What two months working and living in Seoul actually cost me

I spent just under two months in Seoul. September 19 to November 4, 2025. About 47 days.

I stayed at the EF-bundled hotel near Gangnam-Seocho. Six of those weeks I was in morning Korean classes at EF International School. The rest of the day I ran my normal Brussels-freelancer client load on European mornings and American evenings.

I ate out most meals. Took the metro everywhere. Worked too many weekends.

Here’s what it cost, honestly.

Quick version

• Total: around €10,500 all-in, including flights.
• Biggest line item: accommodation, around €3,400 (single hotel room for client calls).
• Second biggest: EF, around €3,000.
• Cheapest things relative to Brussels: Korean restaurant food, public transport, healthcare.
• Most expensive surprises: Western-brand groceries, “going out” coffees, foreign-card ATM fees.

The breakdown

All figures in euros, converted at the average September-November 2025 KRW rate (around 1,450 KRW = €1).

Accommodation - €3,400

The EF-bundled single hotel room. Comparing to what I would have paid for an equivalent room booked separately in central Seoul, the EF rate was actually cheaper.

And it came with two things I’d struggle to replicate solo: an on-site EF representative for the small admin things foreigners get stuck on, and cleaning every two days. After a string of late nights, walking into a freshly-cleaned room mattered more than I expected.

I picked the single room specifically because I needed private space for client calls. Dorm or twin options were cheaper but unworkable.

EF International School - €3,000

Six-week intensive Korean program, mornings only, five days a week. Includes textbook, materials, optional add-on classes (I took vocabulary), placement test. Excludes accommodation. Full review here.

Flights - €1,150

Brussels-Seoul return, booked about six weeks ahead. I took a Helsinki-stop Finnair routing to save the difference over the direct ANA option. KLM via Amsterdam was competitive but full on my dates.

Food - €1,400

Around €700 per month, on the high end for someone eating mostly Korean food but generous on social meals and coffee.

• Restaurant meals: around €450/month. Korean lunches at €5-8. Occasional dinners with the EF cohort at €15-30. A few “going out” meals.
• Groceries: around €200/month. Mostly basics. Western brands (yoghurt, granola, decent olive oil) added a real premium.
• Coffee: around €50/month. About one café Americano a day. Cheaper than Brussels, more than I’d planned.

If you cook more and skip the trendy cafés, this drops. If you keep ordering “Western brunch” in Hannam, it climbs faster than expected.

Transport - €170

Around €85 per month on the T-money card, mostly metro and bus. Korean public transport is cheap (one ride is roughly 90c-€1.10).

I also took two taxis (€15 total) that I would have taken many more of if Korea had better app-based ride-hailing for foreigners.

The bigger hidden cost was the ATM fees I racked up trying to top up the T-money card. (Whole separate post on that paradox.)

Phone and internet - €70

A Korean SIM (KT prepaid, 5GB/month) for €30-40/month. Hotel Wi-Fi was included. Korean mobile data is fast and cheap. I kept my Belgian number active on a secondary line for €0 (Proximus EU/global already on my plan).

ATM and currency fees - €80

Foreign-card ATMs in Korea charge meaningful fees per withdrawal (around €3-5). Most non-Korean cards also add a foreign-currency-conversion fee (1-3%). I made too many small withdrawals in the first two weeks - mostly to top up the T-money card.

By week three I was withdrawing in larger amounts and using Wise where possible.

Going out and entertainment - €420

Coffee shops, drinks with the cohort, a noraebang night, a wine bar in Itaewon, Korean BBQ with new colleagues, two cinema trips. Less than Brussels for the same activities, more than I’d budgeted because Seoul has more weekend options than I’d planned for.

Day trips and Seoul exploration - €240

I’d been to Seoul before, so I skipped most of the standard tourist things. The €240 covered a Bukhansan hiking day, a DMZ tour I hadn’t done before, two neighbourhood explorations in Yeonnam-dong and Ikseon-dong, plus the inevitable shopping on those days.

Wellness and personal - €380

One jjimjilbang visit (€8 for half a day). Two massages (€35 each for an hour). Two facials at a small skincare salon. A Korean haircut (€18). A small pharmacy visit. And one doctor visit for a stubborn cough - €60 cash up front, reimbursed by Belgian travel insurance.

Shopping - €390

Two coats from a Korean brand I’d been eyeing. Skincare hauls at Olive Young (genuinely cheaper than Brussels for Korean brands). A new bag. Small gifts to bring home.

I’d planned for less and spent more.

What I undercounted

Three categories where I’d budgeted too little going in.

Coffee. Six weeks of “one Americano a day at the café I’m working from” sounds modest. At €3.30 an Americano, that’s around €130 in coffee alone for the trip. I’d budgeted half of that.

Foreign-card ATM fees. €80 over two months sounds reasonable until you realise that’s nearly two days of food. Bring a Wise card.

Western-brand groceries. I budgeted normally for groceries and then kept finding the things I was used to in Brussels cost 50-100% more in Seoul. Coffee beans, olive oil, decent pasta, granola, dark chocolate. Korean staples were cheaper, but my pantry isn’t purely Korean.

What I’d budget differently for next time

• Bring more KRW cash for the first week. Wise transfer or no-fee currency exchange. The “I’ll just withdraw as I go” approach costs more than people realise.
• Plan two weekend trips out of Seoul. I planned one and ended up with two. Both Busan KTX returns came in under €120.
• Set a coffee budget. Yes, really.
• Bring more Korean-brand items home to share. The Olive Young haul would have funded a month of coffee.

Seoul vs Tokyo vs Lisbon for the same trip

Rough comparisons from people I’ve talked to:

• Tokyo, same lifestyle, two months: around €14,000-16,000. Rent runs 30-40% higher. Going out is more expensive.
• Lisbon, same lifestyle, two months: around €6,500-8,500. Rent meaningfully lower. Daily costs lower.
• Mexico City, same lifestyle, two months: around €5,500-7,500. Cheapest of the four.

Seoul isn’t the cheap nomad destination it’s sometimes painted as. It’s well below Tokyo but well above Lisbon. You pay middle-bracket prices for top-tier civic infrastructure.

Practical thoughts

• Budget around €5,000 per month all-in for a comfortable, school-attending Seoul stay. Less if you cut the language school or live further out. More if you eat at Western restaurants often.
• Accommodation and language school are the two big-ticket lines. Everything else is small.
• Daily food costs are genuinely low if you stay in Korean restaurants. Not if you keep ordering “Western” by reflex.
• The ATM and transit-card friction is real. Plan for it.
• You will spend more than you’d planned. Stack 10-15% on top of whatever your spreadsheet says.

FAQ

Could I do two months in Seoul for less than €5,000 total?

Yes, with cuts. Stay in a goshiwon, skip the language school, cook most meals, no taxi, minimal social spending. It’s a different two months but it’s feasible.

Was the language school worth €3,000?

For language alone, no - Korean university programs are cheaper. For language plus social structure plus a friend group, yes. Honest review here.

What’s the single best money-saving move?

Get a Wise card before you fly. The €80 in ATM fees and FX losses I racked up in week one was the most avoidable line in this entire budget.

Closing thoughts

Two comfortable months as a working European in Seoul costs about what a comfortable two months should cost.

What you pay for: a city that supports the work you’re doing, food that’s better and cheaper than Belgium’s, and a daily quality-of-life upgrade if you’re working US hours.

What you don’t pay for: any of the surface-level “freedom” the digital-nomad blogs sell.

If you’re tempted by the same trip, the honest number to put in your spreadsheet is €10,000-12,000 all-in for two months. Build down from there if you’re cutting. Build up if you’re not.