Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Seoul and Datong

For one person, living is cheaper in Datong: $715 a month against $1,804 in Seoul, rent and utilities included – about $13,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for about half of the difference.

87

Cost of Living Index in Seoul
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Seoul Living Index
35

Cost of Living Index in Datong
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Datong Living Index

Jump to prices

Seoul

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,804

/mo nomad

Datong

🇨🇳 China

$715

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Seoul and in Datong

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,804 in Seoul versus $715 in Datong.

Seoul $1,804
Datong $715

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,877 in Seoul versus $1,133 in Datong.

Seoul $2,877
Datong $1,133

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,950 in Seoul versus $1,551 in Datong.

Seoul $3,950
Datong $1,551

Living in Seoul is roughly 152% more expensive than in Datong, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Seoul is 33% above, Datong is 47% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$9.10 ₩12.1K

$2.77 ¥18.50

228.52%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$66.7 ₩88.6K

$21.44 ¥143

210.96%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$7.49 ₩9,959

$4.93 ¥32.98

51.93%

Cappuccino

$4.19 ₩5,569

$3.05 ¥20.42

37.38%

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

$1.55 ₩2,067

$0.47 ¥3.11

229.79%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.79 ₩1,055

$0.27 ¥1.80

192.59%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.64 ₩4,846

$0.94 ¥6.31

287.23%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$6.14 ₩8,164

$2.06 ¥13.76

198.06%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.11 ₩2,811

$1.82 ¥12.16

15.93%

White Bread (500g)

$3.05 ₩4,051

$1.62 ¥10.80

88.27%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$4.21 ₩5,599

$0.89 ¥5.92

373.03%

Eggs

$3.54 ₩4,709

$1.55 ¥10.36

128.39%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$18.02 ₩24.0K

$12.59 ¥84.2

43.13%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.35 ₩13.8K

$3.23 ¥21.62

220.43%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$26.47 ₩35.2K

$10.12 ¥67.7

161.56%

Apples (1kg)

$7.91 ₩10.5K

$1.87 ¥12.52

322.99%

Banana (1kg)

$3.44 ₩4,578

$1.26 ¥8.39

173.02%

Oranges (1kg)

$5.64 ₩7,493

$1.47 ¥9.83

283.67%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.41 ₩8,517

$1.15 ¥7.68

457.39%

Potato (1kg)

$3.71 ₩4,938

$0.73 ¥4.89

408.22%

Onion (1kg)

$2.52 ₩3,345

$0.92 ¥6.13

173.91%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.87 ₩3,816

$0.56 ¥3.77

412.50%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 ₩1,536

$0.51 ¥3.44

127.45%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.37 ₩4,480

$3.17 ¥21.22

6.31%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.72 ₩24.9K

$10.71 ¥71.6

74.79%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.28 ₩3,036

$0.79 ¥5.29

188.61%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.31 ₩4,397

$1.60 ¥10.69

106.87%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.13 ₩1,497

$0.27 ¥1.80

318.52%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$46.73 ₩62.1K

$16.82 ¥112

177.82%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.52 ₩4,684

$1.42 ¥9.48

147.89%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.64 ₩849

$0.33 ¥2.19

93.94%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.76 ₩11.7K

$6.87 ¥45.96

27.51%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.45 ₩1,930

$1.17 ¥7.83

23.93%

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

$29.7K ₩39.4M

$19.4K ¥129.6K

53.03%

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

$28.2K ₩37.5M

$17.4K ¥116.3K

62.08%

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

$211 ₩280.4K

$44.62 ¥298

372.57%

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

$35.36 ₩47.0K

$9.53 ¥63.7

271.04%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$20.57 ₩27.4K

$11.92 ¥79.7

72.57%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$57.7 ₩76.7K

$42.32 ¥283

36.34%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$16.20 ₩21.5K

$13.88 ¥92.8

16.71%

Cinema Ticket

$11.37 ₩15.1K

$5.84 ¥39.05

94.69%

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

$1,967 ₩2.6M

$329 ¥2,198

498.35%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$22.8K ₩30.3M

$16.5K ¥110.5K

37.76%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$57.5 ₩76.4K

$44.27 ¥296

29.77%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.08 ₩44.0K

$30.48 ¥204

8.53%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$70.1 ₩93.2K

$71.5 ¥478

-1.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$84.3 ₩112.0K

$70.7 ¥473

19.13%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$878 ₩1.2M

$283 ¥1,890

210.45%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$624 ₩829.7K

$193 ¥1,289

223.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,513 ₩3.3M

$598 ¥3,999

320.08%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,287 ₩1.7M

$363 ¥2,424

255.02%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$30.4K ₩40.4M

$3,069 ¥20.5K

889.66%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$11.9K ₩15.8M

$2,036 ¥13.6K

483.32%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$3,599 ₩4.8M

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.08

3.89

4.88%

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

Last update for Seoul: October 18, 2026

Last update for Datong: October 18, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Seoul

$624 34.6%

Datong

$193 27% 69.1% $431

Groceries & Markets

Seoul

$480 26.6%

Datong

$198 27.7% 58.7% $282

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Seoul

$267 14.8%

Datong

$66 9.2% 75.2% $201

Eating Out

Seoul

$185 10.3%

Datong

$85 11.9% 54% $100

Clothing & Footwear

Seoul

$110 6.1%

Datong

$98 13.7% 11.4% $13

Sport & Entertainment

Seoul

$80 4.5%

Datong

$54 7.6% 32.9% $26

Getting Around

Seoul

$58 3.2%

Datong

$21 2.9% 63.8% $37

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $878 in Seoul and $283 in Datong. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $67.0 in Seoul vs $21.00 in Datong for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $480 vs $198 per month, with Datong cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇰🇷 Seoul

🇨🇳 Datong

🕒 Local time

09:05 9:05 AM

08:05 8:05 AM

1 h behind Seoul

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

9,509,458 Capital

3,318,057

💱 Currency

South Korean Won KRW ₩

Chinese Yuan CNY ¥

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 KRW = 7.52 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.69 EUR

1 CNY = 0.15 USD

1 CNY = 0.133 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

CNY, USD, EUR to KRW – South Korean Won Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇷 South Korean Won (₩)

South Korean Won exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 1,330 KRW (10,000 KRW = 7.52 USD). 1 EUR = 1,495 KRW (10,000 KRW = 6.69 EUR).

Chinese Yuan exchange rates as of October 21, 2026: 1 USD = 6.69 CNY (1 CNY = 0.15 USD). 1 EUR = 7.52 CNY (1 CNY = 0.133 EUR).

USD to KRW in detail →

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Seoul Datong 1,220 km ≈ 2 h nonstop flight

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City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

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Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Seoul vs Datong: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Datong wins on cost – living expenses run 152% lower than in Seoul. Housing and daily spending are where you'll feel the difference most, making Datong the obvious pick if budget is a priority.

You'd need roughly $2,707 in Seoul and $1,072 in Datong to live well. The gap comes down to housing and overall price levels. Both cities are liveable on less, but these numbers represent actual comfort.

Rent for a central apartment: $878 in Seoul versus $283 in Datong. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $1,967 in Seoul versus $329 in Datong. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 142% higher in Seoul. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $715 in Datong versus $1,804 in Seoul, a $1,000 budget is realistic in Datong but tight or insufficient in Seoul. The gap between the two cities makes Datong 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, Seoul and Datong are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Datong gentler on the wallet – expenses run 152% less than in Seoul. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.