My move to Seoul – Cost to move to Korea.
Hello all!
As usual Busy is my last name. It is hard to believe that it has been 4 months since my move here! Winter has arrived as well as the 1st snow. I have passed my 1st semester, graduated level 2 currently now in level 3 of the 6 level of Korean language course here in Yonsei.
A lot of my friends have been curious about my life here in Seoul and how did I afford to support myself through it? So for those of you who are thinking of doing the same, of moving here, expenses are as listed below!
So far for Living in Korea, to me the food expenses are what cost the hole in my pocket.
Per MONTH in $SGD
Food Expenses – $450
Transportation – $50
Bills – $30
Accommodation – $0
Other ( KTV, Drink, Play ) – $100
Food. I swear I have been eating as inexpensive as I could. However it still goes up to $450 a month. Food on an average in Seoul cost around 7000-12000 won which cost around $10-$14SGD a meal. There are cheaper ones but on an average at that price. So a day’s expenses on food would easily cost $25-30SGD. Depend on how each individual spend you could calculate how much food expenses you would need to move here. Average food in Seoul cost x2-x3 of our food in Singapore. (I am talking about daily foodcourt food. Restaurants prices are similar to SG.)
I usually eat in the School canteen nor just Kimbap which cost just 4500won ($5/6SGD). Kimbap cost around $2.5/3SGD. Thus my monthly expenses including coffee cost $450SGD.
Transportation wise. Taxis are half the price of SG Taxis. Buses and train are maybe 20cents more expensive but buses transfer are allowed with just a top up of 20cents. Which makes it so convenient to travel to your location without paying for another ride! I dont travel so much, just a daily bus to school thus only spending $50!
Phone bills cost $25 for 1 month of 2 GB Data. Calls depend on how much each individual would like to top up, but most of us just use social app to call each other these days.
Accommodation in Seoul cost around $350SGD- $600SGD per month. It is much cheaper compared to Singapore. The cheapest you can find if you are on a budget is around $10SGD/$7/8USD a night. For me I am doing work exchange for the guesthouse I am staying in. So basically I clean the guesthouse for a few hours a week and in exchange I get free stay. Every guesthouse is different. Some guesthouse will have you commit a certain number of hours a day, for free stay, or free stay + food, or pay. So working holiday is a quite do-able thing in Korea! 🙂
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