Cost Of Living In Korea
This page is Copyright 2004 by HiTeacher.com
We welcome you to use this information for your own website / article,
however you must credit
HiTeacher.com as the source. We would
appreciate if you add a link to our site.
Typical Salary & Other Benefits
Typical ESL/EFL Teacher's salary is between 1,900,000 won to 2,200,000 won.
The tax rate is between 5% and 10% (some universities are tax exempt).
Teachers receive subsidized housing and severance pay equal to one month's pay
at the completion of the contract.
Tipping
Tipping is not a custom in Korea. Some restaurants in Korea charge a 10%
service charge on top of the bill.
Conclusion: Typical Cost of Living & Savings Potential
Although the salary seems low by Western standards, Korea offers a lot of
savings potential because of the sponsored housing and low tax rate. Once can
live comfortably on 10,000 won per day, spend 100,000 each week on entertainment
and other expenses, and still manage to put away at least 1,000,000 won into the
bank. (If you are a die-hard saver, you could curb the entertainment expenses
and save much more!)
Price Tables
| Supermarket
Essentials |
| Bread (toast 1 loaf) |
1000 |
| Oranges (6 pack) |
2,500 |
| Ham (processed) |
2200 |
| Cheese (processed) |
2500 |
| Eggs (dozen) |
2,000 |
| Butter |
2700 |
| Jam (340g) |
2500 |
| Spam |
4000 |
| Tuna (165g can) |
1400 |
| Milk (1 litre) |
1400 |
| Fast Food |
| Zinger Burger (KFC) |
2,800 |
| Pizza Hut / Dominos (large) |
25,000 |
| Burger King (Reg. whopper meal) |
4,900 |
| Western Food Restaurants |
| Bennigan's (Steak, 250g) |
28,300
31,500 (set) |
| Bennigan's (Ribs) |
28,200
31,900 (set) |
| TGI Friday's (lunch set) |
17,500 |
| TGI Fridays steak (new York) |
27,200 |
| Drink |
| Starbucks Coffee (short cappuccino)
|
3,000 |
| Dunkin Doughnuts Coffee (regular) |
1,900 |
| Milk (1 liter) |
1,400 |
| Beer (can 270ml) |
1,500 |
| Beer (bottle 270) |
3,000+ (restaurant / bar) |
| Imported beer |
2800 (shop) 5,000+ (bar) |
| Transport -
(Adult Fares only) |
| Seoul Subway |
700+ |
| Seoul Bus - City |
700+ |
| Seoul Bus - Local |
400 |
| Train - Seoul to Busan (Express) |
33,100 (seating) |
| Train - Seoul to Busan (KTX express) |
45,000 (seating) |
| Train - Seoul to Busan (non-express) |
22,300 (seating) |
| Taxi - Genral |
1600 basic fee for 2 km, then 100 won / 168
meters.
If taxi is going less than 15km/h, 100 won / 45
seconds is added. |
| Taxi - Deluxe |
4000 basic fee for 3 km, then 200 won / 205
meters.
If taxi is going less than 15km/h, 200 won / 50
seconds is added. |
|
