Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Uijeongbu and Phuket

For one person, living costs are similar in Uijeongbu and in Phuket: $1,239 and $1,278 a month, rent and utilities included.

60

Cost of Living Index in Uijeongbu
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Uijeongbu Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index

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Uijeongbu

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,239

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,278

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Uijeongbu and in Phuket

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,239 in Uijeongbu versus $1,278 in Phuket.

Uijeongbu $1,239
Phuket $1,278

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,889 in Uijeongbu versus $2,216 in Phuket.

Uijeongbu $1,889
Phuket $2,216

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,538 in Uijeongbu versus $3,154 in Phuket.

Uijeongbu $2,538
Phuket $3,154

Living in Uijeongbu costs roughly 3% less than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in transport.

Both cities sit below the global median: Uijeongbu 9% lower, Phuket 6% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$6.64 ₩8,807

$4.47 ฿151

48.55%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$34.36 ₩45.6K

$32.41 ฿1,094

6.02%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.66 ₩8,844

$8.81 ฿297

-24.40%

Cappuccino

$3.72 ₩4,941

$2.83 ฿95.5

31.45%

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

$1.54 ₩2,050

$0.87 ฿29.43

77.01%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.75 ₩989

$0.49 ฿16.67

53.06%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.55 ₩4,705

$2.56 ฿86.4

38.67%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.45 ₩5,900

$3.68 ฿124

20.92%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.05 ₩2,715

$1.66 ฿56.0

23.49%

White Bread (500g)

$3.15 ₩4,178

$1.46 ฿49.35

115.75%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.25 ₩2,992

$1.50 ฿50.6

50.00%

Eggs

$3.32 ₩4,404

$2.09 ฿70.5

58.85%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$15.46 ₩20.5K

$19.07 ฿644

-18.93%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$7.91 ₩10.5K

$3.30 ฿111

139.70%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$11.49 ₩15.2K

$10.91 ฿368

5.32%

Apples (1kg)

$7.62 ₩10.1K

$2.93 ฿99.0

160.07%

Banana (1kg)

$3.26 ₩4,326

$1.69 ฿57.1

92.90%

Oranges (1kg)

$5.67 ₩7,520

$2.25 ฿75.8

152.00%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.17 ₩8,193

$2.08 ฿70.1

196.63%

Potato (1kg)

$3.59 ₩4,766

$1.51 ฿51.0

137.75%

Onion (1kg)

$2.37 ₩3,146

$1.38 ฿46.56

71.74%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.05 ₩2,719

$1.07 ฿35.99

91.59%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 ₩1,544

$0.52 ฿17.52

123.08%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.41 ₩4,522

$4.20 ฿142

-18.81%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.92 ₩25.1K

$18.79 ฿634

0.69%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.27 ₩3,012

$1.82 ฿61.5

24.73%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.23 ₩4,284

$2.84 ฿95.9

13.73%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.14 ₩1,516

$1.45 ฿49.03

-21.38%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$56.7 ฿1,913

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.51 ₩4,656

$3.02 ฿102

16.23%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.59 ₩787

$1.02 ฿34.36

-42.16%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$9.13 ₩12.1K

$3.69 ฿125

147.43%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.40 ₩1,858

$1.47 ฿49.81

-4.76%

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

$29.5K ₩39.1M

$26.8K ฿904.3K

10.10%

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

$28.2K ₩37.4M

$26.7K ฿901.3K

5.68%

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

$210 ₩278.9K

$96.4 ฿3,254

118.12%

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

$34.87 ₩46.3K

$11.26 ฿380

209.68%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$21.08 ₩28.0K

$16.85 ฿569

25.10%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$53.6 ₩71.1K

$67.2 ฿2,270

-20.32%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$13.84 ₩18.4K

$10.73 ฿362

28.98%

Cinema Ticket

$11.16 ₩14.8K

$7.50 ฿253

48.80%

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

$373 ₩495.0K

$476 ฿16.1K

-21.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$18.1K ₩24.0M

$11.3K ฿380.4K

60.51%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$59.2 ₩78.5K

$62.4 ฿2,106

-5.12%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.30 ₩42.9K

$28.41 ฿959

13.69%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$71.3 ₩94.7K

$94.3 ฿3,184

-24.34%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$81.3 ₩107.9K

$85.8 ฿2,898

-5.21%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$267 ₩354.2K

$716 ฿24.2K

-62.71%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$224 ₩296.8K

$491 ฿16.6K

-54.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$487 ₩646.0K

$1,927 ฿65.1K

-74.73%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$411 ₩545.5K

$1,431 ฿48.3K

-71.26%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$7,146 ₩9.5M

$4,175 ฿141.0K

71.14%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$5,504 ₩7.3M

$3,045 ฿102.8K

80.77%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$2,265 ₩3.0M

$502 ฿17.0K

350.99%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.08

5.57

-26.75%

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

Last update for Uijeongbu: October 25, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Uijeongbu

$399 32.2%

Phuket

$266 20.8% 33.3% $133

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Uijeongbu

$266 21.5%

Phuket

$124 9.7% 53.2% $142

Accommodation & Living

Uijeongbu

$224 18.1%

Phuket

$491 38.4% 120% $267

Eating Out

Uijeongbu

$154 12.4%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 20.7% $32

Clothing & Footwear

Uijeongbu

$110 8.9%

Phuket

$122 9.5% 11% $12

Sport & Entertainment

Uijeongbu

$76 6.1%

Phuket

$82 6.4% 8.3% $6.3

Getting Around

Uijeongbu

$11 * 0.9%

Phuket

$71 5.5% 539% $60

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 $267 in Uijeongbu and $716 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Uijeongbu pays about 4.5 times more on average while also being the cheaper of the two. The combined effect is a noticeably stronger local purchasing power.

Dining out: $34 in Uijeongbu vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $399 vs $266 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇰🇷 Uijeongbu

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

17:32 5:32 PM

15:32 3:32 PM

2 h behind Uijeongbu

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

463,077

79,308

💱 Currency

South Korean Won KRW ₩

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 KRW = 7.54 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.77 EUR

100 THB = 2.96 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

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

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇰🇷 South Korean Won (₩)

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

Thai Baht exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 33.77 THB (100 THB = 2.96 USD). 1 EUR = 37.58 THB (100 THB = 2.66 EUR).

USD to KRW in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Uijeongbu Phuket 4,390 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Uijeongbu
Phuket

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

Uijeongbu vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Uijeongbu is cheaper overall, especially in transport, clothing, and leisure. The 3% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay in Uijeongbu is about 4.5 times higher, 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: $267 in Uijeongbu versus $716 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $373 in Uijeongbu versus $476 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Dining out is cheaper in Phuket – a meal for two runs $32 versus $34 in Uijeongbu. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

Either city works on $2,000 a month, though Uijeongbu gives you more room to save. At this income level, the choice is more about lifestyle than financial pressure.

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, Uijeongbu and Phuket are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.