.9K

$16.74 ₩22.2K

-48.92%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.35 COP 4,237

$1.21 ₩1,612

11.57%

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

$34.1K COP 107.2M

$39.1K ₩51.9M

-12.85%

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

$34.7K COP 109.1M

$34.6K ₩46.0M

0.10%

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

$170 COP 533.7K

$72.0 ₩95.5K

135.63%

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

$13.55 COP 42.6K

$30.65 ₩40.7K

-55.79%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.07 COP 88.3K

$27.49 ₩36.5K

2.11%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$43.70 COP 137.5K

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.19 COP 54.1K

Cinema Ticket

$6.91 COP 21.7K

$11.98 ₩15.9K

-42.32%

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

$797 COP 2.5M

$638 ₩846.6K

24.86%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,112 COP 28.7M

$22.0K ₩29.2M

-58.53%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.7 COP 266.5K

$105 ₩138.7K

-18.98%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$58.0 COP 182.3K

$64.9 ₩86.1K

-10.72%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$135 COP 424.6K

$44.53 ₩59.1K

203.08%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 307.9K

$37.95 ₩50.4K

157.89%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,208 COP 3.8M

$266 ₩352.3K

354.93%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$642 COP 2.0M

$259 ₩344.3K

147.27%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,028 COP 6.4M

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,012 COP 3.2M

$460 ₩609.8K

120.16%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,170 COP 13.1M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,910 COP 6.0M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$657 COP 2.1M

$2,295 ₩3.0M

-71.37%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

4.22

159.24%

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

Last update for Medellin: October 25, 2026

Last update for Jeonju: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$642 39.1%

Jeonju

$259 22.6% 59.6% $382

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$297 18.1%

Jeonju

$458 39.9% 54.4% $161

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$211 12.9%

Jeonju

$130 11.3% 38.4% $81

Eating Out

Medellin

$170 10.4%

Jeonju

$151 13.2% 10.8% $18

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$169 10.3%

Jeonju

$113 9.9% 32.9% $56

Getting Around

Medellin

$94 5.7%

Jeonju

$12 * 1% 87.2% $82

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.5%

Jeonju

$24 * 2.1% 58.3% $34

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 $1,208 in Medellin and $266 in Jeonju. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Jeonju pays about 3.5 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $47 in Medellin vs $23 in Jeonju. Groceries flip the comparison at $297 vs $458, with Medellin cheaper for home cooking.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇰🇷 Jeonju

🕒 Local time

05:17 5:17 AM

19:17 7:17 PM

14 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

653,387

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

South Korean Won KRW ₩

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.18 USD

10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR

10,000 KRW = 7.54 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.77 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

KRW, USD, EUR to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 3,146 COP (10,000 COP = 3.18 USD). 1 EUR = 3,501 COP (10,000 COP = 2.86 EUR).

South Korean Won exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1,327 KRW (10,000 KRW = 7.54 USD). 1 EUR = 1,477 KRW (10,000 KRW = 6.77 EUR).

USD to COP in detail →

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Between locations

Medellin Jeonju 14,770 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Jeonju

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

Medellin vs Jeonju: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Jeonju is cheaper overall, especially in transport, clothing, and leisure. The 43% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

On paper, salaries run 71% lower in Medellin. 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: $1,208 in Medellin versus $266 in Jeonju. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $797 in Medellin versus $638 in Jeonju. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Jeonju – a meal for two runs $23 versus $47 in Medellin. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,149 in Jeonju versus $1,639 in Medellin, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Jeonju but tight or insufficient in Medellin. The gap between the two cities makes Jeonju 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.