Daily budget overview
| Budget type | Daily cost (per person) | What it gets you |
| Budget | ₩40,000–70,000 ~$30–52 USD | Guesthouse, Korean street food and cheap restaurants, subway |
| Mid-range | ₩90,000–160,000 ~$67–120 USD | 3-star hotel, sit-down Korean BBQ dinners, activities |
| Comfortable | ₩200,000–400,000 ~$150–300 USD | 4-star hotel, premium BBQ and seafood, taxis, day trips |
Accommodation costs
Guesthouse/hostel: ₩15,000–35,000 per night. Seoul's Hongdae and Insadong areas have excellent guesthouses.
Budget hotel: ₩40,000–80,000 per night. Korea's motel culture means clean, private rooms at very low prices.
Mid-range hotel: ₩90,000–180,000 per night. Good value for the quality — Korean hotels at this price point typically exceed Western equivalents.
Food costs
- Gimbap (Korean rice rolls) at a kimbap restaurant: ₩2,500–4,000
- Bibimbap or doenjang jjigae at a local restaurant: ₩8,000–12,000
- Korean BBQ dinner (samgyeopsal): ₩15,000–25,000 per person with drinks
- Convenience store meal (GS25, CU): ₩4,000–7,000
- Street food at Gwangjang Market: ₩3,000–6,000 per dish
Transport costs
Seoul's subway is one of the best-value transit systems in the world. Most journeys within Seoul cost ₩1,500–2,500. A day of heavy travel rarely exceeds ₩8,000. The KTX from Seoul to Busan (2h 15min) costs ₩59,800 standard.
Seven-day Korea trip total
| Budget type | 7-day total (1 person) |
| Budget | ₩350,000–500,000 (~$260–375) |
| Mid-range | ₩700,000–1,100,000 (~$525–825) |
| Comfortable | ₩1,400,000–2,200,000 (~$1,050–1,650) |
Seoul-based trip. Excludes flights.