Short answer: On the ground in South Korea, plan on roughly ₩65,000–90,000 (about US$50–65) per person per day on a hostel budget, ₩135,000–215,000 (about US$100–160) in a mid-range Seoul hotel shared by two, and from about ₩270,000 (about US$200) for upscale comfort. A week costs about ₩460,000–630,000 (US$340–465) on a budget, ₩945,000–1,500,000 (US$700–1,110) mid-range and from about ₩1,890,000 (US$1,400) in comfort, before flights and long-distance trains. For a reality check, the Bank of Korea puts the average international visitor’s spending at US$177.80 a day in 2025.
South Korea is one of the best-value trips in developed Asia. Public transport is cheap and fast, the royal palaces cost a few thousand won, many famous temples are now free, and you can eat very well for about ₩12,000 a meal. The big variables are your hotel, shopping (which is half of what visitors spend), and how often you take the KTX bullet train. This guide breaks it all down with figures from official sources, so you can build a realistic budget for your trip to South Korea. Dollar figures use about ₩1,355 to the US dollar, from the Federal Reserve’s rates for the week to 2 October 2026, and are rounded; use our Money exchange tool for today’s rate.
South Korea daily costs at a glance
These example days are built from the sourced prices further down this page: one person, one city day in Seoul. They leave out KTX trains, flights, shopping and nightlife.
| Per person, per day | Budget | Mid-range | Comfort |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bed | Hostel dorm bed: ₩25,000–45,000 | Half of a mid-range double at ₩120,000–250,000: ₩60,000–125,000 | Half of a luxury double from ₩300,000: from ₩150,000 |
| Food | Three simple meals at about ₩12,000: ₩36,000 | Two simple meals, half of a ₩90,000 dinner for two, a coffee: about ₩75,000 | Lunch, half of a ₩140,000 dinner for two, coffee: about ₩88,000 |
| Local transport | Climate Card day ticket: ₩5,000 (plus ₩3,000 for the card once) | ₩5,000–8,000 | Subway plus taxis from ₩4,800: about ₩15,000 |
| Sights | Free museum or one palace: ₩0–3,000 | Palace and Secret Garden: ₩3,000–8,000 | About ₩10,000 |
| Total | About ₩65,000–90,000 (US$50–65) | About ₩135,000–215,000 (US$100–160) | From about ₩270,000 (US$200) |
Hotel ranges are the typical Seoul rates from our Seoul travel guide; hostel prices are a typical 2026 range for Seoul; meal prices are typical October 2026 Seoul prices from the crowd-sourced Numbeo index. Treat them as typical ranges, not quotes.
What visitors actually spend in South Korea
A 2026 Bank of Korea report on tourism and service exports found that international visitors in 2025 stayed an average of 6.5 days and spent US$177.80 per person per day. That works out to roughly US$1,150 per trip, not counting the flight. Korea welcomed about 18.94 million foreign visitors in 2025, a record.
Shopping is a big part of that figure. Based on card data to September 2025, the Korea Tourism Organization found that shopping made up 51% of visitors’ tourism spending. If you are not a big shopper, your trip can cost well under the average.
Here is how a typical first trip adds up. A mid-range week split between Seoul and Busan costs about ₩945,000–1,500,000 on the ground, plus ₩119,600 for a KTX round trip, ₩26,000 for the airport express both ways and ₩6,000 for the integrated palace ticket. That makes roughly ₩1,100,000–1,650,000 (about US$810–1,220) per person before flights and shopping, close to the Bank of Korea’s average of about US$1,150 per visitor. On a hostel budget, the same week comes to about ₩610,000–780,000 (US$450–575).
In our Travel costs by country table, South Korea’s travel price index is 79, with the US at 100: hotels, restaurants and transport services cost roughly a fifth less than in the United States, which puts Korea in our middle band, 3 out of 5. Everyday living costs (index 57) are lower still.
Accommodation costs
Hotels are your biggest cost, and Seoul’s rates have climbed with record visitor numbers. The hotel data company STR put the average daily room rate in the Seoul–Incheon area at nearly ₩296,000 in September 2025, up 14.6% on a year earlier; that average includes the many luxury hotels. Typical prices for a double room are about ₩120,000–250,000 (US$90–185) in a mid-range Seoul hotel and ₩90,000–200,000 (US$65–150) in a hanok guesthouse, a traditional wooden house, with luxury hotels from about ₩300,000. Outside Seoul, mid-range rooms are usually cheaper, about ₩100,000–200,000.
For budget travelers, hostel dorm beds in Seoul cost about ₩25,000–45,000 a night in 2026, with capsule hotels and simple guesthouse rooms a step up. Staying in a Jeonju or Gyeongju hanok is one of the most memorable ways to spend a night, and often no more expensive than a city hotel.
Food and drink costs
Korean food is excellent value. Numbeo’s October 2026 figures put a meal at an inexpensive restaurant in Seoul at ₩12,000 (range ₩9,000–15,000) and a three-course dinner for two at a mid-range restaurant, without drinks, at about ₩90,000 (range ₩70,000–140,000). A fast-food combo costs about ₩10,000, a cappuccino about ₩5,500 and a half-liter of local draft beer about ₩5,000. A bowl of bibimbap or noodles is typically ₩9,000–15,000, and a Korean barbecue dinner about ₩20,000–40,000 per person.
Markets such as Gwangjang in Seoul, Busan’s fish markets and Jeju’s night markets are the cheapest places to eat, and convenience stores sell ready meals around the clock. Side dishes (banchan) come free with most Korean meals.
Getting around: subway, Climate Card and KTX
Local transport is cheap. Since 28 June 2025, the basic subway fare in Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi is ₩1,550 with a transportation card such as T-money, or ₩1,650 for a single-use ticket, and transfers within a set time are discounted. A T-money card costs ₩3,000–5,000 and is topped up with cash.
- Climate Card (short-term): unlimited rides for 1, 2, 3, 5 or 7 days at ₩5,000, ₩8,000, ₩10,000, ₩15,000 or ₩20,000, plus ₩3,000 for the card. From 1 October 2026 it is valid in Seoul only, and it is sold for cash or Korean cards only.
- Airport: the AREX express train from Incheon Airport to Seoul Station costs ₩13,000 (43 minutes to Terminal 1); the all-stop train costs ₩4,750 with a card.
- Taxis: base fares are ₩4,800 for the first 2 km in Seoul, Busan and Incheon, ₩4,300 on Jeju, with a night surcharge from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m.
- KTX: a standard-class KTX ticket from Seoul to Busan costs about ₩59,800 one way, in about two and a half hours. The Korail Pass for foreign visitors gives 2 to 5 travel days within 10 days on Korail trains, but not on SRT trains or the subway; compare it with single tickets for your route.
Jeju Island is usually reached by a short domestic flight, and an overnight ferry also runs from Incheon three times a week. On Jeju, the airport limousine buses only take transportation cards.
Sightseeing fees and free things to do
Entry fees are among the lowest of any developed country, and since 4 May 2023 many temples no longer charge heritage admission.
| Sight | Adult entry |
|---|---|
| Gyeongbokgung or Changdeokgung Palace, Seoul | ₩3,000 |
| Changdeokgung Secret Garden (on top of palace entry) | ₩5,000 |
| Integrated palace ticket (excludes Secret Garden) | ₩6,000 |
| Deoksugung, Changgyeonggung or Jongmyo Shrine | ₩1,000 |
| National Museum of Korea, Seoul | Free |
| Bulguksa Temple and Seokguram Grotto, Gyeongju | Free |
| Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond or Cheonmachong tomb, Gyeongju | ₩3,000 each |
| Gyeonggijeon Shrine, Jeonju | ₩3,000 |
| Hallasan (Jeju) and Seoraksan national parks | No entry fee |
More free and cheap ideas: walk the Hangang riverside parks and the old Seoul city wall, browse markets and design districts such as Seongsu, see Cheomseongdae observatory in Gyeongju (free), and hike the coastal trails around Gangneung and Yeosu. Seoul’s palaces are also free for visitors wearing hanbok, the traditional dress, which many visitors rent for the day; staff check that the outfit meets the rules.
Entry fees, the departure fee and tax refunds
- K-ETA: visa-exempt visitors normally need a K-ETA, which costs ₩10,000 plus an online payment charge of about 3% and is valid for three years. Until 31 December 2026, citizens of 22 countries and territories, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and much of Europe, are temporarily exempt; they fill in the free e-Arrival card instead.
- Departure fee: ₩7,000 per departing passenger since 1 July 2024, with children under 12 exempt. It is added to your airfare.
- Tax refunds: at participating stores you can get the tax back on purchases of ₩15,000 or more per receipt, if you leave within three months. Many stores refund it instantly at the till on purchases up to ₩1,000,000, up to ₩5,000,000 per trip; for larger purchases, get the customs check at the airport before you check in.
Tipping in South Korea
Tipping is not customary in South Korea. Restaurants, taxis and hotels do not expect it, and the price on the menu is the price you pay. If you want to round up or reward great service elsewhere on your trip, our tip calculator works out amounts in local money.
Money-saving tips for South Korea
- Get a Climate Card for busy Seoul days. At ₩5,000 a day it pays off from about four subway rides.
- Take the all-stop airport train. It costs ₩4,750 instead of ₩13,000 for the express.
- Price the KTX before buying a pass. For a simple Seoul–Busan round trip, single tickets are often enough.
- Buy the integrated palace ticket. ₩6,000 covers the main Seoul palaces and Jongmyo, valid for six months.
- Eat where locals eat. Markets, set lunches and casual restaurants keep meals around ₩12,000.
- Avoid the busiest weeks. Lunar New Year (Seollal) and Chuseok bring domestic travel peaks; winter is quiet and cheap apart from the New Year sunrise trips on the east coast.
For routes and seasons, see our South Korea itinerary, the best time to visit South Korea and top places to visit in South Korea.
Plan your trip: our free trip planner can build a day-by-day plan for South Korea from our guides, including Seoul, Busan, Gyeongju, Jeonju and Jeju Island. Then use the Money exchange tool to turn won into your own currency, and the Destination weather tool to pick your dates.
Frequently asked questions
How much money do I need for a week in South Korea?
Using the example days above, seven days on the ground cost roughly ₩460,000–630,000 (about US$340–465) per person on a hostel budget, ₩945,000–1,500,000 (about US$700–1,110) mid-range, and from about ₩1,890,000 (about US$1,400) in comfort, before flights, KTX trains and shopping. Add about ₩120,000 for a KTX round trip from Seoul to Busan.
Is South Korea expensive?
Not compared with Japan, Australia or Western Europe. Our travel price index puts it about a fifth below the United States, and visitors spent an average of US$177.80 a day in 2025, half of it on shopping. Seoul hotels are the main exception, with rates rising fast.
Do I need cash in South Korea?
A little. Cards and phone payments are accepted almost everywhere, but T-money cards and the Climate Card are topped up or bought with cash, and some market stalls prefer cash. Look for “Global” ATMs, which accept foreign cards.
Do I need a K-ETA, and what does it cost?
The K-ETA costs ₩10,000 plus about 3% online and lasts three years. Until 31 December 2026, citizens of 22 countries and territories, including the US, Canada, the UK and Australia, do not need one and use the free e-Arrival card instead. Check the official k-eta.go.kr site before a 2027 trip.
How do tax refunds work in South Korea?
Spend at least ₩15,000 on one receipt at a participating tax-free store and show your passport. Many stores refund the tax instantly on purchases up to ₩1,000,000; for larger amounts, have customs check the goods at the airport before check-in, then collect the refund at a kiosk or counter.
What is the cheapest month to visit South Korea?
Winter, from about December to February, is the low season, with low crowds and prices apart from Lunar New Year and the New Year sunrise weekend on the east coast. It is cold, though; spring and autumn are prettier but busier.