Prices below are rough, current-as-of-writing ranges meant to help you budget — always check live rates for exact currency conversion, which you can do on our currency reference once published.
Daily cost bands
| Style | Rough daily spend (excl. flights) | What that buys |
|---|---|---|
| Backpacker | Budget hostel dorm + street food + subway | Comfortable, social, no-frills |
| Mid-range | 3–4 star hotel + mix of casual and sit-down meals | The most common style for first-timers |
| Comfortable | Well-located hotel + table-service meals + the odd taxi | Minimal compromises |
Where the money actually goes
- Transit: Cheap — a single subway ride is a small flat fare, and even a heavy day of travel rarely adds up to much.
- Street food and casual meals: Genuinely inexpensive — tteokbokki, gimbap, and market stalls can cover a meal for a few dollars.
- Sit-down Korean BBQ: The biggest single food expense most travelers hit, especially for premium cuts, but shareable and often worth it once or twice.
- Cafes: Seoul's cafe culture is a real budget line — specialty coffee and dessert cafes are not cheap and are very easy to visit daily.
- Palace and museum entry: Generally low-cost, and often free on specific days if you wear hanbok (see our hanbok guide).
- Accommodation: The widest swing in the whole budget, and where most of your control lives.
Money-saving habit: Lunch set menus (called jeongsik or lunch specials) at restaurants that are expensive at dinner are frequently a fraction of the evening price for a similar meal.
Card vs cash
Cards are accepted almost everywhere, including most street stalls and markets these days, so you don't need to carry large amounts of cash. It's still worth having some on hand for smaller traditional markets and rural day trips.