South Korea costs most travellers 65,000 to 220,000 won a day ($45 to $160), which puts it well above Southeast Asia but noticeably below Japan for the same comfort. A hostel bed, a kimbap breakfast, a gukbap lunch, a few subway rides and a market dinner come to under 80,000 won in Seoul; a 120,000-won hotel room, a Korean BBQ dinner and one KTX ride push you past 200,000. Prices below are in Korean won with dollar equivalents at roughly 1,400 won to the US dollar, current for 2026. Seoul and Jeju are the most expensive places to sleep, cities like Daegu, Jeonju and Gwangju cost 20 to 30 percent less, and food and transport are cheap almost everywhere.
South Korea daily budgets at a glance#
These are per-person figures that assume two people share a room (add 25 to 40 percent if you travel solo and want a private room). They include accommodation, food, local transport and sights, but not intercity trains, which are covered under transport below.
| Budget | Per day (KRW) | Per day (USD) | What it buys |
|---|---|---|---|
| Backpacker | 65,000 to 90,000 | $45 to $65 | Hostel dorm or jjimjilbang, kimbap and market food, subway and buses, palaces and free museums |
| Mid-range | 110,000 to 220,000 | $80 to $160 | Business hotel or hanok guesthouse, sit-down meals and BBQ dinners, taxis at night, a paid attraction most days |
| Comfortable | 250,000+ | $180+ | 4 and 5-star hotels, restaurant dining with drinks, taxis by default, guided DMZ and day tours |
The split is predictable. Backpackers spend about 40 percent on beds and 35 percent on food; at mid-range the hotel takes half; at the top end hotels and dinners together are 70 percent of the bill. Transport inside cities barely registers at any level because a subway ride costs about a dollar.
Beds
Dorm 20,000 to 35,000 won, guesthouse private 50,000 to 80,000, business hotel 90,000 to 150,000, 4-star 180,000 to 300,000.
Food
Kimbap roll 3,500 to 5,000 won, gukbap or bibimbap 10,000 to 14,000, BBQ dinner 25,000 to 40,000 per person with drinks.
Transport
Seoul subway from 1,550 won, taxi flagfall 4,800, KTX Seoul to Busan 59,800, Gimpo to Jeju flight 30,000 to 100,000.
Sights
Gyeongbokgung 3,000 won (free in hanbok), national museums free, Bulguksa free, Lotte World Tower observation deck around 31,000.
Drinks
Soju 1,900 to 2,200 won in a convenience store and 5,000 to 7,000 in a restaurant, coffee 4,500 to 7,000.
Extras
T-money card 3,000 to 4,000 won, tourist eSIM 20,000 to 35,000 for 5 to 10 days, jjimjilbang 12,000 to 20,000.
Accommodation prices in South Korea#
Beds are the biggest variable. A hostel dorm in Seoul’s Hongdae or Myeongdong districts costs 20,000 to 35,000 won ($14 to $25), usually with a capsule-style curtain, a locker and a shared kitchen. Guesthouse private rooms run 50,000 to 80,000 won, and in Seoul a small private double often costs only a little more than two dorm beds, so couples rarely need a dorm.
The mid-range sweet spot is the business hotel at 90,000 to 150,000 won: compact, spotless, near a subway exit, with a rain shower and a bidet toilet. Korea’s “love motels” are a local quirk worth knowing about. Around bus terminals and nightlife districts they rent clean, large rooms for 50,000 to 90,000 won a night, and plenty of budget travellers use them without any fuss. A hanok stay in Bukchon or Jeonju’s hanok village costs 80,000 to 250,000 won for a heated-floor room with a sleeping mat, and a temple stay is around 60,000 to 100,000 won a night including vegetarian meals.
At the top end, 4-star hotels in Seoul cost 180,000 to 300,000 won and the big international 5-star names start around 350,000. Jeju’s resorts and Busan’s Haeundae beachfront spike in late July and early August, when weekend rates can double. The cheapest bed in the country is a jjimjilbang, a 24-hour bathhouse with heated sleeping halls, at 12,000 to 20,000 won; fine for a night, not for a week.
Food and drink prices#
Korea is cheap to eat in if you eat Korean. A kimbap roll from a chain such as Gimbap Cheonguk costs 3,500 to 5,000 won ($2.50 to $3.60), a convenience-store lunch box 4,500 to 7,000, and a bowl of gukbap (pork or beef soup with rice), kalguksu or bibimbap 10,000 to 14,000. Street snacks are small change: tteokbokki 4,000 to 5,000 won a portion, hotteok (sweet pancakes) 2,000, fish cake skewers 1,000 to 1,500.
Korean BBQ is priced per portion of about 150 to 200 g, usually 16,000 to 20,000 won for samgyeopsal pork belly and 30,000 won or more for hanu beef, and most places require at least two portions. With rice, a stew and a bottle of soju, two people pay 50,000 to 70,000 won for pork. A whole fried chicken costs 20,000 to 28,000 won, and side dishes (banchan) are always free and refillable.
Drinks are where budgets leak. Soju is 1,900 to 2,200 won a bottle in a convenience store but 5,000 to 7,000 won in a restaurant; a draft beer is 4,000 to 7,000 won, craft beer 8,000 to 10,000, and cocktails in Itaewon or Gangnam 15,000 to 25,000. Café culture is expensive by comparison: an Americano costs 4,500 to 7,000 won, more than a kimbap lunch.
Transport costs#
Getting around cities is the best value in Korea. Seoul’s subway costs 1,550 won ($1.10) for the first 10 km with a T-money card and city buses 1,500 won, with free transfers between them. A tourist Climate Card for unlimited Seoul subway and bus rides costs 5,000 won for one day, 10,000 for three and 20,000 for seven, plus a 3,000-won card. Taxis start at 4,800 won in Seoul, and a 20-minute ride across the centre is 12,000 to 18,000 won.
Long distances add up faster. KTX standard class from Seoul to Busan costs 59,800 won one way, to Gyeongju about 49,000, to Gangneung about 27,600 and to Jeonju about 34,000. Slower Mugunghwa trains and express buses cost 30 to 45 percent less. Flights from Gimpo to Jeju run 30,000 to 100,000 won one way with low-cost carriers, cheapest midweek. Our South Korea getting around guide covers fares, passes and booking in detail.
Sights and activity prices#
Korea’s heritage sites are cheap and many are free. Gyeongbokgung costs 3,000 won and Changdeokgung 3,000 plus 5,000 for the Secret Garden tour; Deoksugung and Jongmyo are 1,000. Wearing a hanbok gets you into the palaces free, and renting one for two to four hours costs 15,000 to 30,000 won. The National Museum of Korea and the Gyeongju National Museum are free, and since 2023 temples such as Bulguksa no longer charge the old cultural heritage fee.
The expensive items are modern attractions and tours. The Seoul Sky deck at Lotte World Tower costs around 31,000 won, N Seoul Tower’s observatory around 26,000 won, and day tickets to Lotte World or Everland are in the 60,000 to 70,000-won range. A guided tour to the DMZ costs 60,000 to 120,000 won, the Joint Security Area versions at the top end. National parks such as Seoraksan and Hallasan charge no entry, though Seoraksan’s cable car costs about 15,000 won.
Smaller everyday costs are easy to forget. A tourist eSIM or prepaid SIM with unlimited data costs about 20,000 to 35,000 won for five to ten days and 50,000 to 70,000 for a month, while pocket Wi-Fi rental is about 4,000 to 6,000 won a day. Coin laundries charge 4,000 to 5,000 won a wash and the same to dry, many hostels wash for free, and luggage lockers at big stations cost 2,000 to 4,000 won for a few hours. A cooking class runs 60,000 to 100,000 won, and a session in a Seoul noraebang (karaoke room) about 15,000 to 30,000 won an hour per room.
Cards, cash, ATMs and T-money#
Foreign Visa and Mastercard cards work almost everywhere in Korea: convenience stores, taxis, subway ticket machines, restaurants and most market stalls in big cities. American Express is accepted less widely. Keep 30,000 to 50,000 won in cash for market food, small rural restaurants, T-money top-ups and tips on nothing at all, since tipping is not practised.
T-money is the one place cards fail you. You buy the card at a convenience store for 3,000 to 4,000 won and top it up with cash at subway machines or the shop counter, as foreign credit cards generally cannot be used to load it. Use it for every subway, bus and most taxis.
For cash, look for ATMs labelled “Global ATM” at bank branches and at 7-Eleven, GS25 and CU stores. Expect a fee of about 3,000 to 4,000 won per withdrawal plus whatever your bank charges, and decline the on-screen conversion so your own bank sets the rate. Money changers in Myeongdong usually beat bank and airport rates for US dollars and yen.
Shops showing a “Tax Free” sign refund the VAT on purchases of 15,000 won or more, often instantly at the till if you show your passport. Cosmetics and fashion in Myeongdong and Hongdae are where this adds up.
How to save money in Korea#
- Eat at lunch-set restaurants: many sit-down places offer a 9,000 to 12,000-won lunch set that costs 20,000 at dinner.
- Use convenience stores for drinks and breakfast: coffee, soju, beer and triangle kimbap are a third of café or bar prices.
- Wear a hanbok to the palaces: free entry to Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung and Deoksugung.
- Book KTX early or take the bus: an express bus from Seoul to Busan costs much less than the KTX and takes about four hours.
- Stay outside Seoul for part of the trip: Jeonju, Gyeongju and Andong have good guesthouses for 50,000 to 70,000 won.
- Skip taxis after midnight: Seoul taxi fares carry a late-night surcharge of up to 40 percent.
- Avoid Seollal and Chuseok: trains sell out and Jeju hotel prices jump over these holidays.
Budget 80,000 won a day if you sleep in hostels and eat Korean food, 150,000 won for private hotel rooms, BBQ dinners and a train every few days, and 250,000 won or more for 4-star hotels and taxis.
Sample trip totals for one and two weeks#
These totals cover everything inside Korea, including intercity trains and one domestic flight on the two-week trip, and exclude international flights and insurance. A week assumes Seoul plus Busan or Gyeongju; two weeks adds Jeju and one more region.
| Trip | Backpacker | Mid-range | Comfortable |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 week | 600,000 to 750,000 KRW ($430 to $540) | 1,000,000 to 1,600,000 KRW ($710 to $1,140) | 2,000,000+ KRW ($1,430+) |
| 2 weeks | 1,150,000 to 1,450,000 KRW ($820 to $1,040) | 2,000,000 to 3,200,000 KRW ($1,430 to $2,290) | 4,000,000+ KRW ($2,860+) |
A sample mid-range week: four nights in a 120,000-won Seoul hotel and two nights in a 100,000-won Busan hotel, split between two people (340,000), food and drink at 60,000 a day (420,000), a return KTX to Busan (119,600), Seoul transport and a few taxis (60,000), palace, tower and museum tickets (60,000), a DMZ tour (80,000) and an eSIM (27,000). That comes to around 1,107,000 won, or about $790 per person.
Where your won goes furthest#
More South Korea guides#
South Korea travel guide · Best Time · Cherry Blossom · Culture · Food · Getting Around · Itineraries · Nightlife · Shopping · Visas
South Korea travel costs FAQs#
How much money do I need per day in South Korea?
Budget 65,000 to 90,000 won ($45 to $65) a day as a backpacker, 110,000 to 220,000 won ($80 to $160) for private hotel rooms and sit-down meals, and 250,000 won ($180) or more for 4-star hotels and taxis. Intercity trains are extra.
Is South Korea expensive for tourists?
It is mid-priced. Hotels and cafés cost close to European levels, but food, public transport and sights are cheap: a subway ride is about $1.10, a palace ticket about $2 and a hearty Korean meal $7 to $10.
Can I use my credit card in South Korea?
Yes. Foreign Visa and Mastercard cards are accepted almost everywhere, including taxis, convenience stores and many market stalls. The main exception is topping up a T-money card, which needs cash.
How much is 10,000 won in US dollars?
Roughly $7 at about 1,400 won to the dollar. That buys a bowl of bibimbap, two kimbap rolls with a drink, or six subway rides in Seoul.
Do you tip in South Korea?
No. Tipping is not expected in restaurants, taxis or hotels, and some staff will try to return the money. Upscale hotels may add a service charge to the bill.
How much does a week in South Korea cost?
Excluding flights, about 600,000 to 750,000 won ($430 to $540) per person on a backpacker budget, 1,000,000 to 1,600,000 won ($710 to $1,140) at mid-range, and 2,000,000 won ($1,430) or more for comfortable travel, including a return KTX trip to Busan.
Is South Korea cheaper than Japan?
Slightly, for most travellers. Hotels and intercity trains cost less in Korea, food is similar or cheaper, and Korean palaces and museums are cheaper than Japanese temples and attractions. Cafés and imported alcohol are expensive in both.
Is Jeju more expensive than Seoul?
For accommodation in summer, yes: Jeju resort prices spike in July and August. Most visitors also rent a car on Jeju, at 30,000 to 80,000 won a day plus fuel, which Seoul does not need.