Last update: Nov 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Wonju and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,294 a month against $1,549 in Wonju, rent and utilities included – about $3,100 less a year. The total is higher in Wonju despite lower rent and utilities.

74

Cost of Living Index in Wonju
Learn more

Wonju Living Index
62

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
Learn more

Phuket Living Index

Jump to prices

Wonju

🇰🇷 South Korea

$1,549

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,294

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Wonju 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 Wonju and in Phuket actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,549 in Wonju versus $1,294 in Phuket.

Wonju $1,549
Phuket $1,294

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,516 in Wonju versus $2,204 in Phuket.

Wonju $2,516
Phuket $2,204

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $3,483 in Wonju versus $3,115 in Phuket.

Wonju $3,483
Phuket $3,115

Living in Wonju is roughly 20% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

The two cities straddle the global median: Wonju is 15% above, Phuket is 4% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.44 ₩9,968

$4.39 ฿148

69.48%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$48.11 ₩64.4K

$32.31 ฿1,086

48.90%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.72 ₩8,994

$8.70 ฿293

-22.76%

Cappuccino

$3.68 ₩4,932

$2.72 ฿91.6

35.29%

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

$1.86 ₩2,485

$0.93 ฿31.28

100.00%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.40 ₩1,874

$0.50 ฿16.79

180.00%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.77 ₩5,042

$2.53 ฿85.1

49.01%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.30 ₩5,757

$3.63 ฿122

18.46%

Milk (1 liter)

$2.22 ₩2,976

$1.74 ฿58.5

27.59%

White Bread (500g)

$3.19 ₩4,267

$1.45 ฿48.77

120.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$3.05 ₩4,085

$1.50 ฿50.5

103.33%

Eggs

$2.63 ₩3,526

$2.17 ฿73.0

21.20%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.97 ₩14.7K

$19.09 ฿642

-42.54%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$10.34 ₩13.8K

$3.40 ฿114

204.12%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$24.64 ₩33.0K

$10.90 ฿366

126.06%

Apples (1kg)

$11.24 ₩15.1K

$2.94 ฿98.9

282.31%

Banana (1kg)

$3.58 ₩4,797

$1.69 ฿56.9

111.83%

Oranges (1kg)

$7.84 ₩10.5K

$2.19 ฿73.8

257.99%

Tomato (1kg)

$6.08 ₩8,146

$2.12 ฿71.4

186.79%

Potato (1kg)

$5.80 ₩7,767

$1.46 ฿49.03

297.26%

Onion (1kg)

$3.25 ₩4,348

$1.37 ฿45.99

137.23%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.75 ₩3,676

$1.08 ฿36.17

154.63%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.27 ₩1,698

$0.55 ฿18.34

130.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.27 ₩4,378

$4.43 ฿149

-26.19%

Wine (Bottle)

$18.24 ₩24.4K

$18.25 ฿614

-0.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.44 ₩3,263

$1.77 ฿59.6

37.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 ₩4,863

$2.88 ฿96.8

26.04%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.97 ₩1,304

$1.45 ฿48.66

-33.10%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$54.9 ฿1,845

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$3.55 ₩4,749

$1.51 ฿50.9

135.10%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$0.64 ₩853

$0.78 ฿26.08

-17.95%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$14.85 ₩19.9K

$3.84 ฿129

286.72%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.18 ₩1,573

$1.49 ฿50.0

-20.81%

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

$38.6K ₩51.7M

$26.9K ฿903.7K

43.66%

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

$33.3K ₩44.6M

$26.3K ฿885.7K

26.38%

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

$202 ₩270.7K

$97.8 ฿3,288

106.73%

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

$36.46 ₩48.8K

$11.29 ฿380

222.94%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$27.33 ₩36.6K

$17.19 ฿578

58.99%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$52.4 ₩70.1K

$68.3 ฿2,297

-23.36%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.90 ₩15.9K

$10.92 ฿367

8.97%

Cinema Ticket

$12.10 ₩16.2K

$7.43 ฿250

62.85%

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

$477 ₩638.8K

$530 ฿17.8K

-10.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$21.8K ₩29.3M

$18.8K ฿631.4K

16.32%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$104 ₩139.1K

$61.7 ฿2,073

68.41%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$64.7 ₩86.6K

$28.25 ฿950

128.96%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$91.5 ₩122.5K

$96.0 ฿3,228

-4.73%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$128 ₩170.9K

$86.8 ฿2,919

47.02%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$507 ₩679.1K

$721 ฿24.2K

-29.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$377 ₩504.1K

$509 ฿17.1K

-26.01%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,239 ₩1.7M

$1,950 ฿65.6K

-36.44%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$916 ₩1.2M

$1,397 ฿47.0K

-34.43%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$6,883 ₩9.2M

$4,192 ฿140.9K

64.18%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$6,178 ₩8.3M

$3,298 ฿110.9K

87.32%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$492 ฿16.5K

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.22

5.57

-24.24%

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

Last update for Wonju: November 2, 2026

Last update for Phuket: November 2, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Wonju

$481 31%

Phuket

$267 20.6% 44.5% $214

Accommodation & Living

Wonju

$377 24.3%

Phuket

$509 39.3% 35.2% $132

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Wonju

$266 17.2%

Phuket

$126 9.8% 52.5% $140

Clothing & Footwear

Wonju

$174 11.3%

Phuket

$123 9.5% 29.6% $52

Eating Out

Wonju

$164 10.6%

Phuket

$120 9.2% 27.3% $45

Sport & Entertainment

Wonju

$77 4.9%

Phuket

$83 6.4% 8.6% $6.6

Getting Around

Wonju

$11 * 0.7%

Phuket

$66 5.1% 522% $55

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 $507 in Wonju and $721 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Dining out: $48 in Wonju vs $32 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $481 vs $267 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇰🇷 Wonju

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

15:06 3:06 PM

13:06 1:06 PM

2 h behind Wonju

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

340,196

79,308

💱 Currency

South Korean Won KRW ₩

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 KRW = 7.47 USD

10,000 KRW = 6.63 EUR

100 THB = 2.97 USD

100 THB = 2.64 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 November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 1,339 KRW (10,000 KRW = 7.47 USD). 1 EUR = 1,507 KRW (10,000 KRW = 6.63 EUR).

Thai Baht exchange rates as of November 5, 2026: 1 USD = 33.62 THB (100 THB = 2.97 USD). 1 EUR = 37.85 THB (100 THB = 2.64 EUR).

USD to KRW in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Wonju Phuket 4,420 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Wonju
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

Wonju vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is about 17% cheaper overall, especially in groceries, clothing, and eating out. That difference adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

You’d need roughly $2,324 in Wonju and $1,940 in Phuket 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: $507 in Wonju versus $721 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $477 in Wonju versus $530 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 $48 in Wonju. If you eat out regularly, this makes a real dent in your monthly spending.

At $1,294 in Phuket versus $1,549 in Wonju, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Wonju. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket 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, Wonju and Phuket are both considered safe, so it’s unlikely to be the deciding factor between them.