Korea Trip Cost Calculator
Realistic 2026 numbers from someone who actually lives here — not recycled 2019 blog figures. Pick a city and season for a number that actually fits your trip, not a generic Seoul average.
Clean business hotel · sit-down restaurant meals · subway, occasional taxi
Estimated total for 1 person, 5 days in Seoul (excl. flights)
≈$895
₩1,235,000
₩247,000 · $179 per day
Won figures are the estimate; the live rate is unavailable, so dollars use an approximate one.
| Accommodation | ₩650,000 | $471 |
| Food & drink | ₩300,000 | $217 |
| Transport | ₩60,000 | $43 |
| Activities & shopping | ₩225,000 | $163 |
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Where these numbers come from
The baseline uses current Seoul prices: subway rides at ₩1,400, a proper meal from ₩9,000, business hotels from around ₩120,000 a night. Picking Busan or Jeju applies a 15% lodging discount — the middle of the 10–20% range those cities actually run cheaper. Food, transport and activities don't get a city discount; there's no solid data saying they're meaningfully cheaper, so we don't pretend there is. The peak-season toggle adds 25% to accommodation only, since that's the line that actually spikes — flights are excluded entirely because they vary wildly by origin.
For the full breakdown with money-saving tactics, read what a trip to Seoul really costs →