South Korea Trip Cost Calculator 2026

How much does a trip to South Korea cost?

A one-week trip to South Korea costs roughly ₩1,260,000 per person (about US$900) on a mid-range budget — flights excluded. Budget travellers can pull it down to ₩700,000/week; comfort travellers easily spend ₩2,500,000+. The biggest variables are how many cities you visit, whether you take KTX bullet trains, and how often you eat in restaurants vs convenience stores.

Korea is cheaper than Japan for food and transport, similar for accommodation, and more expensive than Southeast Asia. Seoul and Jeju are the priciest stops; Daegu, Gwangju and Jeonju are noticeably cheaper. This page gives you a live calculator plus the per-category breakdowns that feed it, so you can see exactly why your number is what it is.

The calculator — get your personalised budget

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How the numbers are calculated

The calculator starts from a mid-range per-person daily baseline of about ₩160,000, split roughly: ₩75K accommodation (private room in a 3★ hotel or nice guesthouse), ₩40K food (mix of restaurants and casual meals), ₩8K local transit (T-money subway/bus), ₩25K attractions, ₩12K miscellaneous. That matches what most real travellers we've tracked actually spend.

Travel style then scales the whole baseline: budget × 0.55 (hostels, street food), mid-range × 1.0, comfort × 1.55 (4★ hotels, better restaurants), luxury × 2.4 (5★, fine dining). Season adds a small modifier: cherry blossom week in April and peak foliage in mid-October are the most expensive; deep winter and the monsoon weeks of mid-July are the cheapest.

Each city carries its own multiplier — Seoul and Jeju are ~10–12% above the national average, while Daegu, Gwangju, Jeonju and Gyeongju are 10–12% cheaper. Inter-city legs use real 2026 KTX, ferry and domestic flight prices (e.g. Seoul→Busan KTX standard ₩59,800, Busan→Jeju flight ~₩95,000).

Typical 2026 daily budgets by style

Where your money actually goes

On a mid-range trip, accommodation is usually 40–45% of in-country spend, food is 20–25%, attractions and day tours 12–18%, local transit 5–8%, inter-city transport 8–12%, and miscellaneous (SIM, laundry, small purchases) 5%. Shopping — if you're into K-beauty, fashion or souvenirs — is the wildcard. Some visitors spend more on cosmetics in one afternoon at Olive Young than on their entire week's hotels.

• Accommodation — the single biggest lever. Jumping from a 3★ business hotel to a 4★ international chain can double this line.
• Food — ₩6-10K for a convenience-store meal, ₩8-15K for a full meal at a casual restaurant, ₩25-45K/person for mid-range Korean BBQ, ₩80K+ for fine dining.
• Transport — KTX Seoul↔Busan is ~₩60K standard and ~₩84K first class. Domestic flights to Jeju are ₩50-140K depending on season and how far in advance you book.
• Activities — DMZ tours ₩65-100K, K-pop and cooking classes ₩50-90K, Jeju day tours ₩70-120K, ski day passes ₩80-130K including rental.
• Shopping — highly variable; easy to add ₩200K+ per person in Myeongdong or Hongdae without noticing.

Ways to save money in Korea

• T-money card — buy once at any convenience store (₩3K), top up as needed. Saves ~₩100 per subway ride and lets you tap onto buses and taxis.
• Eat at "kimbap" chains and jjigae restaurants (Kimbap Cheonguk, Gimgane) — full meals ₩6-9K, same quality as tourist-zone restaurants charging ₩15K+.
• Book KTX early on Korail — tickets go on sale 30 days ahead. Seats don't get more expensive closer to the day, but holiday weekends sell out.
• Avoid tourist taxis — use the Kakao T app for a metered taxi at the real Korean rate.
• Skip bottled water — Korean tap water is safe; cafés refill bottles free.
• Free attractions — most palaces are ₩3-5K; Seoul city walls, Bukchon Hanok Village streets, N Seoul Tower grounds, major museums on the first Wednesday of every month are free.
• Go in shoulder seasons — late May or early November hit 90% of spring/autumn beauty at 20-30% lower hotel rates.