---
title: "Cost of Living: Istanbul vs Seoul — Geo-Parity"
description: "South Korea is 47% more expensive than Türkiye for monthly essentials ($1,334 vs $905). Full 32-item price comparison: rent, pint, groceries, transport, gym."
canonical: "https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/south-korea-vs-turkiye/"
json: "https://geo-parity.com/api/micro-costs.json?base=TR&target=KR"
generator: geo-parity markdown twin
---
Cost of Living · TR vs KR

# 🇹🇷 Istanbul vs 🇰🇷 Seoul: what everyday life costs

Monthly essentials: **$905** in Türkiye vs **$1,334** in South Korea — 47% more expensive.

- **Essentials, Türkiye**: $905/mo
- **Essentials, South Korea**: $1,334/mo
- **Difference**: +47%
- **1-bed city rent, South Korea**: $894/mo

## Biggest differences

Smallest premium in South Korea

- Petrol/gasoline, 1L: +13%
- Imported beer, 330ml bottle: +14%
- Jeans (mid-range brand): +14%

Pricier in South Korea

- Rent: 3-bedroom, city center: +56%
- Rent: 1-bedroom, outside center: +56%
- Rent: 1-bedroom, city center: +56%

## The full basket (32 items)

| Item | Türkiye | South Korea | Diff |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Housing |  |  |  |
| Rent: 1-bedroom, city center | $572 | $894 (1,271,861 KRW) | +56% |
| Rent: 1-bedroom, outside center | $458 | $715 (1,017,486 KRW) | +56% |
| Rent: 3-bedroom, city center | $1,046 | $1,635 (2,325,691 KRW) | +56% |
| Food out |  |  |  |
| Meal, inexpensive restaurant | $7.48 | $10.62 (15,106 KRW) | +42% |
| Dinner for two, mid-range | $31.16 | $44.25 (62,943 KRW) | +42% |
| Fast-food combo meal | $4.95 | $6.81 (9,687 KRW) | +38% |
| Groceries |  |  |  |
| Milk, 1L | $0.58 | $0.75 (1,067 KRW) | +29% |
| Bread, fresh loaf 500g | $1.69 | $2.18 (3,101 KRW) | +29% |
| Eggs, dozen | $1.79 | $2.32 (3,300 KRW) | +30% |
| Chicken breast, 1kg | $5.28 | $6.81 (9,687 KRW) | +29% |
| White rice, 1kg | $2.11 | $2.73 (3,883 KRW) | +29% |
| Apples, 1kg | $2.53 | $3.27 (4,651 KRW) | +29% |
| Local cheese, 1kg | $6.34 | $8.18 (11,636 KRW) | +29% |
| Water, 1.5L bottle | $1.06 | $1.36 (1,935 KRW) | +28% |
| Drinks |  |  |  |
| Domestic beer, pint (draught) | $2.49 | $3.54 (5,035 KRW) | +42% |
| Imported beer, 330ml bottle | $5.81 | $6.60 (9,388 KRW) | +14% |
| Cappuccino | $2.08 | $2.95 (4,196 KRW) | +42% |
| Coke/Pepsi, 330ml | $1.21 | $1.57 (2,233 KRW) | +30% |
| Transport |  |  |  |
| Public transport, monthly pass | $29.25 | $40.24 (57,239 KRW) | +38% |
| Public transport, one-way | $1.24 | $1.70 (2,418 KRW) | +37% |
| Taxi start (normal tariff) | $1.66 | $2.36 (3,357 KRW) | +42% |
| Taxi, per km | $0.75 | $1.06 (1,508 KRW) | +41% |
| Petrol/gasoline, 1L | $0.69 | $0.78 (1,110 KRW) | +13% |
| Utilities & comms |  |  |  |
| Basic utilities, 85m² apartment | $90.00 | $124 (176,098 KRW) | +38% |
| Internet, 60Mbps+ unlimited | $31.50 | $43.33 (61,634 KRW) | +38% |
| Mobile plan, 10GB+ data | $20.25 | $27.86 (39,629 KRW) | +38% |
| Lifestyle |  |  |  |
| Gym membership, month | $20.77 | $29.50 (41,962 KRW) | +42% |
| Cinema seat | $5.82 | $8.26 (11,749 KRW) | +42% |
| Men's haircut | $12.46 | $17.70 (25,177 KRW) | +42% |
| Jeans (mid-range brand) | $39.96 | $45.40 (64,579 KRW) | +14% |
| Running shoes (brand) | $65.39 | $74.29 (105,673 KRW) | +14% |
| Coworking hot desk, month | $104 | $148 (209,810 KRW) | +42% |

Estimated from World Bank — Consumption price levels with per-item elasticity — model figures, not quotes. Compare any pair in the [interactive tool](https://geo-parity.com/expenses/?tab=prices&base=TR&target=KR).

## Beyond prices

What each place pays, charges and offers — wages, rent, healthcare, climate, risk and time off. Figures come from the same engines behind the individual tools, so they match what those pages say. They sit about **7,942 km** apart as the crow flies.

| Measure | 🇹🇷 Türkiye | 🇰🇷 South Korea |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Median local wage Monthly, USD. The local midpoint, not an average. | $1,076 | $2,316 |
| Rent, modelled 1-bed Monthly, USD. | $453 | $797 |
| Rent as % of a local wage Are locals priced out? | 42.1% | 34.4% |
| Out-of-pocket healthcare Per person per year, USD. | $104 | $1,058 |
| Doctors per 1,000 WHO. | 2.2 | 2.6 |
| Comfortable days a year 18-27 °C and dry. Measured at Istanbul and Seoul. | 95 | 76 |
| Rule of law World Bank WGI. A survey composite, so the band leads, not the decimal. | weak | strong |
| Country risk INFORM, 0-10. Lower is safer. | 5.4 (high) | 2 (very low) |
| Public holidays Observed nationwide; regional days are counted separately. | 14 | 18 |
| Air quality Mean annual PM2.5, µg/m³. WHO guideline is 5. Lower is better. | 21.1 | 19.2 |
| Life expectancy Years at birth — the outcome, not the spending. | 77.4 | 83.6 |
| Homicide rate Per 100,000 a year. A count, not a perception score. | 3.2 | 0.5 |
| Population online % using the internet. Reach, not speed — the row below is speed. | 89.8% | 97.9% |
| Internet download Measured median, Mbps. | 123.8 | 273.4 |

## Cheap for you, or cheap for everyone?

Rent measured twice: against a $6,000/month remote income, and against what people actually earn locally. The gap between the two is the arbitrage — and it is the reason somewhere can be affordable to you and unaffordable to a local at once.

🇹🇷 Türkiye

34.5 pts

7.6% of your income vs 42.1% of a local wage

🇰🇷 South Korea

21.1 pts

13.3% of your income vs 34.4% of a local wage

Worked at $6,000/month. [Run it on your own income](https://geo-parity.com/expenses/?tab=housing)

## The whole Türkiye → South Korea move, in one place

Everything above is free and always will be. The relocation report is the same engines run together for this one corridor: what you keep after rent, prices, healthcare and tax; the local wage ladder you would be earning against; which visas your income qualifies for; the day count that makes you tax-resident; and the months worth being there for.

[See the Türkiye → South Korea report — £7](https://geo-parity.com/report/turkiye-to-south-korea/) One-off. No subscription. Free preview first.

## Related

- [Reverse view: South Korea vs Türkiye](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/south-korea-vs-turkiye/)
- [Fair salary: Türkiye → South Korea](https://geo-parity.com/salary/turkiye-to-south-korea/)
- [How much to retire in South Korea?](https://geo-parity.com/fire/south-korea/)
- [Cost of living in South Korea vs the US](https://geo-parity.com/ppp/south-korea/)

## More comparisons

### Türkiye compared with

- [Türkiye vs Portugal](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/turkiye-vs-portugal/)
- [Türkiye vs Singapore](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/turkiye-vs-singapore/)
- [Türkiye vs Greece](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/turkiye-vs-greece/)
- [Türkiye vs Japan](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/turkiye-vs-japan/)
- [Türkiye vs Czechia](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/turkiye-vs-czechia/)
- [Türkiye vs United Arab Emirates](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/turkiye-vs-united-arab-emirates/)

### Moving to South Korea from

- [Argentina vs South Korea](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/argentina-vs-south-korea/)
- [Brazil vs South Korea](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/brazil-vs-south-korea/)
- [Saudi Arabia vs South Korea](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/saudi-arabia-vs-south-korea/)
- [China vs South Korea](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/china-vs-south-korea/)
- [South Africa vs South Korea](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/south-africa-vs-south-korea/)
- [Chile vs South Korea](https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/chile-vs-south-korea/)

## Frequently asked questions

- **How much more expensive is South Korea than Türkiye?**: A single person's monthly essentials run about $1,334 in South Korea versus $905 in Türkiye — 47% more. Rents differ the most; world-priced goods like petrol and electronics the least.
- **What does a beer cost in South Korea?**: A domestic draught pint is roughly $3.54 in South Korea (≈ 5035.44 KRW), versus about $2.49 in Türkiye.
- **How much is rent in South Korea compared to Türkiye?**: A 1-bedroom city-center apartment is estimated at $894/month in South Korea versus $572/month in Türkiye (+56%). Housing is the most locally-priced item in the basket.
- **How are these prices estimated?**: Curated US baseline prices scaled by each country's purchasing-power price level with per-item elasticities (housing 1.4, services 1.1, groceries 0.8, world-priced goods 0.4) — model estimates for orientation, not quotes.

Model estimates — verify locally. Agents: GET /api/micro-costs.json?base=TR&target=KR.

---

Source: Geo-Parity — https://geo-parity.com/cost-of-living/south-korea-vs-turkiye/ · JSON: https://geo-parity.com/api/micro-costs.json?base=TR&target=KR