🇰🇷 3 cities in South Korea, sorted by daily travel budget. Not the exchange rate — how cheap it feels on your own income, and where a price becomes a rip-off. Updated September 2026
| City | Per day | Per month | Local meal | Coffee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇰🇷 BusanBig city · coast | $137 | $2,048 | ₩9,000 | ₩4,500 |
| 🇰🇷 JejuResort | $161 | $2,314 | ₩11,000 | ₩5,500 |
| 🇰🇷 SeoulBig city | $165 | $2,887 | ₩10,000 | ₩5,000 |
Per day = one mid-range night + three meals, a coffee and two taxi rides. Open a city for item-by-item prices, rip-off thresholds and live traveler reports.
With a mid-range room, between $137 and $165 a day depending on the city — about $154 on average. Hostels and local eateries cut that by 30% or more.
Short-term rental plus living costs runs $2,048–$2,887 by city, about $2,416 on average.
By daily budget, Busan ($137/day) is the cheapest and Seoul ($165/day) the most expensive.